- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; Open market ed edition (28 Oct 1993)
- ISBN-10: 0140230076
- ISBN-13: 978-0140230079
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,123,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
Potok writes powerfully about the suffering of innocent people caught in the cross-fire of a war they cannot begin to understand....Humanity and compassion for his characters leap from every page. --San Francisco Chronicle
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Set during the Korean War, this novel is about an old displaced couple, fleeing from their threatened village, who rescue a young child and take him with them. They are childless themselves, and he becomes a surrogate son.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
As the Chinese invade South Korea from the North and the civilian population evacuates ahead of the advancing forces, "I Am the Clay" follows one elderly couple. This childless couple stumbles across a wounded and unconscious eleven year old boy in a ditch, and much to the old man's disapproval the old woman takes the boy along with them. The story follows their harrowing escape from the invaders and the hardships and horrors of their journey, including the often at best indifferent treatment at the hands of their own defending soldiers.
It is a very moving story told in a unique prose style which keeps the reader on his toes as the thoughts of the three characters are often interwoven in the same sentences. It is very much narrative drive, with minimal dialogue certainly until towards the end, and even then there is not a lot; but through the narrative we learn the thinking and motives of the characters. The old woman, caring and very much taken with the boy; the old man torn between his fear of what the boy will cost them and the good fortune he seems to bring them; and the boy, dependant, trusting yet intelligent and resourceful, a boy with integrity. It is also through the thoughts and dreams of the characters that we learn much of their individual and very different backgrounds.
A compelling and beautifully told story, very different in style from some of Chaim Potok's novels, with three very different yet appealing characters, even the seemingly bitter old man has his redeeming points. The horror and futility of war inevitably come across, indirectly for there is no propaganda here, no hidden agenda. My only reservation is that the conclusion seems somewhat abrupt; and I would really like to know the eventual prospects for the young boy especially. It is a very good story, but perhaps not quite as good as "The Chosen" and its sequel, or the Asher Lev books.
It is a very moving story told in a unique prose style which keeps the reader on his toes as the thoughts of the three characters are often interwoven in the same sentences. It is very much narrative drive, with minimal dialogue certainly until towards the end, and even then there is not a lot; but through the narrative we learn the thinking and motives of the characters. The old woman, caring and very much taken with the boy; the old man torn between his fear of what the boy will cost them and the good fortune he seems to bring them; and the boy, dependant, trusting yet intelligent and resourceful, a boy with integrity. It is also through the thoughts and dreams of the characters that we learn much of their individual and very different backgrounds.
A compelling and beautifully told story, very different in style from some of Chaim Potok's novels, with three very different yet appealing characters, even the seemingly bitter old man has his redeeming points. The horror and futility of war inevitably come across, indirectly for there is no propaganda here, no hidden agenda. My only reservation is that the conclusion seems somewhat abrupt; and I would really like to know the eventual prospects for the young boy especially. It is a very good story, but perhaps not quite as good as "The Chosen" and its sequel, or the Asher Lev books.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This book is such a different topic to his other 'Jewish' writing. A must for all Potok fans
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
25 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Potok is the potter
15 July 2004
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wow. I just finished this book. I've read many of Chaim Potok books and have enjoyed each one so much that I keep picking up another one. He is such a great storyteller. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about this one. Most of his books center on Judaism and this one seemed so different than his other writings. I wondered how he would manage a different culture. However, what I have learned is that certain themes are universal to humanity. Heroism in the face of extreme conditions is a theme that certainly holds true in the Judaic experience and in this book on the Korean War experience. Heroism to me is the ability to remain human and loving even under the most stressful and dire of conditions. The heroism of the characters in this book is so moving and heart warming. It is classic Potok. He leaves you thinking about the characters and their future long after reading his books.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
review of Chaim Potok's "I am the Clay"
31 May 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
When I first started reading this book, I assumed that it would be boring, and redunant, and hard to understand. That all changed after I got into the book, and I found myself attached to the young eleven year old boy, who is orphaned by war. "I am the Clay" is an intimate and touching novel about the cruelties of the Korean war, and how it affected the little people, the citizens of Korea. I think that it should be read by all people to better understand a different point of view on the wars. I trust I will never forget the images of survival and suffering put into my head, and am confident that I have gained a better knowledge of war.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Refugees acting as The Good Samaritan
5 May 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
If you ever wondered how refugees find the strength -- emotion, physical, spiritual -- to live through wars and insurrections on their homeland -- this fictional book explores the true horrors of not knowing what tomorrow will bring. The characters are touching and realistic. Potok investigates the human soul to explore hate vs. love, cruelty vs. kindness, etc. Read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck as well.
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