About The Chosen

"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."

~ Editorial Review from Amazon.com

Praise for The Chosen

"Anyone who finds it is finding a jewel.  Its themes are profound and universal...We are much moved by The Chosen.  It will stay on our bookshelves and be read again."

~ The Wall Street Journal

"We rejoice, and even weep a little...While Reuven talks we listen because of the story he has to tell, and long afterward it remains in the mind and delights."

~ The New York Times Book Review

"It makes you want to buttonhole strangers in the street to be certain they know it's around...It revives my sometimes fading belief in humanity.  Works of this caliber should be occasion for singing in the streets and shouting from the rooftops."

~ Chicago Tribune

"So entertaining, so full of love and compassion that readers of all persuasions will take it to their hearts.  Mr. Potok is writing about two fathers and their sons...in a way that will ring just as true in Iowa as in Brooklyn."

~ Publisher's Weekly

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Last updated 05/02/2005