rebdoniel, squeak: never read the others, but happens to be that I loved The Chosen. My friend recommended it and I was hemming and hawing because Potok has a bad reputation as far as his portrayal of frum people, etc., but then I read it because she said that it really wasn’t like that and she was right. Sure, so Danny becomes a psychologist instead of a rebbe, but he stays frum and Reuven ends up a rabbi in the end when he was originally the much more laid-back, less frum one (I just spoiled the plot in three lines, so yeah, sorry). The book did not seem critical of frumkeit at all unless portraying a rebbe as less than perfect is kefirah (while I’d think it would be the other way around, that portraying a rebbe as perfect would be kefirah) so honestly, personally, I thought it was fine. (The rebbe also gets explained, if not completely redeemed, at the end.)
Just wanted to also recommend anything by Haim Sabato (starting with The Dawning of the Day).
And Maus. GREAT book. It’s NOT frum (so just don’t expect it to be) but it’s an amazing approach to the Holocaust, especially bearing in mind that it’s for the general public. It could be that I liked it so much because it syncs with personal experiences of mine, but I think that even without that element, it’s extremely well done and a wonderful read.
Also, not fiction (though Maus isn’t really fiction either) but The Prime Ministers was a great book- HIGHLY recommended.