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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
At first I’d like to point out that I haven’t read Unorthodox and therefore I don’t know whether the shortcomings of this book are perhaps made up for in the other one.
To be honest I was very intrigued by this book since I’m naturally drawn to the books about people who had similar experiences and have at some point decided to leave everything behind in search for their authenticity. This book partly managed to satisfy this expectation, but I must say my expectations were far greater since I watched Unorthodox on Netflix and I was a big fan. In this book Feldman shares random moments and stages of her life after leaving, however they are all over the place and at times she even weaves in a flashback from her childhood. She writes about visiting a shaman, moving to a house in New England countryside, travelling through Europe and tracing her grandmother’s life before emigrating to the US. She is trying to figure out relationships with men and her sexuality after traumatic experiences in her old community and she is also dealing with the Holocaust trauma of her ancestors that still leaves her restless for a sense of belonging.
Overall I feel as though this book was a bit on the surface and didn’t have a central theme or resolution. I wanted it to be philosophically deeper rather than just going from place to place (both physically and metaphorically), meeting with random (often) toxic men, blaming the new generation for not caring about the German history, but then doing a Nazi-Jewish role play with some German men. But in the end, it is the account of someone’s life and I’m not in the place to judge what they should or shouldn’t do with their life especially within a totally different religious and historical tradition.
To be honest I was very intrigued by this book since I’m naturally drawn to the books about people who had similar experiences and have at some point decided to leave everything behind in search for their authenticity. This book partly managed to satisfy this expectation, but I must say my expectations were far greater since I watched Unorthodox on Netflix and I was a big fan. In this book Feldman shares random moments and stages of her life after leaving, however they are all over the place and at times she even weaves in a flashback from her childhood. She writes about visiting a shaman, moving to a house in New England countryside, travelling through Europe and tracing her grandmother’s life before emigrating to the US. She is trying to figure out relationships with men and her sexuality after traumatic experiences in her old community and she is also dealing with the Holocaust trauma of her ancestors that still leaves her restless for a sense of belonging.
Overall I feel as though this book was a bit on the surface and didn’t have a central theme or resolution. I wanted it to be philosophically deeper rather than just going from place to place (both physically and metaphorically), meeting with random (often) toxic men, blaming the new generation for not caring about the German history, but then doing a Nazi-Jewish role play with some German men. But in the end, it is the account of someone’s life and I’m not in the place to judge what they should or shouldn’t do with their life especially within a totally different religious and historical tradition.
If you're looking for a book just as good as Unorthodox, this is not it. I was very excited to read this book and took it out via Libby right after I finished Unorthodox. I was extremely disappointed.
Honestly the author comes off as extremely pretentious to me in both her journey and her writing style. Its hard to reconcile that this is the same person who wrote Unorthodox. I understand its years later she wrote this but still its just difficult to stomach how pretentious the story and writing style is.
The structure of the story really didn't interest me as it was more like a collection of short stories. I didn't get into many of them but if I did she would move on from something without a real conclusion or point.
I saw all the negative reviews but I still read it . Took me a little over 4 months but I did it and didn't like it. Proceed at your own risk with this one.
Honestly the author comes off as extremely pretentious to me in both her journey and her writing style. Its hard to reconcile that this is the same person who wrote Unorthodox. I understand its years later she wrote this but still its just difficult to stomach how pretentious the story and writing style is.
The structure of the story really didn't interest me as it was more like a collection of short stories. I didn't get into many of them but if I did she would move on from something without a real conclusion or point.
I saw all the negative reviews but I still read it . Took me a little over 4 months but I did it and didn't like it. Proceed at your own risk with this one.
Such a great follow up memoir about reclaiming and creating an identity
Kauniisti kirjoitettu, rönsyilevä ja syvästi inhimillinen kasvukertomus. Ei yllä Unorthodoxin tasolle (miten se voisikaan – Unorthodox on loistava), mutta kuvaa koskettavalla tavalla väkivaltaisesta uskonlahkosta paenneen yksinhuoltajan yritystä löytää oma paikkansa maailmassa. 700-sivuisessa kirjassa olisi kieltämättä ollut paikoin varaa karsia ja tiivistää, mutta nautin Feldmanin kirjoitustyylistä ja olisin mieluusti lukenut enemmänkin. Eniten pidin arkisista Berliini-kuvauksista, ja toisaalta tavasta, jolla kirjoittaja kuvaa rinnakkain omaa juurettomuuttaan ja holokaustista selvinneiden omaistensa traagisia kohtaloita.
As a German it was worth reading this book. Mostly for a change in perspective. Having said that, it feels like it could have been 200-300pages shorter. Feldmann writes a lot about her feelings in a lot of detail and sometimes it just feels like a bit too much.
I received an ARC from Penguin. I found her first book interesting, but I was not able to finish this. It seemed like a disjointed diary where she was real-time processing everything that happened to her and she published it because she could.
This book made me think
A book that makes you think is the best kind of book. Feldman's books are an obsession. I don't want to stop reading. I understand more about Jewish folks and the world. As Sally J. Freedman would say, "Thanks, I understand better now."
A book that makes you think is the best kind of book. Feldman's books are an obsession. I don't want to stop reading. I understand more about Jewish folks and the world. As Sally J. Freedman would say, "Thanks, I understand better now."
Both extremely Jewish and extremely relatable. It was incredible how Feldman’s search for meaning, belonging, and love in the United States and across Europe could mirror that of so many women her age (myself included) when she grew up in such an insulated world different from the average secular reader.
How do you rate a book that is a heavy not fun one but that was poignant and introspective about a very harsh reality? It was a good book. It's not at all a light or cozy read.