Unorthodox
The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots
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Unorthodox
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Narrated by:
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Rachel Botchan
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Cassandra Campbell
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By:
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Deborah Feldman
About this listen
Called “brave and riveting” by Jeannette Walls, Deborah Feldman’s New York Times best-selling memoir of escaping from a strict Hasidic community includes a new afterword by the author as well as the epilogues from the original 2012 editions detailing the circumstances of her life after leaving her husband and forging new beginnings for herself and her young son.
As a member of the strictly religious Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, Deborah Feldman grew up under a code of relentlessly enforced customs governing everything from what she could wear and to whom she could speak to what she was allowed to read. Yet in spite of her repressive upbringing, Deborah grew into an independent-minded young woman whose stolen moments reading about the empowered literary characters of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott helped her to imagine an alternative way of life among the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Trapped as a teenager in a sexually and emotionally dysfunctional marriage to a man she barely knew, the tension between Deborah’s desires and her responsibilities as a good Satmar girl grew more explosive until she gave birth at 19 and realized that, regardless of the obstacles, she would have to forge a path - for herself and her son - to happiness and freedom.
Remarkable and fascinating, this “sensitive and memorable coming-of-age story” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) is one you won’t be able to put down.
©2012 Deborah Feldman (P)2020 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Unorthodox
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Loo loo
- 07-05-20
Window to another world
I saw the mini series & really enjoyed it so wanted to read the book. I loved it - full of detail & insight into a previously unknown religious sect for me. I really empathised with the author & could hardly stop listening. Definitely recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jude Uk
- 14-05-20
What an amazing story
Such a brave intelligent lady. There is hope in this tale for escape from all religions who brainwash from birth.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Hotfooter
- 12-05-20
An extraordinary story
What a courageous woman . What an extraordinary narrative of human rights abuse . Everyone should read this to understand how religious practice is used as an excuse for so much appalling behaviour
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 07-05-20
enjoyable and thoughtful
i am glad i chose to read the book after watchinhg the Netflix series.
This was a deeper more insightful story which i empathize with more even as i loved the series.
the description and story telling was imaginative
The narrator however lost me a few times.
i could not tell when one thought, sentence ended and the other began.
It didn't distract from the story but it wasn't the best performance
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emily
- 17-11-20
Great novel, annoying narrator
A really fascinating, well constructed story let down by the narrator who's squeaky voice suited the 12 year old character at the start but became irritating when reading as an adult.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- zomodo
- 27-04-20
brilliant. insightful, interesting
also very well read. there really was nothing to dislike! Listen then watch on Netflix!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kate N
- 19-09-20
excellent
I have really enjoyed listening to Unorthodox- such a personal and lasting story of one young woman
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- denise wootton
- 07-05-20
A beautiful piece of work
I loved listening to this book,very real and true,you feel I involved reading it
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs G
- 16-07-20
Religion of many rules
I was always interested in the rules by which Hasidic community live. This book gives wonderful insight into what is like to be a part of it. The book is full of details and well written and read. This is one of audio books that can be listened to many times and I will listen to it again. I liked the use of Yiddish words and would have liked a dictionary of those words at the end. After listening to this one I am now really interested to find what is behind such a complicated way of life. There must be some ancient wisdom behind or at least explanations for various superstitions. The rules are probably followed in order to save lives thousands of years ago. The fact that Hasidic community still follows their old religion is on one hand admirable, but on the other ... well better to finish this review with unfinished sentence.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Kwow
- 28-04-20
Enjoyable listen
I listened to book after watching the tv show and it was nice to compare the two.
I actually prefer the book to the series much more detail.
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