The title of this novel alludes to the way in which the
Jews were a chosen people by God. This of course relates to the political backdrop of
the novel as the creation of Israel--the homeland for the Jews that was the "Promised
Land" God gave to them in the Bible--is decided during the course of the novel. However,
the title also relates much more personally to the character of Danny Saunders and his
own destiny. As he makes clear to Reuven early on in the novel, just as the Jews are a
chosen people of God, so too is he a chosen person in terms of his destiny and his
expected future. Note what he says to Reuven:
"I have no choice," he said again. "It's like a
dynasty. If the son doesn't take the father's place, the dynasty falls apart. The people
expect me to become their rabbi. My family has been their rabbi for six generations
now... I'm--I'm a little
trapped."
Danny Saunders is
chosen by his father to be his replacement and to inherit the position of leader of his
people, and it is this issue of being chosen that results in the massive conflict that
lies at the heart of this novel as Danny has to battle between his father's expectations
of him and his own desire to do something different.
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