Deborah Feldman
Memoir
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m an atheist, so memoirs about people breaking away from their religion are fascinating to me. This one got several good reviews, so I decided to pick it up and I am so glad I did.
Unorthodox is the story of Deborah, a woman raised as an Hasidic Jew. Now, I know next to nothing about Judaism, but Ms. Feldman did an excellent job of describing the beliefs and restricting (often ridiculous) rules of her religion. She’s also a great writer, and, to be shallow here for a moment, I really like the cover. Ms. Feldman begins the book as a naïve child, but after her marriage, she quickly starts to realize that she cannot stay a part of the Hasidic world for much longer. When she finally breaks free, you just breathe a sigh of relief (not that you didn’t know it was coming). I also appreciated how she didn’t desparage her family too much, even though she had plenty of reason to do so. This is just the way they were raised. You can’t ask someone to change when their beliefs and culture are embedded so deeply inside of them.
Anyone interested in other religions and anyone who has broken free of an oppressive religion will enjoy this book.
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