Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots Hardcover – 14 Feb. 2012

Compulsive reading, far better than the Netflix series which departed from the facts and got very lost. Well written, although possibly not entirely open about the author's relationship with her mother, who also left the Hasidic community, but it's every author's prerogative to choose what they include. A powerful work by a rare writer.

Very revealing book about some of the Jewish beliefs. I found this book inspirational and educational.

I Never heard about this book until I saw Netflix's Unorthodox which I thought was emotionally brilliant. After watching the show I wanted to read the book that inspired the show.I found the book to be full of insightfulness and raw emotion. I felt that Deborah Feldman put her hear and soul in to this book and you could tell that it was quite tough for her to write it. Their are many themes that run through the book and they are handled perfectly. I liked how she left the book open ended as if her new life is about to begin.I have the Netflix Edition of the book and the difference between this edition and the original is that at the end of the book, she talks about her experiences working with the people on the show and how it felt to watch the show for the first time. For me, it's very difficult to compare the Book to the Show as they are very different from each other. I have to admit that I slightly prefer the show to the book, but that' my personal preference. The best compliment I can give is that the book and the show work well together and enhanced my experience of both stories

I am not usually a very fast reader, but I finished reading this captivating book in record time. Having lived in both New York and London, ultra-orthodox Jewish life had always been a personal curiosity that I knew vibrantly existed in my city, but my exposure to it had always been limited. This book has finally provided first-hand insights into the lives of this unique and highly insular part of the society. Along with her difficult personal journey from restrictive circumstances to freedom, Deborah Feldman introduced so many intriguing concepts, beliefs, and practices by Satmar Jews which explain why this community remains so fearful and isolated to this day. If you have also watched the series "Unorthodox", you will notice that the book provides a lot more detail and a slightly different narrative leading to Deborah's exit from the community. Overall, this was such a compelling read, and I look forward to reading more books by Deborah. She writes beautifully, and her powerful story is truly a source of inspiration for all humans, men and women alike.

this is a phantastic book telling the story of a new york orthodox jewish woman who leaves her community.makes good reading on bus and train. so thrilling - you miss your stop. i did.

This was such an interesting book. The Hassidic community in Brooklyn in the 21st century, so thoroughly exotic and strange, yet the author- a bold, curious modern woman like me.For a woman, reading it was a bit uncomfortable, all that blame, somehow, in that culture, women are always at fault." If you let a man see your leg by accident in the street ,you make him sin, and the responsibility is yours. How ridiculous.Yet, there was also explanation on why the post Holocaust community might think what they do, the isolation, the attitude toward " the others".I loved the character of Bubby, the grandmother, but learnt to sympathise and feel sorry for some of those male characters, like the author's grandfather or even her husband.It is not simple.The book was very well written, and I will most likely read the sequel, too.

I lived in a quiet, leafy neighborhood of LA as a young woman. Coming from Ireland in the 80s I had a nievety that still prevented my seeing much beyond Catholicism. I often saw women wearing wigs and men with side curls and unusual hats out walking, always in family groups and was deeply curious about them as they were so foreign to my limited experience of life thus far. My main impression from this story is how, from very early on this young girl knew that she was not born to live her destiny confined to the rules, structures and conventions of the culture and religion she was brought up to believe were the only truth. What wonderful strength of character and drive to be true to who she was destined to become... and still becoming. A story of hope, and trusting her own truth to lead her through life. Congratulations Deborah on choosing to live and not conform. A wonderful read, sometimes shocking, sometimes shockingly familiar.

Very different from the Netflix mini series of the same name, but both are worth your time. This memoire was a fantastic summer read - Well written, great prose, and an attention-holding story. I did have to read it with Google handy to look up some Yiddish words, but it’s not necessary.I’m keeping this one for my library.

Me encantó el libro. Es emocionante, apasionante y deliciosamente fácil de leer.El único "pero" que le pongo, es culpa de Amazon. Mi copia del libro llegó con una cortadura en la contraportada, que seguramente tendré que reparar antes de que se dañe más (el papel es muy delgado, no aguantará mucho).Disfruté muchísimo de la lectura de Unorthodox y estaré pendiente de nuevos libros escritos por Deborah Feldman!

A 10 anni di distanza dalla sua pubblicazione, molti verranno attirati a questo volume dopo aver visto la mini-serie su Netflix (me compreso), la quale è certamente interessante ma che è molto meno profonda dell'originale cartaceo.Deborah (Devoiri) Feldman ci porta per mano nella vita anacronistica, iper-conservatrice ed auto-referenziale della setta di ebrei chassidici di Satmar, stanziati a New York e non lontani dalla vita glamour e liberale della Grande Mela.La vita è strettamente governata da un'interpretazione integralista dell'ebraismo, con una netta separazione fra uomo e donna, repressione sessuale, matrimoni da 10 figli, una vita quotidiana scandita dalla lingua yiddish e con l'inglese relegato a mera necessità. Veramente difficile immaginare che nella patria del capitalismo ci siano ancora gruppi così chiusi ed oscurantisti.Feldman dà prova di grande maestria nel relazionarci i suoi conflitti interiori, che deflagheranno definitivamente dopo il suo matrimonio a 17 anni e la sua maternità a 19. Si renderà infatti conto di essere sposata ad un uomo che non conosce veramente, di non avere alcuna istruzione secolare e quindi nessuna prospettiva nel mondo "di fuori", prendendo la sofferta decisione di lasciare la sua comunità.Un libro bellissimo e coinvolgente, al termine del quale il pensiero va a tutte quelle persone in giro per il mondo che dalla loro prigione di oscurantismo non sono riuscite ad evadere.

La lecture de ce livre a été à la fois agréable, énervante, triste, drôle, révoltante et touchante...oui le tout à la fois.Je suis quelqu’un qui lit lentement et qui a aussi tendance à beaucoup prendre les choses à cœur et donc j’ai dû le lire en plusieurs fois, en faisant des pauses de plusieurs jours voire semaines.Beaucoup de passages m’ont révolté car je me disais que c’était inconcevable, qu’il fallait marcher sur la tête pour encore perpétrer certaines pratiques.Cet engouement est sûrement lié au fait que je me suis reconnue. J’ai grandi dans un milieu religieux et eu beaucoup de mal à m’en défaire. Tout comme elle je me suis souvent posée des questions. Des questions qui dérangent car on doit prendre les choses comme elles sont et puis c’est tout.Je suis contente qu’il y ait un « happy ending » malgré toutes ses galères, ça a été le cas pour moi aussi. J’ai du mettre de l’espace entre ce qui me dérangeait pour aller vers ce qui me correspondait le mieux.Je recommande cette lecture.

I know this book will not touch most of you in the same way it touched me. Growing up Jewish but not Jewish has always left me with a passion for knowledge about the religion that defined my ethnicity but not my spirituality. I hungered for the connection to my heritage but the religious aspect was always secondary. It was the rituals and the anthropology of the Jewish race that fascinates me.This book is a very rare insight into an extreme sect of Judaism, the Hasidic Jew.Her story is current and relevant if you have an interest in religion and more specifically, things that are unfamiliar and strange, but exist right now, here in the US. I hope, if you choose to read this, that it will leave you with a different understanding of the world around you, both big and little, near and yet so very far away.My Jewish experience was mostly at my Nana’s kitchen table, eating bagels and cream cheese, cheesecake, grapefruit sprinkled with sugar, and matzo ball soup. Asking questions about her childhood, being kosher, her thoughts on the holocaust and what my dad was like as a child. They are some of my most cherished childhood memories.This story evokes some of that, but mostly it is a fascinating window through which we can view something foreign and unknown,beautiful and horrible and confusing and bizarre, but worthy of knowing.I want to meet her and hug her and be her friend. A brilliant mind is a terrible thing to waste, I am so glad she was able to break free of her chains and fly.