The Chosen | 
| Author: Chaim Potok
Publisher: Fawcett
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $1.00
You Save: $6.99 (87%)
New (48) Used (132) Collectible (19) from $1.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  307 reviews
Sales Rank: 1671
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 1
ISBN: 0449213447
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780449213445
ASIN: 0449213447
Publication Date: April 12, 1987
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Few stories offer more warmth, wisdom, or generosity than this tale of two boys, their fathers, their friendship, and the chaotic times in which they live. Though on the surface it explores religious faith--the intellectually committed as well as the passionately observant--the struggles addressed in The Chosen are familiar to families of all faiths and in all nations. In 1940s Brooklyn, New York, an accident throws Reuven Malther and Danny Saunders together. Despite their differences (Reuven is a Modern Orthodox Jew with an intellectual, Zionist father; Danny is the brilliant son and rightful heir to a Hasidic rebbe), the young men form a deep, if unlikely, friendship. Together they negotiate adolescence, family conflicts, the crisis of faith engendered when Holocaust stories begin to emerge in the U.S., loss, love, and the journey to adulthood. The intellectual and spiritual clashes between fathers, between each son and his own father, and between the two young men, provide a unique backdrop for this exploration of fathers, sons, faith, loyalty, and, ultimately, the power of love. (This is not a conventional children's book, although it will move any wise child age 12 or older, and often appears on summer reading lists for high school students.)
Product Description
"Anyone who finds it is finding a jewel. Its themes are profound and universal."
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
It is the now-classic story of two fathers and two sons and the pressures on all of them to pursue the religion they share in the way that is best suited to each. And as the boys grow into young men, they discover in the other a lost spiritual brother, and a link to an unexplored world that neither had ever considered before. In effect, they exchange places, and find the peace that neither will ever retreat from again....
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| Customer Reviews: Read 302 more reviews...
 Worth reading - insightful June 27, 2008
I really liked the historical aspect of the book. Though a work of fiction, it helped me to understand many ideas among the Jewish followers. A little too slow at times for my tastes (particularly the Talmud discussions). A certain amount was necessary to comprehend the background and situation but it went a bit overboard for me.
Overall I thought this was worth the time invested in reading it and I feel like a gained new insight into the Jewish faith and relationships in general.
Growing up in NYC June 25, 2008
The chronological lives of Danny Saunders (Hasidic) and Dave Melter (Orthodox) as they graduate high school and then college in Brooklyn. We meet the boys' passionate families, watch their ardent study of Talmud, and perceive the clash between their beliefs and expectations as their steadfast friendship supports them through the late teen years. A peephole into the state of world affairs around 1945 that helps to explain the history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine today.
The Chosen:Understanding June 9, 2008
in reading "The Chosen" i was very pleased with the book. The plot was very touching as we saw the boys (Danny and Reuven) grow from the grounds of a baseball field to the advanced college campus. Their friendship was very strong and was normally able to overcome most obstacles...except for the silence that Danny and Reb Saunders had between them. Mr. Malter brought Rueven up in talking, so Rueven began to hate the silence simply because he couldn't understand it. i believe that that applies to much of life. If we don't understand something completely, we tend to write it off as bad, hard, or tend to hate it. i would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a good book for any occasion.
The Chosen: Danny and Reuven's Interwoven Journey June 9, 2008
The Chosen is a capturing story of two boys as they grow and mature throughout their friendship and into adulthood. Reuven Malter is a secular Jew while Danny Saunders is a Hasid. The two are naturally opposed by their religion and unleash their anger toward each other in what is no ordinary baseball game. When Reuven is hit in the eye by a powerful ball hit by Danny, Reuven is rushed to the emergency room. It is while Reuven is recovering from the accident in the hospital that he and Danny official meet and begin their interwoven journey.
Danny and Reuven soon realize that they are opposites from one another. Reuven wishes to become a rabbi after graduating from college, while his father hopes for him to become a mathematician. Contrastingly, Danny dreams of being a psychologist even though he is the rightful heir to becoming a Hasidic rabbi. They are also raised by fathers who have contrasting methods of bringing up their sons. Still, it is through these family difficulties, the devastating tolls of the Holocaust, conflicting religion, and Danny's own secret from his father, that create the powerful and unique bond between the two boys. Join them as they teach each other lessons they could not have learned anywhere else and grow into the young adults they strived to be.
"The Chosen", review June 9, 2008
"The Chosen", by Chaim Potok, is a narrative about two Jewish boys, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders, who are from different Jewish sects. The novel is all about their friendship and about them growing up together and the troubles they face due to their different religious interpretation. The boys are raised in different styles Reuven is raised in a regular manner, while Danny's father raises him in silence. Silence is a recurring, mysterious theme of the novel and the way they are raised greatly affects what they become in life. Silence is Danny's father Reb's way of raising Danny so that he will become a good rabbi by learning the ability to figure things out independently. Unfortunately, silence also separates Reuven and Danny when Reuven's father stresses the need to form a Jewish state. He supports "Zionism" while Danny's father does not and this causes Reb to forcibly separate the two boys.
In the novel Potok uses silence as a literary device that gives the text depth and mystery. The style of Potok's writing is sometimes very mysterious and, for me at least, confusing. The steady moving story shows the ways friendship can mature and change through different uncontrollable factors. It also gives insight into the different beliefs about raising children. I would recommend this book for someone who is prepared to think on a deeper level about the things of life, about differences, and about what can unite us.
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