I'm not sure whether this book meets the strict definition of "Mormon Letters," ("by Mormon Letters We Mean . . . literature by, for, and about Mormons and criticism of same") although I certainly could make an argument, ala Eric Samuelsen, that this book is certainly "for" Mormons. Potok has been held up by some as what Mormon letters "ought" to be like, and I hope you'll indulge this review.

A few years ago a friend of mine (on this list, no less!) recommended I read The Chosen by Chaim Potok. That story followed two young boys in their struggle to determine and understand how they fit in with the strict Hasidic Jewish culture and modern society. It was an eye opening experience, and changed the way I looked at literature. Shortly after finishing The Chosen I devoured the Asher Lev books, and became an avid fan of Potok's work, even though these works were personally troublesome to me. After reading these books, it became easy to see how his types of stories, i.e. the culture clash, could be applied to LDS situations, and I longed to see good LDS literature follow his same pattern.

In Old Men at Midnight, Potok uses an interesting device in combining essentially three novellas into one "story" by having the novellas told to the same individual, Ilana Davita Chandal Dinn, at different points throughout her life. Potok has already written a story called "Davita's Harp," which I assume (I haven't read it yet) deals more in depth with Davita's life. In this book, we learn just the periphery about Davita's life, but it is enough to make you feel you know, or can deduce her character so that she comes alive. It is almost more what Potok does not say about her that tells us volumes. Yet, she's the backdrop to the three stories about Jews in three difficult situations.

"The Ark Builder"
First, there is a story about Noah, a young Polish survivor of the holocaust who comes to 18 year old Davita in Brooklyn for English lessons. During these lessons, Davita learns that Noah was the only survivor of his village, and was preserved by the Germans because he could draw. Prior to the destruction, he assisted Reb Binyomin in creating a great wooden sculpture of Noah's ark for the local synogague. They work very hard on the ark and from this experience he learns to draw well. The ending comes quickly and is almost cryptic, but in using this style, Potok allows us to draw our own moral conclusions from the apparent inconsistencies and contradictions in life. These problems certainly overwhelmed Noah when he first arrived in America, and are impressive to the reader when the full story is told.

"The War Doctor"
Next is the story of Leon Shertov/Kalman Sharfstein told to a graduate student Davita who encourages her guest lecturer to tell his full Russia story. Shertov then tells his story of when as a Russian soldier his family/town wass destroyed by the Russion revolution. He then is injures his arm in battle at a time when the prudent thing to do for such an injury was to amputate the limb. A doctor determines to save his arm, and in exchange asks that Kalman teach him how to properly pronounce the prayers in a Hebrew prayer book he has received as a gift.

Eventually, Kalman recovers and is sent to work for Stalin in the NKVD, in what will become the KGB. He must change his name from a Jewish name to a Russian one in order to survive in the training camp. There he is trained in "investigation, arrest, interrogation, persuasion, confession, inducing helplessness, bewilderment, and laying terror." Eventually he rises in position and can extract confessions from individuals whether guilty or not, given enough time. When Stalin, suffering from acute paranoia, begins his crusade against all Russian physicians for "conspiracy" it causes little anguish for the now "Leon Shertov" until the doctor appears in prison who saved his hand so many years before. At that point, Shertov begins only pretending to beat and interrogate the doctors, but learns that the doctor who saved his arm is suffering and will likely die quickly in prison. Potok again allows the reader the space to feel his anguish and contradictions without spelling them out explicitly. The religious overtones here are not specific, but symbolically are very powerful.

"The Trope Teacher"
In the last novella, I.D. Chandal ("Davita") moves next door to Benjamin Walter, a professor of military history. Benjamin is attempting to write him memoirs which are eagerly anticipated in the academic community, but he can't seem to get them started with a severely ill wife at home and a fading memory of his younger years. Ms. Chandal coaxes the story out of him that Benjamin has learned to forget.

When he was a young man in the American 1930's he studied, at his father's request, with an eccentric private "Trope" teacher, Mr. Zapiski. Trope is (as I understand it) the traditional Jewish chanting/singing of the Torah and the prophets. As he studies Trope, he also comes to know more about the relationship between Mr. Zapiski and his father, and their involvement with World War I. Mr. Zapiski, which teaching Trope, also teaches young Benjamin what it really means to be a Jew. As Benjamin comes to have a new and deep respect and almost friendship with Mr. Zapiski, Mr. Zapiski determines that he must move to Europe to return "to the inside of myself that the war forced me to leave behind."

After Mr. Zapiski leaves, Benjamin then takes steps to find "Mr. Zapiski" both consciously and subconsciously. Beliving war is glorious, he learns what war is really all about by enlisting in the army once war breaks out in Europe, and ends up fighting the Germans in the Ardennes forest in December 1944. This was a horrible battle in which 32 of 36 men in his platoon are killed. When he finally finds Mr. Zapiski, he realizes that he has truly understood what it means to be a Jew too late.

In addition to this flashback story, there are also the symbolic side stories going on of lightning striking a century old tree in the older Benjamin's back yard, Benjamin's wife being deathly ill, and a friend providing a deliciouis interpretation of the Abraham/Isaac story. These additions create a symbolic framework in which Potok can subtlely tell his story without being explicit. The story ends fairly violently, but effectively and emotionally.

Each of these stories tell what it means to be a Jew in a way that can universally communicate to the reader. For example, I didn't feel like I had to know what Trope was to understand any part of the story. Yet, each of these stories offered a slightly different take on how their religious beliefs affected their behavior. Perhaps that is what I find fascinating about religious literature, and where I think Mormon literature can succeed in a similar vein, is when Mormon lit tells stories about how personal beliefs affected who they were and what they did for their beliefs in everyday life. For example, stories which deal with being honest in your business dealings, or forgiving your neighbor for a wrong, carry much more universal appeal than coversion stories.

Potok has an amazing ability to give each of the Jews he writies about an identity with their religion. There religion was "who they were" in a powerful way. My heart ached for each of his characters and their experiences, and made me realize how much suffering this life contains. Yet, these stories were all uplifting - and ended hopeful for a better day, since all were released from their troubles and were able to tell their stories. Granted, I'm a Potok fan, but this is a book - along with the other Potok greats - that in my opinion should be read by those interested in Mormon (religious?) letters.

Dave Hansen