Customer Reviews

Cliff Notes on The Chosen

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I am saddened that the previous reviewer found this book boring, but then he/she does not seem to have any experience with Jews. I grew up in a largely Jewish area of Los Angeles, and while I took many things for granted (their holidays versus ours, their outlook on life, their experiences, etc.)I did not acquire any great understanding of the whole culture (as opposed to the religion) until I began to read books by Jewish authors.

My first books were by Shalom Aleichem (the Tevye tales, the basis for the musical "Fiddler on the Roof"), and then I became interested and began reading more widely. Chaim Potok's "The Chosen" was a deeply thought provoking book on several levels. It contrasts the life of an Orthodox Jewish boy versus an Hasidic Jewish boy. The description of the differing ways of living within the Judaic religion is not unlike the differences found within Christianity. They share the same religion, but what a difference there is between their two lives.

But the basic question put to the reader is not whether one should be this kind of Jew or that kind, but what kind of parent should you be? Questioned as to their hopes and goals for their children, most parents will respond with the old cliches of wanting their children to be "happy" or "successful" or even "God fearing Christians." How many would be able to evaluate their children, face the challenge of correcting those characteristics that will cause them problems, and then act to correct those flaws?

The Rabbi father of the Hasidic boy has seen what might become of his son and how his gifts could be perverted. He has acted in a way that may seem cruel, unloving, mean, even unnecessary. He has chosen to sunder their relationship in a way that will cause his son to become an entirely different kind of man. It is made clear that the father deeply loves his son and that he, too, is suffering as a result of his decision. But he has made his decision and never backs away from it. This takes a kind of courage that few people can even imagine.

The Cliff Notes gives the outline of the book and its theme, but one hopes that the Notes will only set the outline and lure the reader to make the whole emotional journey. There is a great deal about humanity to be learned there.

I never got it! Waste of money, its as simple as that. You might as well flush your money down the toilet.

This book focused on two Jewish boys, and their tyrant parents. There was not one part that interested me fromt the beginning to the end. This is a colossal waste of time, and unless you are in a hospital bed, I DO NOT reccomend this book. As a student, I have other things to do than read a book that uses Jewish terms that 1% of the population understands. If you HAVE to read this for school, do yourself a favor and buy the Cliff Notes.This book drags on & on, and is WAY too descriptive.