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Asher Lev is a Ladover Hasid who keeps kosher, prays three times a day and believes in the Ribbono Shel Olom, the Master of the Universe. Asher Lev is an artist who is compulsively driven to render the world he sees and feels even when it leads him to blasphemy. In this stirring and often visionary novel, Chaim Potok traces Asher’s passage between these two identities, the one consecrated to God, the other subject only to the imagination. Asher Lev grows up in a cloistered Hasidic community in postwar Brooklyn, a world suffused by ritual and revolving around a charismatic Rebbe. But in time his gift threatens to estrange him from that world and the parents he adores.
I think this book is one of those that either you'll be thoroughly be fascinated or completely bored. I personally loved this book. It's like walking straight into the world viewed through the lens of Hasidic Jews in a predominantly Christian society. I was riveted to Asher's struggle to remain true to his faith, but to also want to be true to his gift as an artist and what that did to his relationship with his family and with the religious community he grew up in. It was a very captivating and thought provoking book. It was so well written that I had to look up Asher Lev to make sure he wasn't a real person. I rated it a 4.5.
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Let It Go: A True Story of Tragedy and Forgiveness by Chris Williams:
When his wife and two children were killed in a drunk-driving accident,
Chris Williams made the most important decision of his life. On a col
February night in 2007, a devoted father of four and a
seventeen-year-old drunk driver both received life sentences. In one
violent, devastating instant, both faced a drastically different—and
uncertain—future. But as Chris Williams sat in his demolished vehicle,
staring at the car that had just caused the death of his wife, his
unborn baby, his nine-year-old daughter, and his eleven-year-old son, he
committed to do something extraordinary: he would forgive. That
decision launched Chris on a journey toward healing that affected his
family and friends, the young man who caused the accident, and an entire
community—a community that would face another deadly tragedy just a few
days later. Chris's message of forgiveness is an empowering
invitation to all who have suffered, however unjustly, to lay down their
burdens and let it go.
I ugly cried through the majority of this book. It's so tragic and yet so healing at the same time. I am truly in awe of Chris' ability to forgive and find deeper meaning in losing half his family. I heard him speak last Spring, and even though I knew the whole story, the book was still exceptional. A must read for anyone having a hard time forgiving. The only warning I would give is that Chris is a deeply religious person, so he refers to his beliefs often. If that sort of thing bothers you then it probably isn't a book you'd want to read. I rated it a 5.
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For Elise by Sarah M. Eden:
In the sprawling gardens of their neighboring estates, childhood friends
Miles and Elise spent countless pleasant days together in the spirited
adventures of youth. They were inseparable until Elise vanished without a
trace. Miles searched, but Elise could not or would not be found . . .
After years spent laboring on the family plantation in the West Indies,
Miles Linwood is shocked by the unexpected news: he has inherited his
uncle's estate and the title of Marquess of Grenton. Miles's return to
England is tarnished by only one thing he is still haunted by Elise's
mysterious disappearance. So when he glimpses a woman with a startling
resemblance to his lost friend, he's shaken to the core. This is no mere
shadow of the past: it is truly Elise. But his dear friend has changed
to the point that he questions whether it is really her, though he knows
it is. Accustomed to rescuing Elise from childhood escapades, Miles
takes her and those in her care back to his estate, even as he struggles
to understand her fear and mistrust. As their friendship and feelings
slowly blossom again, the shocking truth of their separated years is
revealed, and Miles realizes more than ever that he must protect Elise.
She slipped away once, and he cannot lose her again.
This is a light-hearted, fun read. I've been trying to figure out what it is about Eden's books that makes me love them so much. I technically know what the ending is going to be and usually I can put the details of the plot together myself (I knew who the murderer was far before it was revealed), but I still couldn't put down the book. She has really lovable characters who have very real relationships. She beautifully expresses the inner insecurities in budding relationships and she does it all in the much loved regency era. This was another wonderful book. I rated it a 5.
