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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.

I am not an artist. Nor am I a gifted person in any respect. But, for a few moments, I had a notion of what it could be like to be blessed and cursed with a talent so rare, and so special. This feeling occured when I read and delved into the world of Asher Lev."My Name is Asher Lev" is Chaim Potok's best novel. It is complete, subtle and passionate; devastating to its core. It tells the poignant and difficult story of Asher Lev, a New York-born religious Jew who finds the gift of painting within him early on, yet is isolated from his community due to the philosophy that Judaism, modern art, and Christianity are distinctly seperate worlds.In my favorite scene from the book, detailing the power of Potok's imagination, Asher Lev is a young boy, who looks at his mother one day and creates a rendition of her on paper. Because she is depressed at the time, and smoking, Potok has Lev use the leftover ash from her finished cigarettes as the drawing object; his mother is created in shades of gray. A story this original, this creative, and this imaginary deserves to be read. Potok, a rabbi, has done an excellent job in detailing a Jewish community in the United States, as well as conveying the relationship it holds with the Christian majority. Besides being a good read on art, the novel offers a fascinating glimpse into the tensions that separate two religious worlds."My Name Is Asher Lev" is a wonderful read and I recommended it to all.

While The Chosen is the more popular book, this book is just a little bit better. It brings up the tension between secular art and religion, spirituality ad culture, Judaism and Christianity, as well as fathers and sons who can't seem to communicate no matter how much they want to know each other. Asher Lev is an artist in a Chasidic community that does not encourage artwork amongst its members. While his father is completely perplexed, the rebbe (leader) has him train with an artist friend who is secular. As he develops as an artist he begins to feel more confident with his perspective no matter how much it bothers people around him. The book ends with him painting The Brooklyn Crucifixion which uses Christian symbolism to characterize the tension between him and his parents. Unlike The Chosen in which both fathers are ultimately understanding (even if they don't seem it), in Asher Lev, the father is perplexed. He wants to love and understand his son but he also spends much of his time yelling in confusion and befuddlement. It's almost like they both need the rebbe to be the understanding part of the father-son relationship.The character of the artist is also a great touch, because there are always people who are for the most part secular or assimilated but respect and admire Chasidic rabbis and rebbes (a particularly famous example is Rabbi Manis Friedman who attracts a diverse range of Jews and gentiles of various religious viewpoints to his lectures and is respected if not admired by all.)This is a much more complex novel than The Chosen and should be read by all fans of The Chosen.

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.

This book is not _The Chosen_, _The Promise_, _Book of Lights_ or any other Potok book. Completely different characters, different feel, different topics. Simply because a majority of the characters are Jewish doesn't mean that they're the same._My Name is Asher Lev_ is my favourite Potok book. It tackles some pretty serious issues, and the imagery evoked in this book is astounding. The descriptions of art, from modern to Renaissance work, is definitely from the tongue of an artist (most of the paintings by Asher described in the book were painted by Potok). But the same artistic tone is used when describing religion, families, sorrow, joy-the book is filled with the eye of the artist.It is one of the best books written about alienation, about finding one's centre, about following your heart even if it is breaking. _My Name is Asher Lev_ is a tremendous piece of literature. It is not for those unwilling to rethink religious "piety". It is not for those who have no desire to think about art and the sacred. It is not for people who do not understand what it -really- means to rebel. I can't even recommend this book to most reading groups-simply because the material is so personal.I've seen huge arguments about this book because of the intense feelings that some people get from the reading. At times, it seems that Potok has read your mind, saw your pain when you were growing up, understands exactly how your family can be at times. It tackles three great hot-button issues: art, religion, and family. And with some people, they are far too pained by other readers who just don't "get it". It's something to think about with a group reading-this book speaks, and it speaks loudly.The book may be intimidating to people unfamiliar with Hasidic culture-the rules, the communities, the spirituality. It is also a long and arduous read, simply because of the images and emotional content described. But it's worth every minute.