Customer Reviews
A continuation of a masterpiece. 
2008-09-15
Chaim Potok creates such heart-warming stories...as evident in his earlier work The Chosen...that grab the reader in such a way that you almost become a character in them. Yet, calling his work engaging is a bit of an understatement. The two friends are back in the sequel to Chosen...one is studying psychology and the other is beginning life as a rabbi. Reuvan is the main focus of the story with his entry into the teachings of Judaism and his struggles are apparent early on as his teacher, a fundamentalist, urges the young student in a similar direction. But the story is so much deeper than that. The choices of morality and the dramatic effects it has on the growth of humanity are done in a way that I am literally at a loss of words. This is truly one book that lives up to and expands upon its predecessor.
Theological Food for Thought 2008-08-03
I love reading Potok's books for a variety of reasons, the least of which is that I always learn a tremendous amount about Judaism. I also like reading him from a Christian perspective and often wonder what he would make of messianic Jews (the Jews for Jesus folks). The Promise left me with many thoughts, not the least of which was what was the promise? Potok's struggle to reconcile the various approaches to Judaism in 20th century America is insightful and refreshing. And it's not limited to Judaism. I think there is much to be gleaned here that is applicable to us even within mainstream Christian denominations.
In a lot of ways the Michael character represents the end result of what happened to the Jews in the 20th century. He finally blows up in anger at his parents for belonging to a religion where they are open to attacks, anti-Semitism, and victimization. In his final breakdown he screams that he hates religion because of what it does to people. Michael's rage and mental illness are symbolic of not only what did happen to the Jews in the 20th century, but what happened when Jews could not accept the events of the holocaust and choose to walk away from the idea of God. I think it is also symbolic of what happens when there is legalism and instead of love (but that's my Christian bias). Michael's father ethnically and religiously identifies as a Jew, but asserts there is no God. Likewise, many Jews walked away from their faith, away from the idea of a God who created the universe (like Abraham Gordon) because of what Hitler did to the Jews in World War II. They could no longer comprehend that a loving God would allow that kind of suffering. Of course, they also don't accept Christ's ultimate suffering on the cross either.
The movement from Orthodox to reformed Jew is played out in Abraham Gordon's character. Reuven and his father are also a part of this movement in a small way. They reformed the way the Talmud is studied, which became an instant threat to the Orthodox way of studying. I also enjoyed the way Potok paralleled what was happening with the Jewish community with what was happening in the American secular political world with his references to McCarthyism. That the sort of rigid witch hunting legalism that forbade the yeshiva students from even studying in the Jewish theological seminary is and was a rampant human universal even outside of the Jewish community. Reuven's own struggle to maintain his theology and identity as a yeshiva student is all too poignant.
I like the way Potok ends his theological debate with Danny's and Rachel's marriage. The beauty of Rachel and Danny's relationship points to the evolution of marrying (literally) old traditions to new ideas. Of course, the success of that remains to be seen, but the continued mixing of old and new traditions within 21st century Judaism is one of Potok's main points throughout the novel. All in all I loved it, and feel the better for having read it.
Loyal friendship 2007-12-31
The Promise, sequel to The Chosen, finds Danny and Reuven now just in their early twenties and approaching the end of their studies. The battle between Orthodox and Reformed beliefs continues along with its consequential effect on Danny and Reuven, and now coming into the arena in addition to Reuven's teachers is Abraham Gordon, the uncle of Reuven's girlfriend Rachel. Then Danny and Reuven have an additional problem to contend with: Abraham Gordon's emotionally disturbed fourteen year old son Michael; the two boys become deeply involved, Danny in his role as a student psychologist and Reuven as Michael's new friend.
As in The Promise there are plenty of discussions centred around the Talmud, but they are so well explained and presented that they are of interest even for someone who has little or no knowledge of such. But the real beauty of the story is the relationship between the characters. The two boys are remarkable individuals who by their modest and respectful attitude along with their devotion to their faith seem to endear them to all whom they meet. Danny and Reuven remain best friends and show complete trust in each other; Reuven's active concern for Michael is very touching; and Reuven's relationship with his father, the love and respect he has for him, is a joy to behold.
The Promise is a remarkable book, a fitting conclusion to the fascinating story which started in The Chosen. Extremely well written, it is an enjoyable, thought provoking and heart warming tale which I highly recommend.
Mature and very well done 2006-11-05
Very good mature sequell to Choosen. Chaim Potok at his best
Excellent Reading and Sequal 2006-08-07
This book, as well as "The Chosen", which was almost like an intro to it, were two of the best books I have ever read. While I found one of Potok's other books, "My Name is Asher Lev" thought provoking, yet quite disturbing, "The Promise" was still thought provoking, yet deeper, more complex, and not so disturbing. So for everyone who has read "The Chosen" and enjoyed it, they are bound to enjoy this book, which picks up with Reuvan Malter still in school studying to be a rabbi and his best friend Danny Saunders, almost a psychologist now who is about to embark on a very difficult case. Enjoy!
One of the Best 2006-06-09
Reuven Malter lives in Brooklyn, he’s in love, and he’s studying to be a rabbi. He also keeps challenging the strict interpretations of his teachers, and if he keeps it up, his dream of becoming a rabbi may die.
One day, worried about a disturbed, unhappy boy named Michael, Reuven takes him sailing and cloud-watching. Reuven also introduces him to an old friend, Danny Saunders–now a psychologist with a growing reputation. Reconnected by their shared concern for Michael, Reuven and Danny each learns what it is to take on life–whether sacred truths or a troubled child–according to his own lights, not just established authority.
In a passionate, energetic narrative,
The Promise brilliantly dramatizes what it is to master and use knowledge to make one’s own way in the world
Powerful and Moving 2006-05-18
Written in the late 60's, The Promise is a literary masterpiece; fueled by an acute sense of humanity. Chaim Potok's stream-of-conscious prose and life-like characters make for a wonderful reading experience. The story picks up several years after The Chosen ended,(which The Promise is the sequel to, although it can stand alone) and is narrated by Reuven Malter, a student in Hirsch Seminary, a Orthodox Jewish school.
The story is best described as a year inside the life of a young Jewish man's life in Brooklyn-full of his happiness's, agonies, loves, and depressions-but that is not to say that it has no climax, that would be like saying there are never climaxes in real life-because what is a baby born, a rise from black despair into comfort and joy?
One day, worried by a young a disturbed, unhappy boy named Michael. Reuven takes him sailing on the lake next to their summer cottages, and introduces him to an old friend named Danny Saunders-a psychologist rapidly excelling in his field. In passionate prose, The Promise brilliantly shows what it is to take on the world, to not conform to established authority as Reuven challenges the interpretation of his strictest teacher, endangering his chance to one day become a rabbi. It shows the stressful burden taking great risks are when you are dealing with a human soul, as Danny realizes he must do in order to cure Michael, who repeatedly resists therapy.
The story that follows is one of the most gripping, powerful I've ever read. You could not do wrong to read this book.
What Came Next After The Chosen 2005-10-21
Reuven and Danny have aged several years since the closing of Potok's novel The Chosen. Each has moved on into life and each faces challenges in their individual quests to succeed at their selected fields of endeavor. Reuven is in training to become an Orthodox rabbi, but his slightly modern ideas clash with those of an inflexibly traditional instructor, a man some see as sadistic, and whose past has featured an incredible odyssey of escape from Nazi Germany thru the Soviet Union and finally to China and America. The man, surely a genius but scarred by life and hard to the core, sees the only path to preserving Judaism after the Holocaust is to permit no alterations whatsoever to its practice, and he feels Reuven to be a threat to his ideals.
Danny on the other hand, the brilliant young Talmudic scholar who abdicated from his birthright of succeeding his father as leader of an entire Chasidic community, has risen far in the practice of psychiatry, and he seeks to cure a disturbed young man by employing a risky, perhaps cruel technique once used on him by his own father, the "therapy of silence" whereby the patient is cared for but not spoken to or acknowledged in any way at any time by anyone. He hopes this isolation will bring the young man out of his catatonic state by forcing him to reach out for the help available in the outer world.
The Promise is every bit an equal to The Chosen, but the setting is more modern and less about conflicts within Judaism as it is simply about the lives of the Jewish characters we met in the earlier novel. Some of the new characters here are as good as those of the previous novel, and the ultimate sense of reconciliation and triumph at the conclusion of The Promise is nothing less than a cause for triumphant celebration for those of us who have traced the journeys of Danny and Reuven to break free in their lives.
A Worthy Sequel 2005-10-19
This is an excellent book that continues where "The Chosen" left off. If you are wondering what happened to all those wonderful characters you met in the first novel, they are all here in the sequel. I loved how the plot interweaved and eventually brought all the characters together in (at least for me!) a riveting page turner for the last one third of the novel. I always read "The Chosen" and "The Promise" back to back and would urge readers to do the same. Potok is an amazing storyteller!!!! :):)Wish there had been a 3rd book in this series!!
Excellent sequel - great read 2005-09-05
The Promise is the sequel to The Chosen. Both are excellent books - the plot moves quickly, the characters are great, and the story is riveting. I really appreciate the keen insights into orthodox Judaism that Potok reveals in these books. I highly recommend this book and "The Chosen" to all readers.
