The Chosen * Chaim Potok * Reuven Malter #1

Growing up just five blocks apart in 1940s Brooklyn yet living in vastly different worlds, two Jewish teenagers form an unexpected, enduring friendship after an injury during a neighborhood softball game brings them together.

The Story. Written by acclaimed American novelist and rabbi Chaim Potok, this is the celebrated debut novel that launched the beloved story of Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. Set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn during the closing years of World War II, the story follows Reuven, the thoughtful son of a Modern Orthodox teacher, and Danny, the brilliant heir to a strict Hasidic dynasty. When Danny hits a fierce line drive that nearly blinds Reuven during a tense ballgame, a heartfelt hospital apology blossoms into a deep bond of shared study and mutual respect. As the boys grow toward adulthood against the backdrop of the Holocaust and the birth of Israel, their friendship is tested by silence, clashing family expectations, and the search for personal identity.

Perfect For. Book clubs, literature students, and readers drawn to heartfelt, character-driven stories about friendship, family, and tradition alongside Chaim Potok's The Promise, My Name Is Asher Lev, and In the Beginning, Bernard Malamud's The Assistant, or John Knowles's A Separate Peace.

First published 1967; this edition 1982 by Fawcett Crest.

Fiction / Classics / 20th-Century American Literature / Jewish Fiction & Culture / 1940s Brooklyn Fiction / Coming-of-Age & Friendship Novels / Faith & Tradition Sagas