"Who needs stories of yet another Jew?"

"I need them. Without stories there is nothing. Stories are the world's memory. The past is erased without stories." - 74


"Every story is some kind of explanation, which explains why I dislike stories... I became a historian so I would not have to explain anything, only recount the evidence, the facts." - 251


This collection had aspects that I both loved and hated. For me, a significant part of it boiled down to the frame. The stories were linked in a particular way, with someone eliciting stories from three very different men. This setup raised many interesting questions about the act of remembering past trauma. What do we hope to achieve by remembering? When we seek meaning in trauma, do we distort our memories to fit a narrative? Is there a narrative at all, or is there just chaos and inexplicable cruelty? What responsibility do we have to those we encourage to tell their stories? What are the gains and losses of burying our past? I found myself asking these questions of the earlier two stories, which I might not have done if they hadn't been connected to the issues presented in the third.


That being said, I must admit that I am currently very sensitive about women's voices being overshadowed by men's. So, it didn't sit well with me to see Davita, the protagonist of a novel that had a profound impact on me, reduced to a role where her only value was to make men's voices heard. In one story, she is not even herself; she is distorted through the perspective of a character who cannot see her as she truly is (to the extent that his physical perception of her is incorrect). While I did appreciate learning more about the path she takes, given the kind of role her character played in this novel, I would have preferred an entirely new character.


Also, by using Davita as the framing device and structuring the stories chronologically through her life, Potok, in my opinion, weakened my reading experience. I'll confess that when I read the first two stories, I felt that Potok brought up all these fascinating issues but then did nothing with them. In the third story, he started to address them, but I would have liked to have a better sense of what I should be taking away from these stories earlier in the reading process.


Overall, it was thought-provoking, and I'm glad I read it. However, I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as his other books. :) I guess it's greedy of me to expect him to produce more than five well-crafted novels that have shaped my view of the world.

Once again, thank you to @Emilio Berra for the tip! It was one of the few that I had not yet read by Potok, a writer that I really love. I wouldn't know which story I liked the most. Each one has its own charm and独特之处. Potok's works are always able to touch the heart and make the reader think deeply about various aspects of life. His writing style is vivid and engaging, making it easy for the reader to immerse in the story. I am really looking forward to reading more of his works and exploring the wonderful world he creates.

I would probably give the last of the three stories a 3.

Although it gets stronger at the end, it still has some room for improvement.

In each story, a man (or a boy) tells Davita Dinn their tales.

She is 18 in the first story, a graduate student in the second, and a middle-aged writer in the third.

Though it is not directly mentioned, she is changed by the stories she hears.

I thought the strongest story was "The War Doctor."

It is a searing autobiographical narrative by a Soviet agent who conducted torture sessions during interrogations.

You witness as the insanity builds under Lenin and Stalin until no one is safe, no matter how he or she has compromised their morals for their leaders.

The hunters become the hunted, and the story vividly portrays the chaos and moral decay of that era.

Overall, the collection of stories offers a unique perspective on different lives and experiences.

Wish there were more stories.

Stories have the power to transport us to different worlds, to make us feel a range of emotions, and to teach us valuable lessons. They can inspire us, make us laugh, or bring us to tears.

Whether it's a fictional tale of adventure and romance, a true story of courage and perseverance, or a fable with a moral at the end, stories have the ability to touch our hearts and minds.

We can get lost in a good book, a captivating movie, or a thrilling TV show, and forget about the stresses of our own lives for a while.

So, I wish there were more stories out there for us to discover and enjoy. More stories that would take us on new adventures, introduce us to interesting characters, and make us think about the world in a different way.

Maybe one day, someone will write that story that will become our new favorite, and we'll be able to share it with others and pass on the magic of storytelling.

This collection was just okay.

The first story was my favorite. Noah appears to be a kid with great potential, someone who is definitely going places. His character is engaging and the story has a certain charm that keeps you hooked.

The second story was also good, but I couldn't help but wish there had been more substance to it. It felt a bit lacking in depth and I wanted to see more development of the plot and the characters.

However, the third story left me feeling rather bored. It didn't seem to have much going on and failed to capture my interest.

Despite these mixed feelings, I did like the author's writing style. I'm not a fan of overly flowery language, especially when the plot is lacking. But here, the author's writing is simple and straightforward, which I appreciate.

Overall, though, his storytelling in this collection isn't anything特别出众. It has its moments, but it also has its flaws. I'm curious to see if he can improve and develop his skills further in future works.

I haven't read this particular work yet. However, I have made an interesting discovery. It turns out that it contains the novella or short story titled The Troop Teacher. Previously, I had only been able to come across a reference to this in Dutch. The Dutch title is De troop-leraar: een eigentijds spookverhaal. It really seemed quite strange to me that it wasn't available in English. One would think that such an interesting-sounding story would have been translated and made accessible to a wider English-speaking audience. I'm now quite curious to actually read The Troop Teacher and see what it's all about. Maybe there are good reasons why it hasn't been translated into English yet, but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that I can't easily get my hands on it in the language I'm most familiar with.

Hopefully, in the future, someone will take the initiative to translate this novella or short story and make it available to English readers like myself. It would be great to be able to explore the world and characters that Chaim Potok has created in The Troop Teacher. Until then, I'll have to continue to search for other works by this author to satisfy my literary cravings.

Three short stories.

They are not my favorite book by this author.

Although the author has shown some creativity and skill in these stories, they just didn't quite capture my interest as much as some of their other works.

The first story had an interesting premise, but the execution felt a bit lacking. The characters didn't come alive for me, and I found it difficult to fully engage with the plot.

The second story was better, with more developed characters and a more engaging storyline. However, it still didn't have that special something that would make it a standout piece.

The third story was the weakest of the three. The concept was rather ordinary, and the writing didn't do much to make it more exciting or unique.

Overall, while these three short stories have their merits, they are not the best examples of this author's work. I would still recommend checking out some of their other books, as they have shown the ability to create truly captivating and memorable stories in the past.

I truly loved this book.

Even the confusion and the slight sense of creepiness in the third story, which I still did enjoy, by the way, did not overshadow the numerous beautiful and powerful moments.

Let me start with one criticism and then offer praise.

The only reason it didn't receive a full 5 stars is precisely as mentioned above. Davita, who seemed like a real and whole person in the first two stories, appears to have devolved into a disturbing creepy story-hoarder metaphor in the third. She is even described as "bloated" with stories and obsessed with darkness. I don't understand her alternating appearance - the beautiful facade to elicit stories and the aged and obese (more realistic) figure to write them down. Along with the sparse but discomfiting sexual thoughts of Walter and the much less metaphorical haunting that occurs, it gives the third story a disconcerting spectral feel right at the end. This wouldn't be such a big problem on its own, except that it jars against the very historical, full-fleshed feeling of the other two stories.

That being said, the third story was still very powerful, especially with the recurring theme of the ram. The most moving and difficult scene was when the boy, practicing for his bar mitzvah four days before his death, sobbed because he saw himself - and even the Jewish people as a whole - as the ram in the thicket.

The first story was relatively slight but still very good. It is told in Davita's voice, but we get absolutely no insight into her inner thoughts and feelings. She observes and listens. She tells us what street she's on and what the weather is like, but not what she is thinking. I found this strange, and the story of the young boy, Noah (a Holocaust survivor, the only one from his whole village), was painful... yet, somehow (somehow!), not in a hopeless way. I have read stories about less tragic and more insignificant events that were more bleak and hopeless than this book.

The War Doctor (the middle story) was by far the most riveting. I knew very little about this era in Russia (from WWI up through the 1950s), and the horrific aspects of the story are not there to be spectacle at all; they are just present because they are the truth.

It is a sorrow that none of the characters (except Noah, whose future we don't know) maintain their faith. Davita (it's unclear, but she doesn't seem at all religious by the end), Leonid Shertov (aka Kalman), and Benjamin Walter all grow up in homes of deep faith. All of them abandon that faith even as it exerts a tremendous power and influence on their lives and thinking. It's a hard thing to read.

Anyhow, I definitely recommend this book. It builds gently and crescendos, and although it ends on a sour not-quite-right note for me, it was still very, very worth it.

I'm going to sound pretentious here, but it's deceptively easy to read.

It's broken into three stories, all involving the same character in one way or another.

Each story revolves around men who are coming to the end of some huge moment of their lives, coming to terms with the things they saw or did.

You fly through the stories with ease, and it's only after you're done that you realize how complex they truly are.

It's one of those books that I would probably read again immediately after finishing.

This is because I want to make sure I can catch all the things I missed the first time.

The layers of meaning and the subtleties in the characters' experiences are so丰富 that it requires a second reading to fully appreciate.

It's a book that keeps you engaged from start to finish and leaves you with a sense of wonder and reflection.

Overall, it's a remarkable piece of literature that I highly recommend.

I thought this was an extremely interesting approach to narrating three stories from the Jewish Holocaust.

The first two stories had a profound impact on me. They vividly depicted the horrors and hardships that the Jewish people endured during that tragic period.

However, the third story was a bit distracting. The story-teller's obsession with I.D. Chandal seemed to overshadow the essence of the story, and it somehow gave the impression of being less real.

On the whole, this experience left me with the thought that there are likely countless untold stories from the Holocaust, patiently waiting for someone to have the desire and willingness to listen to them. It serves as a good reminder that we should always strive to preserve and remember the past, so that similar atrocities never occur again.

We must not forget the sacrifices and sufferings of those who came before us, and we should do everything in our power to ensure that their stories are heard and their legacies are honored.

This is a truly very thoughtful work.

I, not being Jewish myself, was still able to find the description of war and Jewish life highly relatable.

The vivid portrayal of the events makes one feel as if they are experiencing it along with the characters.

The horror of the Holocaust is presented in such a way that it can serve as a filter through which all can see the modern day.

It makes us reflect on the atrocities of the past and how they continue to impact our world today.

The work serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of remembering history and learning from it to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.

It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the human experience during times of war and persecution.

Overall, it is a remarkable piece of literature that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Just read it.

It is truly meaningful. The author has crafted it with great skill and precision.

The words flow smoothly, captivating the reader from the very beginning.

Each sentence is carefully constructed to convey a profound message or evoke a particular emotion.

The content is not only engaging but also thought-provoking, making you reflect on various aspects of life.

It is well worth your time to immerse yourself in this piece of writing and discover the hidden gems within.

Whether you are looking for inspiration, entertainment, or simply a good read, this article has something to offer.

So, don't hesitate. Take a moment to read it and let it leave a lasting impression on you.

You won't be disappointed.