- Unbound
- Publisher: Fawcett Books (September 1993)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0449222888
- ISBN-13: 978-0449222881
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Illuminating the horrors of war on a personal level--the hunger, the terror and the fatigue--this heart-wrenching novel will move readers to tears. more than once. Potok, brilliant chronicler of Hasidic life in such memorable novels as The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev, maps new terrain here, 'as' used below following the agonizing trek of an old Korean peasant couple as they leave their village in flight from the Chinese and "the fiends from the North" during the Korean conflict. In a drainage ditch on the side of the road, they find a seriously wounded boy. Although the old man tells his wife, "I have no wish for this child," Do you hear me, wom an?," she will not abandon the youngster. Slowly, as they nurse him back to health'nurse him back to health' suggests this , he is able to return the favor: protecting them from a pack of wild dogs, finding fish to eat, acquiring an ox. A deep believer in spirits and the good or bad fortune they bequeath according to whim, the old man gradually comes to accept this boy who has been so lucky for them. On their way to becoming a family, each of the trio grapples with personal demons and dreams of a past that cannot be reclaimed--the old man fighting to suppress his insatiable craving for meat caught in his strong, young hunting days, the old woman recalling her baby son who died in infancy and the boy struggling to accept that his entire family has been killed, his childhood village eradicated. In prose as spare and uncluttered as the simple lives it evokes, this deeply felt book leaves no doubt that even in the blighted landscape of war there is always room for luck, and love.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
YA-- As an old peasant couple flee the devastation of their Korean village, which has been invaded by the Chinese and the North Koreans, they find a young boy dying in a ditch. The woman, who has lost her own child, is overcome by a ferocious need to save the child. The man's equally strong instinct is for self-preservation. The wife's will is stronger; the child joins them, and ultimately makes himself indispensable to their survival. The story recounts the wartime perils that the threesome encounter; the tension between the old man and the boy; their individual memories, fears, and dreams; and the eventual inevitable separation. The book contains subtle, unobtrusive symbolism for those who wish to puzzle over the meaning of the Christian hymn of the title, the nomadic nature of the journey, the namelessness of the peasants, the rescue of the boy by a Jewish chaplain, and the mysticism of the old villager. Most readers however, will experience the story as a simple and powerful narrative of survival of the human spirit.
- Jackie Gropman, Richard Byrd Library, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Jackie Gropman, Richard Byrd Library, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Potok is the potter,
By
This review is from: I Am the Clay (Mass Market Paperback)
Wow. I just finished this book. I've read many of Chaim Potok books and have enjoyed each one so much that I keep picking up another one. He is such a great storyteller. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about this one. Most of his books center on Judaism and this one seemed so different than his other writings. I wondered how he would manage a different culture. However, what I have learned is that certain themes are universal to humanity. Heroism in the face of extreme conditions is a theme that certainly holds true in the Judaic experience and in this book on the Korean War experience. Heroism to me is the ability to remain human and loving even under the most stressful and dire of conditions. The heroism of the characters in this book is so moving and heart warming. It is classic Potok. He leaves you thinking about the characters and their future long after reading his books.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Lesson Regarding War,
By jmz "jzarate12" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
This review is from: I Am the Clay (Mass Market Paperback)
I think the overall meaning and story behind I Am the Clay is a powerful one and that this book should be taught within Jr. High or High School. With that said, I had the hardest time reading this book. Potok's writing style is one that helps my brain wander while I'm reading, and I often had to go back and re-read sections. The beginning of the book is the densest with narrative description that's often told in 2 different perspectives and later in 3. I really became interested in the characters about mid-way through the book. I Am the Clay will give any person who hasn't been affected by war in their homeland a glimpse of what life can be like. This was set during the Korean war, which was not that long ago, so I think we can imagine what it may be like today as well. No matter where you live.
4.0 out of 5 stars
I am the Clay is a good book,
By Adam Carr (Bay Area) - See all my reviews
This review is from: I Am the Clay (Mass Market Paperback)
. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would give it an 8 of 10 or four stars ****. I liked how the story was told in three points of view and how it went into detail. At the beginning the story was a little boring because it was over descriptive and there wasn't any action or conversation, but at the middle and the end it became more of a story than a description. Another problem was at the beginning of the story, the characters weren't introduced yet and the perspectives switched about every three paragraphs so I didn't know who was thinking and it confused me. I would recommend it to anyone in high school or older. When the boy was emotional the sentences would be run-ons, which I had mixed feelings about because they were run-ons but they conveyed his feelings better than a regular sentence ever could. It wasn't the best book I've ever read but it's definitely up there
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