The Gift of Asher Lev

Rating: ★★★★★

Methods of Reading: Public library hardcover novel, 370 pages
Dated of Reading: February 26, 2011-March 19, 2011
Author: Chaim Potok
Publication Year: 1990
Recommended To: Students who enjoyed the original Asher.
Quotes:
   "And a man should think only of what he has to do for God that day, and it will not be too burdensome for him" (147).
   "'I'm between things now.'
'Dawn between things or dusk between things?'" (240).
Movie: Nope.

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_of_Asher_Lev
Link: http://potok.lasierra.edu/Gift.syn.html

My View: A very, very strong sequel. At first, it threw me off because Asher's voice has become so different from the original, but you can definitely hear him in the maturity. Fast-forwarding him so many years was an excellent choice on Potok's part. Asher has become more 3D and it is so intriguing seeing him interact with is wife (Especially the way he speaks so devoutly about religion), his children (Wait—Asher LEV is a responsible parent?!?) and his parents after their reconciliation (Hey, so his dad is a nice guy. Who knew?). There are some very interesting lines in here which I could ponder for long stretches of time, particularly in the art-artist-audience relationships. Asher's relationship with Avrumel, so different from the one he had with his own dad, is also wonderful to analyze (For instance, Asher at one point gives Avrumel a glass of orange juice and tells him to drink it before the vitamins run out.). His relationship to time, confusing due to his frequent tense changes, is also intriguing. At any rate, Potok did a very nice job maturing Asher, his art, and his life. I think it was a great idea to start this book off with a direct contradiction to how the last ended: With Asher as a criticized artist struggling to move forward rather than as an applauded young man with too much easy praise. Bravo, Potok!

Always,
Your Bibliomaniac

Bibliographic info:
Potok, Chaim. The Gift of Asher Lev. New York: Knopf, 1990. Print.