The Book of Lights | The Book of Lights

At a glance:

Author: Chaim Potok
First Published: 1981
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Psychological realism
Time of Work: 1950-1957
Setting: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Boston, Philadelphia, Korea, Japan, and Jerusalem
Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
Subjects: 1950’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, New York City, War, Military life or service, Israel or Israelis, Atomic bomb, Chaplains, Japan or Japanese people, Judaism, Korea or Koreans, Talmud
Locales: Manhattan, NY, Boston, MA, Philadelphia, PA, Brooklyn, NY, Jerusalem, Japan, Korea

Gershon Loran, the protagonist, a Jewish chaplain in Korea and a student of Cabala (Jewish mysticism). A shy and melancholy man, unkempt and poorly groomed before his metamorphosis in Korea, he is given to having visions and other mystical experiences. Gershon has a brilliant mind, a fact clear to nearly everyone but himself. His life seems random to him, made up mostly of unlucky chances, and he faces it numbly and without enthusiasm, never really knowing what he wants to do. Keter and Malkuson both want Gershon as a disciple; Keter wins him because...

The Book of Lights | The Book of Lights

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

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