In the middle is Asher's mother, Rivkeh, who in Asher's early childhood was severely traumatized by the death of her brother, who was killed while traveling for the Rebbe. Rivkeh is only able to emerge from her depression when she decides to continue her brother's work and obtains the Rebbe's permission to return to college to study Russian affairs. Throughout the novel she suffers anxiety for her husband's safety during his almost constant traveling, and is frequently seen waiting at the large window of their apartment for her husband or son to return home. The most intriguing character in the book is the Rebbe, who has absolute direction over the lives of members of his community. He even ensures that Asher learns first French, and then Russian. Contrary to the wishes of Asher’s family, the Rebbe encourages his art and his studying under Kahn. The assumption is that the Rebbe has some insight into the will of “the Master of the Universe” which is denied to others, and members of the community do what he directs them to do. Set primarily in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York during the mid-1940’s through the mid-‘60’s, this novel is a dense, powerful, and emotional rollercoaster ride through the incompatible worlds of Hasidic Judaism and master artists that I won’t soon forget. Asher Lev is born to parents who are ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews with a long aristocratic lineage in the fictional Ladover movement. Asher is their only child, and he is born with “a unique and disquieting” gift, a gift for drawing and painting that has the potential to tear apart his family and his tight-knit religious community. Asher eventually must choose between artistic truth and loyalty to his family and faith, and it is a heartrending journey to witness. Mr. Potok writes this story with grace and intelligence from many of his own personal experiences, and I recommend it to everyone. Asher is the only child of Aryeh and Rivkeh Lev, descendants of two of the most prominent families of Ladover Hasidim; the branch of the sect is fictitious, but clearly based on the Chabad-Lubavitcher movement in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The Rebbe, or leader of the sect, is a charismatic figure—a marvelous creation on Potok's part, though undoubtedly inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe of the time, who preached a relatively liberal form of Orthodox Judaism at home coupled with widespread outreach abroad. Asher's father, like his father before him, travels widely for the Rebbe, and his mother takes a doctorate in Russian to help him in his work. The story, which begins in the fifties, is set against the persecution of Jews in Russia under Stalin and the Ladovers' attempts to bring them out after the dictator's death. It gives a strong undertone of historical fact to a story that, otherwise, is largely in the mind and home of its title character.

Asher says this of painting: "I paint my feelings. I paint how I see and feel about the world. But I paint a painting, not a story." I absolutely loved that the writing style correlates with a painting style. Asher is non-descriptive about his feelings, only stating his replies to people's questions instead of delving inside his own emotions. Just a painting, the reader is left to interpret those for himself. The story flows through the years smoothly, but it is the writing style that puts it on a higher level. When style can add another layer by making you feel Asher's love of painting, it makes the book beautiful.

Asher Lev introduces himself as “the notorious and legendary Lev of the Brooklyn Crucifixion.” He is also “an observant Jew.” Because Asher’s dual identity has generated gossip and myths, he will now offer a defense of himself.

Throughout the book, the art of art is described very well and in great detail. Anyone interested at all in the world of art will enjoy the evolution of the child prodigy into a budding successful artist and the influence of his outstanding and likable teacher.E’ il primo libro che leggo di Potok ed è stato subito amore. Parole potenti, che richiamano immagini, come gli alberi che diventano neri sotto la pioggia o il velo di acqua sulla spiaggia che descrive un’assenza, e che hanno in sè la storia della sua gente. Accenni, semplici ma dolorosi, brevi ma efficaci. E il dissidio che lacera l’anima di Asher arriva fino a noi, in un sentimento che ce lo fa capire ed insieme amare.

Stemming from religious revivals in the 18th century in what is now Western Ukraine, they are the fastest-growing form of Judaism, and, in Jerusalem, for example, form more than one third of the population. As they are a highly enclosed group, this novel by Chaim Potok offers a welcome window into one such community, fictionalised as the Ladover, but based on the Chabad of Brooklyn Heights in New York. Kabbalah can be considered as a mystical approach to disinfecting language by turning language in on itself, using language to undermine the pretensions of language when it becomes something that it shouldn’t - lies, misrepresentations, distortions, and claims to reality. It is not enough to say the Krias Shema before sleep, the Modeh Ani upon waking, or the dozens of other prayers for every other occasion during the day. Even the language of these prayers must transcend language itself. We see through Asher's eyes what it is like to have a talent that is beyond anything the people around you could ever imagine; a talent that scares people, but a talent that insists on being used. Asher was an artist before he ever knew the meaning of the word, but his ability made life hard for him. How can he learn to make his gift work for him without losing himself in the process? The Rebbe asks Asher's father to relocate to Vienna, which would make it easier to perform his work establishing yeshivas throughout Europe. Asher becomes very upset about this and refuses to move to Vienna, in spite of requests from his parents and teachers alike. Rivkeh ultimately decides to stay in Brooklyn with Asher while Aryeh moves to Vienna alone. After years apart, his parents attend Asher's art show, the culmination of his early career, and the issue of acceptance over conformity that has gripped and haunted this family comes to a head. Each family member then grapples with the consequences of their beliefs, and the results are profound.

Church Times/Canterbury Press:

After watching the Israeli show "Shtisel" on Netflix this past spring, I wanted to reacquaint myself with a book I had read long ago, "My Name is Asher Lev". In the show, a main character is Akiva, a young man who wants to be an artist, though his decision is not respected by his religious community. Similarly, the book features Asher Lev, a boy born into a Hasidic Jewish family who is an artistic genius. I was looking for a fuller answer to how art is looked at in these deeply religious communities. As a reader I became more and more emotionally invested with Asher. I saw his triumphs, his struggles, the choices he had to make and the choices that were forced upon him. He was told by a great artist who became his teacher that eventually his art would hurt people and the only way to atone for that was to become an even greater artist. But when faced with this reality at one of his art shows he feels dread, apprehension, doubt. He reacts as any human would when his essence directs him down a path that could alienate him from his family, his community, and his identity. Like life the resolution of this book is messy and tragic. While the outcome seemed inevitable from some ways off there was a glimmer of hope that perhaps things would work out in the end. That a reconciliation and a growth of mutual respect was possible. It was that glimmer of hope getting snuffed out that made the conclusion that much more traumatic and saddening.