Davita's Harp (Paperback)

by Chaim Potok (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For Davita Chandal, growing up in the New York of the 1930s and '40s is an experience of joy and sadness. Her loving parents, both fervent radicals, fill her with the fiercely bright hope of a new and better world. But as the deprivations of war and depression take a ruthless toll, Davita unexpectedly turns to the Jewish faith that her mother had long ago abandoned, finding there both a solace for her questioning inner pain and a test of her budding spirit of independence.


From the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher
Davita's Harp is a terrific read by Chiam Potok. He captures the mood, tensions and conflicts in the lives of the Jewish community in this country during the terrible times of McCarthyism and paranoia. As a Jewish child who was raised during that period, I found this to be a touching affirmation of all that we felt. Ruth RossArt Director, Ballantine Books

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449911837
• ISBN-13: 978-0449911839
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #167,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything has a past, May 20, 2001

By	mary - See all my reviews

Boy was this a wonderful book! It was the first I have ever read by this author, (although I had seen the movie The Chosen many years ago when I was too young to appreciate it) and I plan to read many more. My concern before beginning the book was that religion was going to be presented as the solution to life's problems- our salvation, so to speak, and not being a religious person myself, I thought that would be a major turnoff- even though I knew it was also supposedly a beautiful coming-of-age story- my favorite type of novel. Well, this book did not disappoint in the slightest- not only did it indeed turn out to be a wonderful story about growing up, it was also a profound exploration of religion and the different meaning it has in the lives of different people. It is the story of Davita, who discovers how religion can help one endure during times of difficulty, and her mother, who many years ago had giving up her religion, but then returns to it- in a way that makes sense for her. At one point she stated, "Everything has a past. If you don't know that past, you can't understand the present and plan properly for the future." This is what the women did: rather than blindly commit to all aspects of orthodox Judiasm, they took what made sense to them, given their own life experiences. This was a beautiful book about growing, changing, and religion, and I recommend it to both religious and non-religious people. Those who read it will do what Davita and her mother did: weigh everything, consider the options, and in the end go with what has meaning for them.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful coming of age story, July 21, 1998

By A Customer

I have heard this book criticized because a male author is delving in to the mind a girl growing to adulthood up. They say that Ilana Davita does not ring true as a female character. I could not disagree more. So much about Ilana rings true. Much of her I recognize in myself. I too am the child of parents of strong ideology and had to find my own way. The cruel response of both teacher and classmates as she expressed her parents views about Stalin brought tears to my eyes. I recall a similar experience in my own life. It is a beautiful story of a girl longing for a feeling of belonging and finding it in Jewish faith. I recommend this book without reservation. Chaim Potok is a wonderful author, (he also wrote The Chosen which is my all time favorite book) and I think he created a believable, precocious, hurting girl who finds faith and healing and perseveres through hardship and injustice.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Davita's Harp" -- Beautiful, Beautiful "Eye Music", November 11, 2001

By A Customer

A co-worker of mine, a roly-poly joy and delight of a human being, on the cusp of retirement, urged me to read this book. My first thought was, "Oh, Potok...'The Chosen,' 'The Promise' -- required reading for high schoolers, maybe a little dry and boring...." I told her I was reading a big, fat book and it was going to take me ages to complete (I wasn't fibbing; that was the truth). She said, "Take it. I guarantee you, you'll love it. Read it, whenever...return it, whenever."

Thank you, dear kind (wise) lady. This was one of my favorite books of the 1980s (and I read about 500 books a decade) -- I will never forget how immersed I was in the story, to the point where I lost absolutely all sense of time and place. As soon as I finished "Davita," I sadly returned it to her, for this book is a keeper. At the end of that workday, I RAN and bought everything Potok had written up to that point. They were all wonderful, but "Davita" will always be my favorite, with "Chosen" and "Promise" both running a close second.

I read everything Potok wrote pre-1990, and strongly urge you to read this author. But start with "Davita."