My Name is Asher Lev's Asher and The Chosen's Reuven Malter were brought up in much the same fashion, but Reuven seems to appreciate his family more than Asher does. Their families are also quite similar. The two boys' fathers play large rolls in the families. Reuven's father is a very committed man. He does all that he can to help all of his fellow Jews in the world. Asher's father is very similar in that he tries to do all that he can for his people, but takes a great deal more trips away from home than Mr. Malter does. Reuven's mother died when he was very young. Asher's mother lives throughout the whole story, but he does have to live without her for a while when he is young because she becomes very sick. Asher and Reuven, the characters created by Chaim Potok, are themselves very...