Asher Lev Wrap Up

As some of our meetings have passed I wanted to send out some final thoughts on Asher Lev before introducing our November book. I hope those of you who have already met had lovely meetings full of thought provoking discussion on beauty, truth, and goodness (and if Asher Lev lives up to those ideals). If anyone had deep thoughts that they want to write about at length, please let me know because I would for this to be a place where other group members can share thought provoking pieces about books we are reading (or have read in the past). Now onto business…

Final Thoughts on My Name is Asher Lev

• Is the novel a work of art (as literature) or does it fail because of the (arguable false) views of art expressed by Jacob and Asher?

• Should we view Asher at the end of the book as correct in his views on art (and his actions in painting and displaying the crucifixions)?

• In light of Potok’s view of the world and Jewish mysticism’s ideas of good and evil being two sides of the same force…should (or can) we have hope that he will bring that balance in his work?

• The three father figures in the novel (Aryeh, Jacob Kahn, and the Rebbe) seem to me to be representations of the two sides of Jewish Religion and Art (with the Rebbe as the balance)…could we also attribute goodness, beauty, and truth to them as well?

• Can good art be created outside of a Catholic worldview?

• Thoughts on Anna?

• Repetition of the word and ideas of remembering and memory in art…

*I do not have concrete answers to these questions, but these are questions that the novel has me wrestling with as I finished and discussed and am pondering further

Art in the final pages of Asher Lev

The Florentine Pieta (that Asher sees in the Duomo)

The David (view full pictures in the link)

Chaim Potok’s Brooklyn Crucifixion

And interesting article on The School of Paris (that Jacob Kahn was a part of before World War II)

Chaim Potok’s Other Books

The Gift of Asher Lev

This is the sequel to My Name is Asher Lev and I have not personally read it yet, but I’ve heard wonderful things (though, as always, it is apparently not quite as good as the first).

The Chosen

Potok’s first novel that also got turned into a movie. A friend of mine has personally recommended this book many times and I plan to read it soon!

He also has a lot of other books, but those are the two I am planning on reading next!

Some Other Literary Musings on the Internet

• Story Club with George Saunders
  George Saunders Recently started a Substack on story writing based on his work in A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (September 2023). In this Substack he is expanding from only Russian short stories into others as well. If anyone enjoyed how he taught writing (and reading as well), you may very much enjoy this!

• How to Read Dickens by Karen Swallow Prior (from Plough Magazine)
  Because we read Our Mutual Friend (April 2023) and A Tale of Two Cities (January 2021) and I know we have some Dickens lovers and some Dickens skeptics (or as I like to say, future Dickens lovers) in the group, I wanted to share this lovely take on how to read Dickens that I read on the internet this morning.

• Chesterton on Impressionism (thank you Jess Risma!)
  Jess shared this essay about Impressionism, what came before and after it, and what G.K. Chesterton said about it all. It was a very thought provoking read and helped me think about Art a little bit more in the wake of finishing My Name is Asher Lev (October 2023)