'I am a traitor, an
apostate, a self-hater,
an inflicter of shame
upon my family, my
friends, my people;
also, I am a mocker of
ideas sacred to
Christians ...'

Asher Lev is the artist who painted the sensational 'Brooklyn Crucifixion'. Into it he poured all the anguish and torment a Jew can feel when torn between the faith of his fathers and the calling of his art.

Here Asher Lev plunges back into his childhood and recounts the story of love and conflict which dragged him to the crossroads.

The Gift of Asher Lev, the sequel to this book, is also published by Penguin