Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Erich Isaac

Critical Essay by Erich Isaac

The novelist's hand is evident in the flow of the narrative and the often felicitous turns of phrase [in Wanderings: Chaim Potok's History of the Jews]. Despite the fact that it is not the work of a historian, it is sophisticated and judicious in its use of professional sources. Yet as the title makes clear, this is meant as a personal history, and its personal character is emphasized through the deliberate intrusion of the author into the narrative. (p. 84)

This sort of thing has a purpose: to help Potok formulate a perspective on Jewish history, and especially … on the Jewish confrontation with other cultures and civilizations. Yet considered as history, the volume never makes its thesis clear. And considered as personal history, it never makes clear how Potok's own faith has been reshaped, as he says it has been, by his encounter with non-Jewish, particularly Eastern, cultures.

The...
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