A part of The Thomas Jefferson Education book that I read earlier this summer talked about the reading of classics.  In studying the lists that they recommended, I realized that there were many of the classics I really haven't read myself.  So, it has been my goal to read some of these.

The first one recommended was The Chosen by Chaim Potok.  I can't believe I haven't seen or heard of this book before this.  It was an excellent book!  Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders are two Jewish boys growing up in Brooklyn- one the son of a Hassidic Rabbi and one the son of a Zionist.  They become good friends in an unexpected way and journey through adolescence and into college together.  They face the ending of World War 2, news of the concentration camps and Jewish persecutions, and the beginning of a Zionist state.

This book dealt with some deep themes- relationships between fathers and sons, cultural disputes among the Jewish people, discovering yourself and you own beliefs and reconciling that with what you've heard all your life.  I learned some interesting things about Jewish culture and the history of the Jewish people that make me want to read more from a historical perspective.

I definitely would recommend this one!

To see my To Be Read list, read here.
To see my list of books I've read this year, read here.

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