July's J-BOM selection is Chaim Potok's The Promise. Chaim Potok is one of my favorite authors. I actually read this book for the first time last summer. So if you're looking for a book that grabs you right from the start--one of those books where you pick it up, get engrossed, and look down and you're on page 60 already--this is a good one to read.
It's also a perfect summer read--at least for me. During the course of the story, the main character, Reuven Malter, spends his year studying for his degree in philosophy as well as for his smicha (rabbinical ordination). In the summers he goes with his dad to a rented cottage in New York resort area called Peekskill (thirty miles outside NYC). Swimming, boating, and relaxing...to me, it sounds like heaven. Even though I spent my summer at work in the office, each time I picked up the book I felt like I was on a little mini-vacation.
So what is "the promise" referred to in the story's title? I realized that even though I've read it, I'm not sure I know the answer. (I might.) This time through the book I'll be looking closely for the answer to that question: what is the promise? I'll report back on the answer...as well as any other interesting details I find along the way.
Enjoy your reading!
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