The 1969 sequel to The Chosen. Chaim Potok takes us back to New York City a few years later, where Reuven Malter is now studying for his semicha (rabbinic ordination) and Danny Saunders is finishing up his doctorate in clinical psychology. In the background, great changes are shaking up the Yeshiva world: new rabbis from Europe, refugees from The Holocaust, have arrived and are pushing an almost reactionary brand of Orthodoxy, threatening the livelihood of Reuven's father, who is moving in an ever more progressive direction. And the Malter family's friendship with the family of Abraham Gordon, a most unorthodox Jewish scholar, has repercussions that - in the end - no one could have foreseen.
This book provides examples of:
- A Friend in Need: Abraham and Ruth Gordon desperately need to treat their son. Later, Abraham Gordon gives Reuven's father David a position when he's forced out of his job.
- Call-Back: Danny is raised in silence in The Chosen. Here he uses this to treat a disturbed young man.
- Culture Clash: Danny was raised in a strictly observant Hasidic family. Rachel was raised by less observant, modern Jews with a relaxed attitude to the secular world.
- Fired Teacher: Reuven's dad taught at a Jewish high school but left because of a factional dispute. He's hired by Abraham Gordon at the end.
- Hollywood Psych: One of the book's flaws is that, to modern readers, it suffers deeply from this. Danny, in his clinical training, treats a very disturbed young man. Single-Issue Psychology and Epiphany Therapy heavily factor into it. Redeemed somewhat by the ending, which acknowledges that despite the treatment helping a great deal, the young man and his family will likely be dealing with the trauma of both his illness and its treatment for years to come.
- Jewish and Nerdy: In addition to Danny and Reuven, we have Michael Gordon (who's quite knowledgeable about science) and his cousin Rachel, who's doing a master's thesis on Ulysses.
- Open-Minded Parent: David Malter returns. And apparently Rachel's parents read a bootlegged copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover with her and pointed out the dirty bits.
- Parents as People: Michael Gordon's parents love him, but fail to see how he's being bullied over his father's scholarship. And his mother is emotionally neglectful.
- Stalker with a Crush: Michael Gordon comes off this way with his obsession both with Reuven and his
cousin Rachel. Mind you, he's only fifteen, but it's outright stated he has sexual fantasies about Rachel (and his behavior towards Reuven is incredibly unsettling).
- Trauma Conga Line: Rav Kalman is a Holocaust survivor, and it's mentioned that he was among those who survived Nazi experiments. Not much else is said, but the reader can fill in the blanks.
