I would perhaps not have been inspired to write a review of this brilliant book had I not read Rachel Grey's review... In general, other reviewers have said all the things I would want to say about "My Name is Asher Lev;" its exquisite writing, its heartbreaking and beautiful portrayal of a developing artist trying to reconcile his need to create with the demands of his family and his religious community - these are well covered. But Miss Grey's review moved me to respond.

Dear girl - how closely did you read this book? It does not take place in the present time; it was published in 1972, and is set somewhat earlier. Asher's family in no way represents mainstream Judaism, which I would think any careful reader - even one ignorant of Jewish culture and practice - would have understood. The Levs are Hasids, members of a small, conservative, fundamentalist segment of the Jewish world. In that respect, your identification with Asher's experience as similar to that of growing up in a fundamentalist Christian household is entirely appropriate.

Potok is not by any means suggesting that all Jews would be dismayed to find Picasso growing up in the back bedroom. He is portraying a very specific world, and through that world exploring the conflicts that an artist - one who is powerfully, passionately driven to realize his unique vision - may encounter with his family, his community, and even his own spiritual nature as a result of that need to create.

Please do read this book again, and please don't condemn Judaism or Jews - or even Hasids - for the behavior of Asher's family that you find distasteful. A work of art, a piece of literature, should not stand as a sweeping statement on an entire class of people, nor should a work of fiction be read as though it intends to make such a statement. In this case, at least, "My Name is Asher Lev" is a specific exploration of a microcosm inhabited by interesting, multi-dimensional, sometimes unsympathetic members of a minority sect. The general message to take from this book is not that Jews are intolerant of art and artists or communicate badly with their children, but the far more complex truths Potok investigates regarding the interplay of religion, family, and artistic vision.

MY NAME IS ASHER LEV is the most life-changing book I have ever read. I read it my first semester in a Christian college, and I had to lock myself in my room for 3 days after I finished it because it had so affected my life, I couldn't deal with anything else.

This book deals with art, fear, gifts from God, human condemnation, family relations and constraints, and reconciliation of creative gifts to God. It affected me deeply because I am a devoted Christian and have had to deal with the effects of religious (not necessarily Godly) opinions about creative gifts, and have had to weigh my gifts in the context of my religion.

Chaim Potok's writing is beautiful and evocative, and his story is intricate and important. MY NAME IS ASHER LEV deals delicately with issues of personal creativity vs. religion, and ends stunningly. If you have read Potok, this book should be the next on your list. If you haven't read Potok, this book is a wonderful one to begin with.

From the first page on you will be completely engrossed with the fictional auto-biography of Asher Lev. As we observe the unique life of Asher through his own eyes we continually find ourselves feeling his emotions, and relating to his thought processes. Chaim Potok delivers and incredible effort in which he captures the mind set, and view point of a growing boy to the last detail. Potok is able to make the reader grow with Asher through his unique and troubling life. As the young Jewish boy attempts to find a way to maintain his faith, as well as his artistic gift Potok shows us his every thought,and paints characters around him that are frighteningly real. Also, not only does Potok deliver a poetic, and emotionally satisfying novel, but one with an ever thickening plot that concludes in a creative, and thought provoking way. I highly recommend this novel especially to the mature teen age audience, as well as an adult audience that would enjoy reliving some of the curiosity, and emotions of their youth through the eyes of Asher Lev.

Although The Gift of Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok, was at times slightly confusing, it was a remarkably enjoyable book. A person who is interested in stories centered around family values and religion will enjoy this book. Asher Lev is a Ladover Jew living in Paris, with his wife, Devorah, and their two children, Rocheleh and Avrumel. He tells his life story from early childhood to the present. Asher recounts difficult times that he has endured, including the death of an uncle, and how he has relied on his wife and his painting to help him through these times. His love of painting inspired him to become an artist although his religious beliefs are against it. Through all of the hardships, Asher realized that his family would always support him. The Gift of Asher Lev sometimes seems confusing. At times, the reader is baffled because as soon as he begins to figure out who all of the characters are, more are brought into the story. After introducing his whole family, Asher begins to tell about all of his father’s friends. The new people, and their confusing names, make it difficult to follow the story line. Also, there are references made to outside bodies of knowledge, that the average reader may not know the meaning of. For example, Asher’s father said that Asher looked "so skinny and pale. Like Chagall" (97). Chagall was a character in another book in the Asher Lev series, not the artist, Mark Chagall. If one had not read other Chaim Potok books, this reference would have no meaning. Although the book was confusing, it was extremely enjoyable. The idea of strong family values played a significant role in the story. Asher’s passion for art and painting was looked down upon by his community. His ten year old daughter, Rocheleh, was the first person to defend him and his beliefs because she said that she "loved [her father] for who he was, not what he did for a living" (185). That quote summarizes this book perfectly because it exemplifies how tightly knit the Lev family really is. His family, as well as his painting, were gifts that he treasured.

Of all the Chaim Potok books I've read, (the last being about 8 years ago) this one has stayed with me the most, perhaps because it perplexed me at the time. Probably most people will prefer the first Asher Lev book, with its clearer narrative and dramatic plot. It covers the painful conflict between a traumatized community's survival and personal creativity so well it seems unnecessary to bring it up again. But to me it was merely the prequel for this second book.
Asher struggles to keep his son from being taken from him by the same Chasidic community that had banished him for his artistic intensity. I had the strange experience of being drawn into the books central conflict, only to reach the end realizing that a conclusion had been reached that I was entirely unaware of!
So I reread most of the book-- I had to go back very far to pick up the threads I missed-- and noticed an early scene in which the great Rebbe, standing from the balcony overlooking the Ladover community he leads, speaking about the key issue of who his successor shall be-- he has no children to follow him. He speaks in nonsense, something about Ones and Threes, and then explains that when a truth is difficult to bear, it is better to be pesented in riddles than more straightforwardly. So it was with this book, and for me it was one hell of a trick.
On the surface, nothing really happens. Asher mopes around Brooklyn and Paris broodingly, draws sketches of passing moments, talks to ghosts of Picasso and his own mentor, Jacob Kahn, and chooses the fate of himself and his son so subtly that it appears to be nothing at all. But it was frightening and wonderful when I finally got what he did: he gave his community the gift of Asher Lev. In the first book, 'the Gift' always referred to how his people saw his artistic talent, as a gift from God. But by the end of the second book, we see the gift he gives back to the community he has such intense love and bitterness for is something completely different.
Let me just add that I am a middle aged Jewish artist, about to go back to MY family from a 13 year exile abroad, and this book speaks very closely to my situation. ...

The sequel to My Name is Asher Lev is that rare achievement - better than the first. I re-read the book about once a year and each time long for the third, to know the path down which Asher Lev and his son Avrumel travel. This family and community is so affecting, I find it hard to accept they do not exist. Potok's writing is truly beautiful and each time I read his work I find more to digest.