I was excited to pick up a fictional novel after many years of self help, Christian spiritual growth, maternity and parenting books. I eagerly checked out this book from the library soon after an esteemed mentor in the areas of Art and Culture, Makoto Fujimura, mentioned it on his Facebook page (he was to speak about it at a University to Freshmen who had read the book as part of a class.)
I began to read it in November and just finished it two days ago. It is not a long book, I've just had to split my interests into short segments because of all that being a mom to two small children entails. In any event, some evenings I wanted to read it and others I did not. Some evenings I picked it up to progress a little to get to the climax because, as I have seen in some reviews posted by others, this author can have a style of writing that may seem slow at times. So I thought to myself, through those slow places in the book, "Am I so fast paced that I have forgotten how to enjoy a book without bullets or bold topic headings, or is this dragging a bit?". Well, after completing the book I was happy to see that others shared some of my opinions about the first almost 3/4 having you waiting for something eventful to happen. Most importantly, after completing it, I was thrilled and extremely satisfied to understand the purpose behind the slow, detail rich first 3/4 which were purposeful and necessary.
I read through the last 1/4 all in one sitting, uninterrupted, through a nap and as daddy indulged me by taking the girls in the late afternoon. I was so fulfilled with this book. It is rich with emotion, faith, passion for art, struggles between the two, and struggles between those you love and that which drives you. I don't like to disclose detail in my reviews because I don't like to ruin the experience for a potential reader, but I will enclose what the back of the book reads:
"Asher Lev is a Ladover Hasid who keeps kosher, prays three times a day, and believes in the Ribbono Shel Olom, the Master of the Universe. Asher Lev is an artist who is compulsively driven to render the world he sees and feels, even when it leads him to blasphemy. In this stirring and often visionary novel, Chaim Potok traces Asher's passage between these two identities, the one consecrated to God, the other subject only to the imagination.
Asher Lev grows up in a cloistered Hasidic community in postwar Brooklyn, a world suffused by ritual and revolving around a charismatic Rebbe. But in time, his gift threatens to estrange him from that world and the parents he adores. As it follows his struggle, My Name is Asher Lev, becomes a luminous portrait of the artist, by turns heartbreaking and exultant, a modern classic."
It was a heartbreaking story of a boy, then a man, who was sad, lonely, and misunderstood. The gift, which was given by God was thought to be something to take his attention away from God, by most, sometimes even thought to have been given to him by the enemy, or the other side (the sitra archra as the book refers to it). As a result, there is the cruel nonacceptance by his father and select peers, that give way to a lifelong struggle between what he cannot control (creating his art) and the love and acceptance of his father and the community of Hasidic jews that he lives amongst.
There are glimpses of light, bursts of hopes, and streams of happiness that come in the later course of the book, but in the end- the struggle prevails. There are many topics addressed here, for people who have a love for their faith and a passion for art, as well as dynamics pertaining to family and acceptance. I was compelled and deeply moved by this book.
As for myself, there are some bold reflections that am happy to have been confronted with. I felt extremely honored and blessed to be able to, in this time and place in the world, merge my passion for God and Art. It is gratifying beyond any extent of the word not only to combine the two, but to know it is a calling, a divine calling. I felt like the riches had poured upon my head after having read this book and wished that I could let our poor protagonist, Asher Lev, in on a profound secret, he could do both- simultaneously, with a divine purpose.
Here a few quotes from the book that I found to be poignant, in context:
Asher speaking with his mother as a young boy, through her illness: "Mama. Mama, Here are the birds and the flowers, Mama. I made the world pretty, Mama. Mama, aren't you well now? I'll make more birds and flowers for you, Mama."
to Asher Lev: "Do not try to understand. Become a great artist. That is the only way to justify what you are doing to every one's life."
A dialogue between Asher and another Jewish artist,
-"I have lost that faculty. I cannot pray. I talk to God through my sculpture and painting."
-"That's also prayer."
An conversation that takes place in Asher's mind with his father:
"There is nothing in the Jewish tradition that could have served me as an aesthetic mod for such a painting. I had to go to- I had to use a - Do you understand, Papa? Why are you looking at me like that, Papa? It isn't the sitra achra, Papa. It's your son. There was no other way, no other aesthetic mold."
I highly recommend this book, although it is not a pick-me-up. It is a beautiful look into the mind and experiences of an artist and the cruel world we live in.
Be blessed! Be Inspired!
I began to read it in November and just finished it two days ago. It is not a long book, I've just had to split my interests into short segments because of all that being a mom to two small children entails. In any event, some evenings I wanted to read it and others I did not. Some evenings I picked it up to progress a little to get to the climax because, as I have seen in some reviews posted by others, this author can have a style of writing that may seem slow at times. So I thought to myself, through those slow places in the book, "Am I so fast paced that I have forgotten how to enjoy a book without bullets or bold topic headings, or is this dragging a bit?". Well, after completing the book I was happy to see that others shared some of my opinions about the first almost 3/4 having you waiting for something eventful to happen. Most importantly, after completing it, I was thrilled and extremely satisfied to understand the purpose behind the slow, detail rich first 3/4 which were purposeful and necessary.
I read through the last 1/4 all in one sitting, uninterrupted, through a nap and as daddy indulged me by taking the girls in the late afternoon. I was so fulfilled with this book. It is rich with emotion, faith, passion for art, struggles between the two, and struggles between those you love and that which drives you. I don't like to disclose detail in my reviews because I don't like to ruin the experience for a potential reader, but I will enclose what the back of the book reads:
"Asher Lev is a Ladover Hasid who keeps kosher, prays three times a day, and believes in the Ribbono Shel Olom, the Master of the Universe. Asher Lev is an artist who is compulsively driven to render the world he sees and feels, even when it leads him to blasphemy. In this stirring and often visionary novel, Chaim Potok traces Asher's passage between these two identities, the one consecrated to God, the other subject only to the imagination.
Asher Lev grows up in a cloistered Hasidic community in postwar Brooklyn, a world suffused by ritual and revolving around a charismatic Rebbe. But in time, his gift threatens to estrange him from that world and the parents he adores. As it follows his struggle, My Name is Asher Lev, becomes a luminous portrait of the artist, by turns heartbreaking and exultant, a modern classic."
It was a heartbreaking story of a boy, then a man, who was sad, lonely, and misunderstood. The gift, which was given by God was thought to be something to take his attention away from God, by most, sometimes even thought to have been given to him by the enemy, or the other side (the sitra archra as the book refers to it). As a result, there is the cruel nonacceptance by his father and select peers, that give way to a lifelong struggle between what he cannot control (creating his art) and the love and acceptance of his father and the community of Hasidic jews that he lives amongst.
There are glimpses of light, bursts of hopes, and streams of happiness that come in the later course of the book, but in the end- the struggle prevails. There are many topics addressed here, for people who have a love for their faith and a passion for art, as well as dynamics pertaining to family and acceptance. I was compelled and deeply moved by this book.
As for myself, there are some bold reflections that am happy to have been confronted with. I felt extremely honored and blessed to be able to, in this time and place in the world, merge my passion for God and Art. It is gratifying beyond any extent of the word not only to combine the two, but to know it is a calling, a divine calling. I felt like the riches had poured upon my head after having read this book and wished that I could let our poor protagonist, Asher Lev, in on a profound secret, he could do both- simultaneously, with a divine purpose.
Here a few quotes from the book that I found to be poignant, in context:
Asher speaking with his mother as a young boy, through her illness: "Mama. Mama, Here are the birds and the flowers, Mama. I made the world pretty, Mama. Mama, aren't you well now? I'll make more birds and flowers for you, Mama."
to Asher Lev: "Do not try to understand. Become a great artist. That is the only way to justify what you are doing to every one's life."
A dialogue between Asher and another Jewish artist,
-"I have lost that faculty. I cannot pray. I talk to God through my sculpture and painting."
-"That's also prayer."
An conversation that takes place in Asher's mind with his father:
"There is nothing in the Jewish tradition that could have served me as an aesthetic mod for such a painting. I had to go to- I had to use a - Do you understand, Papa? Why are you looking at me like that, Papa? It isn't the sitra achra, Papa. It's your son. There was no other way, no other aesthetic mold."
I highly recommend this book, although it is not a pick-me-up. It is a beautiful look into the mind and experiences of an artist and the cruel world we live in.
Be blessed! Be Inspired!
No comments:
Post a Comment