Occasionally I hear about a book that I think would be fascinating to read. When I heard about “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots” by Deborah Feldman, I thought I had found something truly worth reading.
Unfortunately, I finished the book wanting more from the author — more introspection, more details about her decision to leave her community and more information about her new life.
Although the author did make a courageous decision to cut ties with her repressive Satmar Hasidic community, “Unorthodox” does a poor job of reflecting the magnitude of her actions, and the purpose of her book seems more vengeful than cathartic.
Feldman begins “Unorthodox” with memories of her unhappy childhood growing up abandoned by her mother, who left the community years before, and living with her mentally disabled father, so she lived with her strict, orthodox paternal grandparents in Brooklyn, N.Y. For most of her life, Feldman practiced Satmar Hasidic Judaism, one of the strictest sects of Judaism in the United States.
According to the author, Satmars make a point to go beyond the religious duties outlined in traditional Jewish texts because they believe doing so will prevent a second Holocaust.
The author writes that Satmars are forbidden from using the English language and must communicate only in Yiddish. They must also wear extremely modest clothing that distinguishes them from “goyim,” the Yiddish term for Gentiles, and usually they place more importance on observing and abiding by their religious laws than on loving others, even family members.
Feldman finishes “Unorthodox” by discussing her short, dysfunctional marriage that eventually caused her to seek a different life for herself and her young son. Now, the author is attending Sarah Lawrence College and lives with her son in New York City.
I was intrigued by Feldman’s stories about a life that is primarily unknown to outsiders and starkly contrasts with typical American values, but all of her memories are so negative and sometimes outlandish that I wondered if she had exaggerated them.
Her shocking account of a boy’s murder and the way she blamed all of her unhappiness on her community made this book appear more like a serving of vengeance than an inspiring tale of a woman who defied the bondage of religious oppression.
Had Feldman spent more time discussing her inner desire for freedom and had she devoted a majority of her book to explaining her actual rejection of her community and how her life is different now, I would have been more willing to accept the crazy stories contained in her book.
“Unorthodox” has received much publicity and praise from “The View” and is on O Magazine’s “10 Titles to Pick Up Now” list, so not everyone agrees with my view that the book is a shocking, vindictive expose. As the book is currently written, though, it does not live up to the exciting story promised by its “scandalous” title.
Regardless of my dissatisfaction with “Unorthodox,” I would recommend this book to someone interested in something different from the typical young adult novel.
As long as the reader understands that this book is only mediocre in its writing and that everything the author writes needs to be read with a grain of salt, he or she will not be disappointed as I was.
