I read both books The Chosen and the sequel, The Promise, when I was a teenager and thought they were great books. Reuven and Danny, coming of age, exploring the world of Judaism, etc. etc. Now I am re-reading them and a couple of things have jumped out at me that did not before.
Reuven, the main character is an Orthodox Jew, but his friend Danny is Hasidic. The Hasidics are very conservative and in the post WWII are anti-Zionist (against forming the nation of Israel). It brings up a dilemma that the author does not address. From reading the book, I gather that from a strictly religious point of view, the forming of Israel is an affront to God. Reuven's father even says heatedly-
\"Some Jews say we should wait for God to send the Messiah. We cannot wait for God! We must make our own Messiah!\" and \"We have suffered enough! How long must we wait for the Messiah!\"
That statement, for me, represents a few things. Lack of faith is one thing, and the skewed view of waiting for a Messiah that has already come. I guess it is easy to accept that the Jewish religion is kind of like an older brother to Christians, but from our point of view is must be a dead end. Weird.
Another thing I noticed is that Reuven is a hate filled character. (Reuven is the PROtagonist). He hates Danny's father for the way he raises Danny, he hates the anti-Zionists, and he hates his ultra-religious professors. Anger and hate seem to define him at times. Strange I never noticed this before.
In the book The Promise, a character named Abraham Gordon is introduced. Gordon is a professor, author, and practicing Jew that DOES NOT believe in God. He practices because he loves the traditions, but finds God a \"primitive concept\". Reuven, reads his books and \"likes his questions, but not the answers\". I guess that is good, since Reuven wants to be a Rabbi.
I guess my point is that I have had a perspective switch on the books, an epiphany if you will. I now wonder at the author's own faith and what message he is sending, while Reuven and his father are portrayed as very religious Jews, their actions speak louder than their words (and other actions).
I find this time reading, I don't like Reuven very much.
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