A Book that spawns Zombies and Fangirls and More | Book Review

Some books have a ‘character’ that draws their readers in, making it impossible for the reader to put the book down. These books classify as one of the leading causes of many problems in our world today: zombies, (aka people who have not gotten enough sleep), and Fangirls are a few valid examples. “The Chosen”, by Chaim Potok fits under that category. Why? I will share my Theory — and you should trust me because I am not an expert. “The Chosen” takes place during the best era ever: WWII, this book also shows how people from many different branches (or sects) of an overarching religion do (almost) freely mingle, and to top it off, this book proves that people from these sects not only mingle, they can be as close as family.

Now, let us start with the first layer: why ever would anyone call WWII the best era ever, when WWII was practically the worst war we have ever faced? Well just think, the Heroes from WWII were not strong buff men in capes, they were the ordinary people who decided to do good and save the world in the little ways they could. Not only were these people ordinary, they had deeply detailed characters. Imagine your great grandmother's dowry chest, that is the character of these heroes. Detailed, but often quite simple. When we hear WWII stories about how people did not just fend for themselves, they worked together to save others, fight the enemy, and even survive. We can see these characteristics everywhere in “The Chosen”, take, for example, the time when Reb Saunders and his family took Reuven in while his father languished in a hospital.

By now you either think I am crazy, or I am lying. Reb Saunders, a Hasidic Rabbi, and Reuven and his father, Orthodox Jews, should not get along! Well let us take a different perspective. I am a Baptist Christian, that does not mean I will not befriend Catholics, or Protestants, or Methodists. It is not possible to agree on every topic ever with anyone, life does not work that way. The Saunder family knew that Reuven had different beliefs, but they did not ostracize him, and they did not try to change his beliefs either. In fact, Reb Saunders, the Hasidic Tzadik himself, trusted that when hanging out with Reuven, his son Danny would not be led astray.

Not only did The Saunders house Reuven and trust Reuven, Reuven became almost a part of the family. Danny told Reuven everything on his mind, and Reb Saunders asked Reuven to play mediator between him and Danny. When Reuven’s father’s actions could not be ignored, and the Saunder family had to take Reuven out of their life, they quickly took him back in as soon as the trouble died down. Reuven was not completely happy to regain his friendship with Reb Saunders, in fact, he decided he hated Reb Saunders, but he listened to Reb Saunder’s call anyway, he was the only one other than Danny to hear Reb Saunder’s reason for his strange way of raising his son.

Now, I would not call “The Chosen” my favorite book ever, in fact, I could never even choose my favorite book, but “The Chosen” is definitely ranked somewhere in the top 100, and let me tell you, I have read ALOT of books. So yes, I guess I could be considered an expert.