Recommend a…Book by a Male Author
Recommend a… is a feature hosted by Chick Loves Lit each Monday.
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Anyone who regularly follows this blog was probably expecting a Tolkien book, since Tolkien is my favorite author and he happens to be male…but my third favorite author is Chaim Potok. I love practically all of his books that I have read (You can read my review for My Name is Asher Lev), but The Chosen is probably his most well-known work. It is also the book that I read first, and the one that got me completely hooked on the rest of his work.
Potok is a master of writing about what it means to be human. In The Chosen, he writes about friendship, and the one that develops between two young men who follow different types of Judaism. They come to learn a lot about each other and their faith, and the reader is privileged to be brought on a such a moving and thought-provoking journey.
Posted on 07/16/2012, in Memes and tagged Recommend a. Bookmark the permalink. 14 Comments.
ooh, somebody picked a classic. I remember reading this for an english class in high school. I had a favorable view on it but don’t remember a whole lot. Thanks for bringing it back to mind (and I can’t BELIEVE I didn’t think about Tolkien! Those books are so much a part of my life that I forget to separate them into actual books sometimes…they just are!)
Here’s a link to mine!
I wish I’d read Potok in school! I came across The Chosen at a bookstore and almost didn’t buy it. In fact, I think that the first time I was in said bookstore, I’d left with a different book. The thought that I could still be going on blissfully unaware of Potok’s existence is terrifying.
Tolkien is on his own level of awesomeness.
I wish we had read it in English! I would have enjoyed it so much.
My other thought was Scott Westerfeld, but classics are always good.
I’ve somehow managed to not hear of this one at all. Which sucks because it sounds right up my alley! Thanks so much for your recommendation!
Here’s mine.
I hope you find time to read it!
I haven’t heard of the book nor the author, but I’ll have to check them out
Potok is one of my favorite authors! I hope you read his books and enjoy them!
I like that the book focuses on the development of a male relationship. I think that boys need to read more books that include deep friendships instead of the grunting and fist-bumping you see on tv! Thanks for the recommendation.
That’s very true. And there’s always the possibility now that readers assume close male literary friends are homosexual, which can diminish the value placed on friendship.
I like that you chose a classic! I remember LOVING this book in middle school. Also… L.M. Montgomery all over the place is making me verrry happy.
I’m glad you like it, too! I can’t believe some other book beat it out for a national award. I still need to look up what it was, because it must be seriously awesome if it is “better” than The Chosen!
You’ve stumbled right into the middle of our L. M. Montgomery event!
It was The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilder. Apparently it’s a murder mystery set in a mining town in southern Illinois.
That doesn’t sound better.
Maybe you should read it and tell us.