Call number
FIC POT
Collection
Genres
Publication
Knopf (1992), Edition: 1st, 211 pages
Description
"[Chaim] Potok writes powerfully about the suffering of innocent people caught in the cross-fire of a war they cannot begin to understand. . . . Humanity and compassion for his characters leap from every page."--San Francisco Chronicle As the Chinese and the army of the North sweep south during the Korean War, an old peasant farmer and his wife flee their village across the bleak, bombed-out landscape. They soon come upon a boy in a ditch who is wounded and unconscious. Stirred by possessiveness and caring the woman refuses to leave the boy behind. The man thinks she is crazy to nurse this boy, to risk their lives for some dying stranger. Angry and bewildered, he waits for the boy to die. And when the boy does not die, the old man begins to believe that the boy possesss a magic upon which all their lives depend. . . .… (more)
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member kwmcdonald
Great book, but I don't recommend reading it while depressed.
LibraryThing member lisaj00
This wasn't my favorite Potok. But I think I'm partial to Asher Lev. :-) Although an interesting story of community and humanity, it's still a fairly bleak book.
But, as always, I did enjoy Potok's writing. He manages to be very descriptive and intelligent in a concise way. And, as with his other
But, as always, I did enjoy Potok's writing. He manages to be very descriptive and intelligent in a concise way. And, as with his other
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writings, I walked away feeling like I'd learned a bit about another culture, which is worth reading in itself. Show Less
LibraryThing member presto
As the Chinese invade South Korea from the North and the civilian population evacuates ahead of the advancing forces, I Am the Clay follows one elderly couple. This childless couple stumbles across a wounded and unconscious eleven year old boy in a ditch, and much to the old man’s disapproval the
It is a very moving story told in a unique prose style which keeps the reader on his toes as the thoughts of the three characters are often interwoven in the same sentences. It is very much narrative drive, with minimal dialogue certainly until towards the end, and even then there is not a lot; but through the narrative we learn the thinking and motives of the characters. The old woman, caring and very much taken with the boy; the old man torn between his fear of what the boy will cost them and the good fortune he seems to bring them; and the boy, dependant, trusting yet intelligent and resourceful, a boy with integrity. It is also through the thoughts and dreams of the characters that we learn much of their individual and very different backgrounds.
A compelling and beautifully told story, very different in style from some of Chaim Potok’s novels, with three very different yet appealing characters, even the seemingly bitter old man has his redeeming points. The horror and futility of war inevitably come across, indirectly for there is no propaganda here, no hidden agenda. My only reservation is that the conclusion seems somewhat abrupt; and I would really like to know the eventual prospects for the young boy especially. It is a very good story, but perhaps not quite as good as The Chosen and its sequel, or the Asher Lev books.
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old woman takes the boy along with them. The story follows their harrowing escape from the invaders and the hardships and horrors of their journey, including the often at best indifferent treatment at the hands of their own defending soldiers.It is a very moving story told in a unique prose style which keeps the reader on his toes as the thoughts of the three characters are often interwoven in the same sentences. It is very much narrative drive, with minimal dialogue certainly until towards the end, and even then there is not a lot; but through the narrative we learn the thinking and motives of the characters. The old woman, caring and very much taken with the boy; the old man torn between his fear of what the boy will cost them and the good fortune he seems to bring them; and the boy, dependant, trusting yet intelligent and resourceful, a boy with integrity. It is also through the thoughts and dreams of the characters that we learn much of their individual and very different backgrounds.
A compelling and beautifully told story, very different in style from some of Chaim Potok’s novels, with three very different yet appealing characters, even the seemingly bitter old man has his redeeming points. The horror and futility of war inevitably come across, indirectly for there is no propaganda here, no hidden agenda. My only reservation is that the conclusion seems somewhat abrupt; and I would really like to know the eventual prospects for the young boy especially. It is a very good story, but perhaps not quite as good as The Chosen and its sequel, or the Asher Lev books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member presto
As the Chinese invade South Korea from the North and the civilian population evacuates ahead of the advancing forces, I Am the Clay follows one elderly couple. This childless couple stumbles across a wounded and unconscious eleven year old boy in a ditch, and much to the old man’s disapproval the
It is a very moving story told in a unique prose style which keeps the reader on his toes as the thoughts of the three characters are often interwoven in the same sentences. It is very much narrative drive, with minimal dialogue certainly until towards the end, and even then there is not a lot; but through the narrative we learn the thinking and motives of the characters. The old woman, caring and very much taken with the boy; the old man torn between his fear of what the boy will cost them and the good fortune he seems to bring them; and the boy, dependant, trusting yet intelligent and resourceful, a boy with integrity. It is also through the thoughts and dreams of the characters that we learn much of their individual and very different backgrounds.
A compelling and beautifully told story, very different in style from some of Chaim Potok’s novels, with three very different yet appealing characters, even the seemingly bitter old man has his redeeming points. The horror and futility of war inevitably come across, indirectly for there is no propaganda here, no hidden agenda. My only reservation is that the conclusion seems somewhat abrupt; and I would really like to know the eventual prospects for the young boy especially. It is a very good story, but perhaps not quite as good as The Chosen and its sequel, or the Asher Lev books.
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old woman takes the boy along with them. The story follows their harrowing escape from the invaders and the hardships and horrors of their journey, including the often at best indifferent treatment at the hands of their own defending soldiers.It is a very moving story told in a unique prose style which keeps the reader on his toes as the thoughts of the three characters are often interwoven in the same sentences. It is very much narrative drive, with minimal dialogue certainly until towards the end, and even then there is not a lot; but through the narrative we learn the thinking and motives of the characters. The old woman, caring and very much taken with the boy; the old man torn between his fear of what the boy will cost them and the good fortune he seems to bring them; and the boy, dependant, trusting yet intelligent and resourceful, a boy with integrity. It is also through the thoughts and dreams of the characters that we learn much of their individual and very different backgrounds.
A compelling and beautifully told story, very different in style from some of Chaim Potok’s novels, with three very different yet appealing characters, even the seemingly bitter old man has his redeeming points. The horror and futility of war inevitably come across, indirectly for there is no propaganda here, no hidden agenda. My only reservation is that the conclusion seems somewhat abrupt; and I would really like to know the eventual prospects for the young boy especially. It is a very good story, but perhaps not quite as good as The Chosen and its sequel, or the Asher Lev books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member fingerpost
I have absolutely loved all of Potok's books I've read before; and this one was covered with critical praise on the back of the book... but I found it tedious, monotonous, and dull. There are essentially only three characters, and their names are never given. They are just the old man, the old
Skip this one and read "My Name is Asher Lev" or "The Gift of Asher Lev" instead.
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woman, and the boy. The book opens with the man and woman, an elderly, childless Korean couple, fleeing the fighting of the Korean War. On they way, they find an injured boy, and the woman insists on helping him, against the wishes of her husband. After that, the first 180 pages of a 210 page book are spent seemingly saying the same thing over and over. The man hates the boy. The boy is afraid of the man. The woman wants to help the boy. They're all hungry, tired, and suffering terribly. Then, in the last 20 pages, a little bit actually happens, but it's too late. These nameless characters have not been developed in a way that made me care about them. I'm just glad the book was short.Skip this one and read "My Name is Asher Lev" or "The Gift of Asher Lev" instead.
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Pages
211
ISBN
067941195X / 9780679411956