Asher Lev

The life story about Asher Lev is so moving! I can feel his heartbreak and pain. What a great writer to leave the reader feeling this way! I really enjoyed reading the book. It affected me in several ways.

The first "aha" moment was when Asher had such difficulty looking at his paintings hanging in the gallery. I was never aware that artists drew things in their own lives so passionately and consequently, would suffer such pain having those memories hung and displayed for others to see. The book helped me to see how painful it was to sell the paintings. I was struck by how Asher passionately tried to get the memories back after his paintings of his early life were sold. It would be like having personal journals displayed and sold to complete strangers.

I was also affected by Asher never given a chance to make his own choices. His family, his religious community and his school community made no exceptions for Asher. They demanded that he follow their way without question. The Rebbe seemed to accept the fact that Asher was different with his gift of art and tried to allow for him to follow his art. Asher's family were in total control over him. I'm reminded of his father stating, "Sit down and drink your orange juice", "Asher, are you listening?", "I wish you would not spend all your time playing with pencils and crayons." I guess some of these statements are understandable as a child but Asher was spoken to in this manner as an adult! It seems belittling to Asher that he was not able to think for himself. Asher was made to follow such rigid rules and was not accepted for being different. It is sad that he was not accepted in his own home by the people who love him most. I was once told that the greatest gift we could ever give anyone was to accept them as they are. To criticize and try to change people is a control thing. Asher's father just couldn't get past the fact that he was different and not doing what his father wanted him to do.

The books themes of family , leadership, and religion were obvious throughout the book. Emotional stability, family relationships, development of youth was less obvious. A Wrinkle in Time and My Name is Asher Lev had the father absent and the mother trying to deal emotionally with the absence. I thought of Asher's mother and the significance of two things. One, the community always asked about Asher's mother. It as though they expected her to have another breakdown by asking every time they saw Asher. I think this question brought back many sad memories for Asher. His only way of expressing these feelings was through his art. The other important symbol in the book was the window in the apartment. Asher's mother was always looking out the window, worring about whether is father was coming home. Later, she waited and worried when Asher was late. Asher constantly saw his mother in the window throughout his life. I can see how it was the background for the crucifixion painting with his mother as a focus. The window was also a symbol of a place the family could look out and see the world. It might beckon to Asher to leave the things that were comfortable (home) and experience the world through art. The window was a very important symbol in the book.

I found it so interesting that the symbols of Christianity, the crucifix and suffering on the cross, were woven so carefully in the book.
I was so deeply moved by this book that I went to Borders to get the second book about Asher's adult life. It was disappointing that I had to special order the book! I'm going to read it as soon as I can.