SOURCE: "Potok's Exiled Asher Lev Revisits His Hasidic Roots," in Chicago Tribune Books, May 6, 1990, p. 7.

In the following review, Solomon finds weaknesses in The Gift of Asher Lev, but notes Potok's "knowledgeable insights to share about art."

It is sometimes difficult, says a critic in response to artist Asher Lev's latest Paris show, to find the distinction between establishing an individual style and repeating oneself. He might be speaking to Chaim Potok about this sequel to the superb 1972 novel, My Name Is Asher Lev.

Potok has marginal success with sequels. The power of his debut novel, The Chosen (1967), stemmed largely from its artlessness, the author's refusal to obtrude on his characters' deep-rooted decency and passion for ideas. Its sequel, The Promise, also a trenchant book, seemed marred by Potok's new self-consciousness, his effort not only to tell his tale but also to sound like a writer. His third...