My Name is Asher Lev

This book made me cry. I read it during a difficult moment in my life after a friend who recommended it had passed away and it really resonated.

It’s a beautiful book about a boy wanting to be an artist in the face of others discouraging his passion as a waste of time. It’s about family expectations placed on a child to conform. It’s about coming of age and finding yourself in the face of disappointing those who love you but want you to be different. It’s about the mix of loneliness and opportunities that can result from being yourself.

If you have ever felt like a square peg in a round hole, had a passion you kept hidden because it doesn’t fit family expectations, or had experienced moments of rejection, you should read this book. The story can apply to so many communities and individuals who don’t conform to the majority view.

A young boy Asher grows up in a deeply religious community that sees art as either a barely tolerated waste of time at best or an insult to the community at worst. When the young Asher expresses genuine interest and talent in art, he is strongly discouraged. His mother, a profoundly anxious woman, loves her son but suffers deeply from the conflict. His father, a proud man who has devoted his career to his religious community, feels immense self-worth supporting others but does not understand how his son could be so different. When the community calls the father to Europe, the mother and son remain, giving Asher room to breathe, and he begins to visit museums to seek inspiration. His talent grows. When his father returns for a visit, the father finds his drawings and is furious, forbidding Asher from studying art. But once the father leaves, the boy cannot resist and soon gains a famous secular artist as a mentor who demands the boy express himself. When the mother eventually moves to Europe to be with her husband, Asher remains in Brooklyn with his uncle and continues his art apprenticeship.

After years apart, his parents attend Asher's art show, the culmination of his early career, and the issue of acceptance over conformity that has gripped and haunted this family comes to a head. Each family member then grapples with the consequences of their beliefs, and the results are profound.

Check it out.