Unorthodox: A Memoir of Breaking Free from the Hasidic Community and Embracing a New Life

Tracey Robbins: Good read

Canada on Nov 03, 2023

karina Oakes: I watched the series on Netflix first then the book. I loved both but the book goes into more detail. I identify as come mainly from a Christian background which I've learned that all religious communities can be harsh in certain areas. I'm on a learning curve on reading about others who have felt somewhat stifled by religious practices. It's happened to me. Well done for leaving and speaking out. It was the right thing to do. We should be free. Many Thanks for writing this.

United Kingdom on Sep 11, 2023

k gotheridge: This is the book that the hit TV series was taken from.
The story varies from the TV one but gives a lot more of the background to the story.
If you liked the series, then buy this book.
If you liked this book, then watch the series.

United Kingdom on Sep 05, 2023

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

United Kingdom on Jul 18, 2023

El: I gave this book 3 stars based upon how interesting I found reading about the Hasidic Jewish community. The community is notably very private so to read a first-hand account of day-to-day life was fascinating. I found that I could read large chunks of the book in one sitting which is usually the sign of a good book, but unfortunately this is where my praise ends.

I found it really hard to warm to Deborah and felt no connection with her and her story. Deborah was clearly feeling a lot of emotions throughout her story but she writes of them in a cold manner that left me feeling no emotional connection. The story should have had an emotional effect on me but it didn't and I can only attribute it to the writing, there was no warmth or depth to the people within the story, everything is written about in a matter-of-fact way and the end result is that you don't feel any attachment to anyone within the story. This had a big impact on the book as a whole, the content was interesting but by the end of the book the reader should have been rooting for Deborah to escape but the lack of emotional depth meant that I felt nothing.

I also felt that the book left too many open...

United Kingdom on Mar 10, 2021

Jane C.: I want to give it five stars in response to some of the ridiculous criticisms in the one star reviews and elsewhere, but the later part of the book is just too rushed with inadequate detail. Like Bird Box, the very good book was turning into an excellent Netflix project, which the author acknowledges in a pretty moving afterwards

I don't think the author is unfair to the Hasidic community, it's arguably a flattering picture. I read the blog criticizing the author and it was petty stuff. Who cares if the WSJ didn't cover 9/11 on 9/11/2001? It wasn't a detail that supports anything, it was just color. So she misremembered. It distorted nothing. And of course she changed her name. That’s not a gotcha!

Is she young and immature and slightly vain and possibly a little attention-seeking? Yes. Does she sometimes attribute other people’s actions to malice or self-interest when alternative explanations are feasible? Yes. Are her expectations of her husband possibly a little unreasonable and one-sided? Yes. Is she intelligent, brave, and sympathetic? Yes. Does she demonstrate a loving attitude towards the grandparents who raised her? Yes. Did she approach her marriage with...

United States on May 25, 2020

voracious reader: This memoir portrays the Hasidic sect of Satmar Jews as a cult. The Satmars and Hasidic Jews are angry and aghast over this book and the realities it brings to light. Many of the negative reviews have been filed by Hasidic Jews who are angry with Feldman's portrayal of Hasidism as a cult. Because Jews have been persecuted over the centuries by non-Jews many Jews feel it is a betrayal to critisize other Jews and their observances. Unfortunately Jews must and should be critical of their fundamentalist co-relgionists just as Muslims and Mormons should be of theirs. Deborah Feldman was a constructive if not an actual orphan being raised by her grandparents. Because of her orphan status the community members looked down upon her. Her parentage was questionable. Her father was mentallly ill or retarded. He wanders the neighborhood in inappropriate dress making inappropriate announcements. He was probably schizophrenic. His parents never sought proper treatment for him because it did not comport with their fundametalist religious beliefs. Because the Hasids do not believe in birth control, there is a high percentage of down syndrome and retardation in their community. Women have children...

United States on Oct 15, 2012