Rating: 
Summary: A promise in more ways than one
Review: With "The Promise", Chaim Potok continues the explorations of growing up Jewish in 1950's Brooklyn that he began in "The Chosen".While this book brings more of the secular world into its plotline than its prequel, it does so in a way that is completely logical and understandable. As the country entered the 1950's, the religious and secular worlds started to undergo a change and a blending the like of which had never been seen before, and probably will never be seen again. This process is seen in microcosm as Potok continues his story of Reuven Malter, now studying to become a rabbi, and his best friend Danny Saunders, the Hasid turned psychology student. The most interesting thing about this story to my mind is that the roles of the two main characters are, to some extent, reversed. In "The Chosen", Danny was the religious one - rebellious in his own way, but still religious; and Reuven was the more worldly one. Here, Reuven is moving into the religious world, and Danny is becoming more and more secular - so much so, in fact, that he becomes engaged to and eventually marries a woman he falls in love with, rather than the arranged marriage that his family would have set up for him. The secondary plots of Danny's prospective cousin-in-law and his emotional problems, and Reuven's conflict and bonding with his Talmud instructor, are also interesting, but it is still the interplay between Danny, Reuven, and their fathers that is the reason to buy this book. Even if you're not Jewish, this story will speak to you.
Rating:
Summary: A promise in more ways than one
Review: With "The Promise", Chaim Potok continues the explorations of growing up Jewish in 1950's Brooklyn that he began in "The Chosen". While this book brings more of the secular world into its plotline than its prequel, it does so in a way that is completely logical and understandable. As the country entered the 1950's, the religious and secular worlds started to undergo a change and a blending the like of which had never been seen before, and probably will never be seen again. This process is seen in microcosm as Potok continues his story of Reuven Malter, now studying to become a rabbi, and his best friend Danny Saunders, the Hasid turned psychology student. The most interesting thing about this story to my mind is that the roles of the two main characters are, to some extent, reversed. In "The Chosen", Danny was the religious one - rebellious in his own way, but still religious; and Reuven was the more worldly one. Here, Reuven is moving into the religious world, and Danny is becoming more and more secular - so much so, in fact, that he becomes engaged to and eventually marries a woman he falls in love with, rather than the arranged marriage that his family would have set up for him. The secondary plots of Danny's prospective cousin-in-law and his emotional problems, and Reuven's conflict and bonding with his Talmud instructor, are also interesting, but it is still the interplay between Danny, Reuven, and their fathers that is the reason to buy this book. Even if you're not Jewish, this story will speak to you.
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