I Am the Clay [Library Binding]

Chaim Potok (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

Based on the author's own experiences in Korea, this is a story about three people brought together by chance in the midst of the horror of the Korean War.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Potok presents a wrenching tale about the trek of a Korean peasant couple and an orphaned boy across a war-blighted landscape.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

YA-- As an old peasant couple flee the devastation of their Korean village, which has been invaded by the Chinese and the North Koreans, they find a young boy dying in a ditch. The woman, who has lost her own child, is overcome by a ferocious need to save the child. The man's equally strong instinct is for self-preservation. The wife's will is stronger; the child joins them, and ultimately makes himself indispensable to their survival. The story recounts the wartime perils that the threesome encounter; the tension between the old man and the boy; their individual memories, fears, and dreams; and the eventual inevitable separation. The book contains subtle, unobtrusive symbolism for those who wish to puzzle over the meaning of the Christian hymn of the title, the nomadic nature of the journey, the namelessness of the peasants, the rescue of the boy by a Jewish chaplain, and the mysticism of the old villager. Most readers however, will experience the story as a simple and powerful narrative of survival of the human spirit.
- Jackie Gropman, Richard Byrd Library, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Bt Bound (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785728430
• ISBN-13: 978-0785728436
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,713,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Potok is the potter, July 15, 2004

By 

William A. Sowka Jr. (Woodstock , CT. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Am the Clay (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow. I just finished this book. I've read many of Chaim Potok books and have enjoyed each one so much that I keep picking up another one. He is such a great storyteller. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about this one. Most of his books center on Judaism and this one seemed so different than his other writings. I wondered how he would manage a different culture. However, what I have learned is that certain themes are universal to humanity. Heroism in the face of extreme conditions is a theme that certainly holds true in the Judaic experience and in this book on the Korean War experience. Heroism to me is the ability to remain human and loving even under the most stressful and dire of conditions. The heroism of the characters in this book is so moving and heart warming. It is classic Potok. He leaves you thinking about the characters and their future long after reading his books.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars review of Chaim Potok's "I am the Clay", May 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: I Am the Clay (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first started reading this book, I assumed that it would be boring, and redunant, and hard to understand. That all changed after I got into the book, and I found myself attached to the young eleven year old boy, who is orphaned by war. "I am the Clay" is an intimate and touching novel about the cruelties of the Korean war, and how it affected the little people, the citizens of Korea. I think that it should be read by all people to better understand a different point of view on the wars. I trust I will never forget the images of survival and suffering put into my head, and am confident that I have gained a better knowledge of war.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refugees acting as The Good Samaritan, May 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: I Am the Clay (Mass Market Paperback)

If you ever wondered how refugees find the strength -- emotion, physical, spiritual -- to live through wars and insurrections on their homeland -- this fictional book explores the true horrors of not knowing what tomorrow will bring. The characters are touching and realistic. Potok investigates the human soul to explore hate vs. love, cruelty vs. kindness, etc. Read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck as well.