My Name is Asher Lev
Our next book (for our October meeting) is My Name is Asher Lev (1972) by Chaim* Potok (I will post a little bio about him soon). I truly love this book. My reading experience with it last year was a captivating one where I did not want to put the book down and I am very excited to read it again with all of you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!A quick synopsis (without spoilers) is that it is a story about a Hasidic Jewish Boy in New York City who becomes an artist and has to decide how to be an artist and an observant Jew and if those things can actually co-exist in him.Here's how the book begins (in hopes that it will get you interested):
"My Name is Asher Lev, the Asher Lev, about whom you have read in newspapers and magazines, about whome you talk so much at your dinner affairs and cocktail parties, the notorious and legendary Lev of the Brooklyn Crucifixion.
I am an observant Jew. Yes, of course, observant Jews do not paint crucifixions. As a matter of fact, observant Jews do not paint at all-in the way that I am painting. So strong words are being written about me, myths are being generated: I am a traitor, an apostate, a self-hater, an inflicter of shame upon my family, my friends, my people; also I am a mocker of ideas sacred to Christians, a blasphemous manipulator of modes and forms revered by Gentiles for two thousand years.
Well, I am none of those things. And yet, in all honesty, I confess that my accusers are not altogether wrong: I am indeed, in some way, all of those things.
The fact is that gossip, rumors, mythmaking, and news stories are not appropriate vehicles for the communication of nuances of truth, those subtle tonalities that are often the truly crucial elements in a causal chain. So it is time for the defense, for a long session in demythology. But I will not apologize. It is absurd to apologize for a mystery."
Asher Lev was read on The Close Reads Podcast in 2022 (which is where I first encountered it). They all loved it and I very strongly recommend listening to their podcast if you'd like some commentary as you are reading. A few of them even said it was their favorite book of the year on their Year in Reading (2022) Episode. It also comes very highly recommended from a lot of my other literary sources, so I really hope you enjoy it!
Now, on to logistics. There is 367 pages of text so if you wanted to spread it out over the whole month that is about 13 pages a day. I would say it does end up being a "page turner" so with motivation you could read it in a week or two. Because it is a novel that is written beautifully (but not difficult), I think you will end up getting lost in it and just keep reading once you have momentum. But, as always, do whatever works for you!I do not think there is an audiobook for this one (so I apologize to your avid audiobook listeners!). I found someone reading it on YouTube, but honestly it was painful so I won't even share it. If anyone does find an audio version, please share in the thread!
*If you want to know how to pronounce Chaim and not get made fun of by your husband for pronouncing it like "chain" with an "m"...here's the Fiddler on the Roof song To Life (L'Chaim) and you can learn how to pronounce it correctly with meÂ
(I think we all know how this works, but some of these links may be affiliate links…at no cost to you it puts a few cents in my pocket to help offset the time and cost put into the work I do)