Customer Reviews

I Am the Clay

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

An old Korean couple flees their village as invaders come from the north. Potok knows the glory and seaminess of human nature, and he gives it to us in his spare prose. These are scenes we know: the tension between a childless couple: "Woman, you are a roaring in my ears." Superstitious beliefs, exposed when the old woman saves a dying child who later saves them. Exploitation: in the refugee camp and later in the old couple's village, the old man is out for himself and yet has a certain affection for his woman. She is captured from time to time humming the tune, "Have thine own way, Lord, Have thine own way." She represents the glory possible when the clay submits to the potter.

As the Chinese invade South Korea from the North and the civilian population evacuates ahead of the advancing forces, I Am the Clay follows one elderly couple. This childless couple stumbles across a wounded and unconscious eleven year old boy in a ditch, and much to the old man's disapproval the old woman takes the boy along with them. The story follows their harrowing escape from the invaders and the hardships and horrors of their journey, including the often at best indifferent treatment at the hands of their own defending soldiers.

It is a very moving story told in a unique prose style which keeps the reader on his toes as the thoughts of the three characters are often interwoven in the same sentences. It is very much narrative drive, with minimal dialogue certainly until towards the end, and even then there is not a lot; but through the narrative we learn the thinking and motives of the characters. The old woman, caring and very much taken with the boy; the old man torn between his fear of what the boy will cost them and the good fortune he seems to bring them; and the boy, dependant, trusting yet intelligent and resourceful, a boy with integrity. It is also through the thoughts and dreams of the characters that we learn much of their individual and very different backgrounds.

A compelling and beautifully told story, very different in style from some of Chaim Potok's novels, with three very different yet appealing characters, even the seemingly bitter old man has his redeeming points. The horror and futility of war inevitably come across, indirectly for there is no propaganda here, no hidden agenda. My only reservation is that the conclusion seems somewhat abrupt; and I would really like to know the eventual prospects for the young boy especially. It is a very good story, but perhaps not quite as good as The Chosen and its sequel, or the Asher Lev books.

'I am the Clay' is a refreshing change to Potok's readers from an intimate view of Jewish family life to an intimate portrayal of innocent people caught in war.

Set in South Korea during the Korean war of the mid 1950's, I am the Clay is centered around the journey of two elderly South Korean peasants as they struggle to save a young orphaned boy they found in a ditch, and travel north (a poor choice during the war).

The book, as with most of Chaim Potok's, is very well-written and detailed.

However, I am the Clay lacks the intimacy od Potok's other celebrated works due to the fact that Potok, despite having served for two years as a Chaplain in South Korea and Japan, is largely ignorant about Korean culture. I am the Clay has two peasants who believe animals to be spirits, and a little boy to be a magical charm. Although the characters are intended to be simple-minded, it is not a part of Korean culture to believe animals to be spirits, and human beings are not regarded as lucky charms.

for this, I am the clay is certianly one of Chaim Potok's less imporessive novels. However, he does deserve three stars for experimenting with themes outside of Orthodox Judaism.

Book Review

I felt that I am the Clay by Chaim Potok, is a very emotional story that also puts emphasis on the relationships the characters develop. These relationships help the reader to understand the way people treated one another and what is important to their Asian culture. This book also gives you a feel of what it would be like to live during the war and how hard it must have been to pack only the necessities and leave your home. Not only did they have to worry about their survival but also what condition the house would be in if they returned. Would they have to build a new life from scratch for themselves and how many of they're neighbors and friends made it through this horrible ordeal? These are the questions they had to ask themselves everyday while they suffered from the cold and hunger. Chaim Potok really gives a descriptive view of the life they led and the hardships they had to succumb in order to survive.

What I found very odd about how Chaim Potok wrote the book was how he named Kim Sin Gyu, but only referred to the couple that took care of him as the "old man and woman." I would like to know his reason for doing this and how it enhanced the book. Another style of his I picked up on was how he tended to have a lot of long sentences when the boy spoke and how he tended to ramble on a bit about things that is not completely relevant. So I would recommend this book for those who have some past knowledge in history and war, or it may be a little hard to follow. However the author's vivid description of their hardships and struggles really made the book come to life.

The title "I am the Clay" is taken from a Christian hymn that eventually serves as a theme throughout the progress of the novel. This short novel, reminiscent of a fable, focuses on the lives of three characters as they intersect and conflict during the Korean War. More famously known for his works in regards to Judaism, it is unique to have Potok's perspective on another culture; but unsurprisingly his writing is still shaped by tradition and the influence of the generations who came before.

"I am the Clay" is the story of an old man and woman in flight from their village which is under attack. Along the way, they discover an unconscious and wounded eleven-year-old boy in a ditch along the road. The old couple, childless, is at odds as to what to do. The old man wants to leave the boy - why waste their energy and food on someone who is a stranger to them? But the woman wants to take the boy with them, and her stubborness wins out. Then follows the long trek these three refugees make through the south from shanty town to refugee camp, and finally back to their village when the war ends.

Potok's book is a quick read, filled with a lyrical writing style that brings his vivid descriptions to life before the readers' eyes. At times the narrative can be confusing, since Potok interweaves all three perspectives with little indication between the shifts in narration. The suffering and ultimate redemption that these three characters face is powerfully told and universal in nature as destiny unfolds around them.

This is a riveting, well-paced book. It is a terrific study of human behavior, especially in the concern for another in need under dire circumstances. It is also an excellent portrayal of what occured behind the headlines in horror of the Korean War as the South was being overrun by the Chinese. Reading this story stimulated many emotional feelings, i.e. compassion, love, sadness, disgust. I hope Chaim Potok writes a sequel. I want to know happens to the central figure of the story as he goes on with his life.

I think the overall meaning and story behind I Am the Clay is a powerful one and that this book should be taught within Jr. High or High School. With that said, I had the hardest time reading this book. Potok's writing style is one that helps my brain wander while I'm reading, and I often had to go back and re-read sections. The beginning of the book is the densest with narrative description that's often told in 2 different perspectives and later in 3. I really became interested in the characters about mid-way through the book.

I Am the Clay will give any person who hasn't been affected by war in their homeland a glimpse of what life can be like. This was set during the Korean war, which was not that long ago, so I think we can imagine what it may be like today as well. No matter where you live.