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A review by clairealex
Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman
5.0
"I have freed myself from my past, but I have not let go of it. I cherish the moments and experiences that formed me" (247).
This attitude undergirds the whole memoir: the past left behind could have been so bitterly hated, but instead it is simply left. The person left behind is respected as the new person moves on.
Some of the appeal of the book is the glimpse into the exotic, but most is the well written narrative of growing up with a mind, of thinking about things and asking questions. What is exotic is based on where one stands. In her liberated life she sees her past as exotic, whereas it was mundane when she lived it, longing for the exotic of the outside world.
The details are not all exotic. I see parallels between the Hasidic culture and the Fundamentalist culture more familiar to my past. Most vividly shown are the many minute details maintained to preserve the line between insider and outsider.
The book was a more compelling read than many memoirs.
This attitude undergirds the whole memoir: the past left behind could have been so bitterly hated, but instead it is simply left. The person left behind is respected as the new person moves on.
Some of the appeal of the book is the glimpse into the exotic, but most is the well written narrative of growing up with a mind, of thinking about things and asking questions. What is exotic is based on where one stands. In her liberated life she sees her past as exotic, whereas it was mundane when she lived it, longing for the exotic of the outside world.
The details are not all exotic. I see parallels between the Hasidic culture and the Fundamentalist culture more familiar to my past. Most vividly shown are the many minute details maintained to preserve the line between insider and outsider.
The book was a more compelling read than many memoirs.