Point of View

Asher Lev tells the story in first person, so we see the world through his eyes. In the book’s introduction, Lev explains that the book is a look back on his life and why he decided to create The Brooklyn Crucifixion.

Setting

Much of the early part of the book takes place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, an Hasidic Jewish neighborhood and home to the international headquarters of the Ladover sect, where Asher’s father works and where Asher attends the yeshiva. The book also takes the reader to Manhattan, Provincetown, Massachusetts, Rome, Paris, and Florence. The time period is 1943 through the 1970s, over the course of Asher’s childhood and into his adult years.

Language and Meaning

In Book 1, much of what transpires is seen through Asher’s young eyes or heard through his young ears. The most graphic example of this is when...