Rating: 
Summary: A very pleasurable reading experience
Review: These two very religious Jewish boys in the throes of adolescence at the "end" of WWII in America will win your heart, if not your soul. They have so much in common, and so much that tears them apart. Their relationships with their fathers, their relationships with each other, create heartwarming and challenging memories that are as relevant today as the day they were written. With deep insight into the challenges that Zionism created at its inception, it becomes far more easier to comprehend its continued complexities today. Highly recommended, beautifully written, a very pleasurable reading experience.
Rating: 
Summary: tHE cHoSEn
Review: The Chosen by Chiam Potok is a very deep novel with many subtle points being made and messages being sent just below the surface. Practices of Jewish and Gentile alike are challenged and the reasoning behind them is forced into the light.
Silence. Listen to the sound of complete and utter silence. It's cold, quiet, entirely devoid of life. Such is the relationship between Danny and his father, especially in the light of the warm relationship between Reuvan and Mr. Malter. The distance between Danny and is father is only closed during their debates over the Talmud. It's no mere coincidence that Reuvan is present at many of these occasions, as he is a means of breaking the silence.
These debates display the many ways which Danny's silence is broken. The competitive nature of the sessions provides Danny with a voice to speak his mind. Faith in his religion also helps him connect with his father like never before. This silence is later echoed in Danny and Reuvan's brief separation, but is ultimately conquered.
The concept of conformity and submission to authority is also heavily portrayed throughout the book. His family, both nuclear and the very memory of his ancestors, compel Danny into the rabbinate, but his heart leads him to the field of psychology. Conversely, Reuvan feels the urge to become a Rabbi while his father silently wishes him to enter the realm of mathematics. While Danny is very vocal about being highly pressured by the expectations of his parents and family tradition, Reuvan bears his burden of self-truth with quiet dignity and grace; however, it is a result of Reuvan's presence that inspires Danny to confront his family, and in essence Danny is "drawing" his strength from Reuvan.
In certain regard Danny can be seen as the "savior", or the "messiah" if you will. His family, his teachers, and his father's entire congregation look to him to take Reb Saunders' place and continue to teach and enlighten. He is seen as the all-knowing, the all wise, and the be-all and end-all of ethical and moral expertise. Reuvan in return is the unsung hero, the source of Danny's power. He is Danny's rock, his mountain in fact, without Reuvan Danny would be a mere seed unable to bloom. It is somewhat ironic that a good Hassidim like Danny would find his strength in an apikorsim like Reuvan.
Rating:
Summary: Great Novel
Review: This is an absorbing novel about two Jewish boys, Reuven (Bobby) and Daniel, taken place in NY in the late 1940s during the time of WWII.
The book is written from Bobby's view. It begins explaining that Bobby and Danny didn't know of each other for 15 years of their lives even though they lived within 5 blocks of each other. Daniel lived among Russian Hasidic Jews (black hats and coats, beards and earlocks). Bobby is a Modern Orthodox Jew with an intellectual, Zionist father.
The boys met during a ball game. They were enemies on opposing teams but grew to be best friends as close as David and Jonathan. Reuven was a pitcher and Daniel was the batter. Daniel hit a ball that landed in Bobby's face breaking his glasses and causing glass to go into his eye. He required surgery. The rest of the story is about their close friendship and problems because of their belief and family differences during high school and through the college years.
I was fascinated about the boys' education. First, by the amazing amount of time each boy spent with their father's studying Torah. Secondly, by the amount of time Torah was studied in their college years. On a typical day the boys studies Torah from 9am to 3pm then began academic studies at 3:15 pm to 6 or 7 pm. They certainly put God's Word as a priority!
The end of the story had me in tears and anxious to purchase another book by Chaim Potok.
Rating:
Summary: An all time classic...
Review: As a teacher, I use this book to teach 8th graders about history. Of course, it's lessons go so very deep. Fathers, sons, traditions, expectations, choices, responsibility to name so very few. Told against the backdrop of the the end of second World War and the founding of Israel, the story is timeless. Although it certainly doesn't hurt to be well versed in Jewish history, this book is about applicable to all young people (and the not so young). A beautiful tale of coming of age and learning.
Rating: 
Summary: The Chosen, Awesome read.
Review: I first received this book a couple weeks ago from my English 2 Preap teacher, since I'm a 10th grader, I didn't think much of it. When I started reading the story, it caught my eye about the friendship that was built around two complete opposites of "the world" per say. Then I became slightly confused with the story, not sure what it was trying to tell me, and I went in search of answers to my question. "What was this book truely about?" I found it out while talking with other students and teachers that had read the book and all found it interesting. Only one source truely helped me and I found inspiration in the story, though many still ask me what it was. Heh...I can't truely say what the moral of the story conveys, I believe you can only understand when you read it for yourself. It is worth it, definietly.
Rating:
Summary: It deserves its designation as a classic
Review: I hadn't touched a copy of this book in thirty years, but I remember it with great fondness. And when I saw a stage production of this novel with Theodore Bikel as Reb Saunders, I felt I had to pick up a copy and reread it. This is the story of two boys growing up within the same religion, but with vastly different backgrounds, in a world that has become part of history, but which has not faded from the minds of men. Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders are, each in their own way, trying to become active members of the post-Holocaust world they find themselves in. Reuven has an easier time of it because of his father's opinions on the course world Jewry must take; Danny has a much more difficult time, because of his father's opinions on that same subject. Danny is also hampered because of his father's expectations for him, while Reuven's father is more accepting of his son's intentions. Potok takes these basic points and fashions a powerful story that comes along only once in a lifetime. In this case, twice in a lifetime - because its sequel, "The Promise", is every bit as good as "The Chosen".
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