I Am Forbidden

Nov 05, 2012 Rachelle Urist rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. PART 1 is my initial Goodreads entry in response to the book.

PART 2 is the review I wrote for the Washtenaw Jewish News.

1. The writing is elegant, concise, sometimes brilliantly stark. The Yiddishkeit flows naturally - unlike several books I've read of late which drowns under research. French, Yiddish, English, Hungarian language and culture all figure in the moving and provocative story. Markovitz follows a Szatmar family as they move from Transylvania to Paris to New York, gaining and losing...more PART 1 is my initial Goodreads entry in response to the book.

PART 2 is the review I wrote for the Washtenaw Jewish News.

1. The writing is elegant, concise, sometimes brilliantly stark. The Yiddishkeit flows naturally - unlike several books I've read of late which drowns under research. French, Yiddish, English, Hungarian language and culture all figure in the moving and provocative story. Markovitz follows a Szatmar family as they move from Transylvania to Paris to New York, gaining and losing members along the way. The Szatmar rebbe's rejection of Zionism figures centrally in the story, as it emerges that this towering figure of the Szatmar community survived the holocaust by making a deal with the Zionist leaders he excoriates. A Szatmar family at the story's center suffers horribly. In the end, the family's survivors thrive, though a key member of the family (the author's double?) leaves the fold. In the book, this character, who disappears for much of the book, reappears as a filmmaker in NY, when beckoned by her sister. As girls, they were inseparable. As adults, they were estranged.
Among the central, inspired themes of the novel is the story of Tamar, who sinned to stay pure - a paradox. Judah, her father-in-law proclaims her more righteous than himself. The author's inspired choice of this biblical tale is arresting.

2. (Washtenaw Jewish News)
I Am Forbidden is a stunning novel. Written with eloquence and economy, it follows several generations of a Satmar Hassidic family, from Transylvania to Paris, France to Brooklyn, NY. The tale is told with a rare mix of tenderness, resentment, nostalgia, and perspective, and it offers a rare glimpse into the world of Satmar Hassidim. The story begins through the eyes of a child, a little boy who witnesses the murder of his family. He is whisked to safety by the family’s servant, who removes his yarmulke and payess (sidelocks) and raises him to be Christian. Time passes quickly. He almost forgets his heritage – until he witnesses a Jewish family shot in cold blood, and rescues their little girl.

Anouk Markovits grew up in the world of Satmar Hassidim. Her writing brings to mind a poignant axiom: to make a story universal, make it very specific. In her story, the foreign words that permeate the writing add color, texture, soul, and, strangely enough, universality. Markovits’ fluency in French, Yiddish, English and Hungarian helps her to flesh out these characters, as they journey through the chaos of 20th century Europe. Ultimately, two branches of the family survive: one in Paris, the other in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The blend of languages is arresting, especially when the language of desire becomes a memorable mix of Yiddish, English, and French.

At the story’s core are two sisters, Mila and Atara. Their father is a man whose own travails we have followed. He is strict but loving. The sisters are inseparable, until the two unwittingly violate the Sabbath one sunny day. Atara bears the brunt of their father’s wrath. She then turns inward, trusting only her intellect for guidance. The books she reads clandestinely are taboo. Yearning for higher learning, she leaves her family, at which point she disappears from the novel, too. The reader, like her family, is left to wonder what became of her.

The story turns to Mila: grateful, compliant, devoted to tradition. It is a curious plot twist. We wonder what became of Atara. Like Jacob, we must settle for the sister. Surprisingly, this switch enriches the plot. Mila, the “good” daughter finds herself in an arranged marriage that proves as romantic as any fairy tale. Her bridegroom had once rescued her from certain death. But life interferes. Lest I spoil the book, I will not divulge their tribulations. Suffice it to say that eventually she turns to the story of Tamar for consolation. The biblical Tamar, desperate for justice, turns to harlotry. In a sense, Tamar sins to stay pure, a paradox. Ultimately, Tamar is declared a righteous woman. Markovits’ reference to this biblical tale is inspired.

For a tale spurred by indignation and longing, this story is remarkable for its compassion – and for its autobiographical overtones. Markovits grew up in France, and, like Atara, left her Hassidic roots. She fled at 19, after being sent to New York to marry a man she never met. Eventually, Markovits earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia, a Masters in Architecture from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in Romance Language from Cornell. It is tempting to speculate that Markovits has taken her own story and split herself in two, hence the sisters. By exploring the path not taken, Markovits examines the life she might have led: Mila’s life. At the same time, she gives a nod to the free spirit who establishes a career and keeps her own counsel. In fiction, Markovits can reunite these women (the two parts of herself?) and restore, however fleetingly, a sense of family. But she cannot tell her Satmar forebears that they revere a man she deems a coward. The original Satmar rebbe, Joel Teitelbaum, was rescued from the Nazis by Zionists, but Teitelbaum excoriated Zionism, and taught his followers to do the same. This historic truth is at the heart of the novel. Atara cannot tolerate the community’s erasure of their leader’s betrayal. In her eyes, his behavior is unpardonable. Atara could never have lived Mira’s life.

This book is an act of courage and literary prowess. It is Markovits’ second novel. The first was written in French. She wrote this one in English.

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Nov 06, 2012 Chrissie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: france, hf, religion, romania, audio, hungary, usa

This is a disturbing book. Once I started listening to the audiobook, excellently narrated by Rosalyn Landor, I could do nothing else but listen to more and more ......and more still, until I reached the end! If I am to set the star rating by how urgent it was to read the book once I started, it would get five stars. But I am not giving it five stars, only four. I had to listen because I was so disturbed. I had to listen because in the beginning it was confusing. I even had to listen to the firs...more This is a disturbing book. Once I started listening to the audiobook, excellently narrated by Rosalyn Landor, I could do nothing else but listen to more and more ......and more still, until I reached the end! If I am to set the star rating by how urgent it was to read the book once I started, it would get five stars. But I am not giving it five stars, only four. I had to listen because I was so disturbed. I had to listen because in the beginning it was confusing. I even had to listen to the first hour and half twice.

To know if you want to read this book you must have a general idea of its themes. It deals with Hasidism, particularly the Satmar sect of Jews living in Transylvania. It deals with women who want children, very, very much and cannot get pregnant. How and why can infertility destroy a relationship? It deals with to what degree do you follow rules e-x-a-c-t-l-y, and who has the right to bend the rules and who cannot? Hasidism, should it be criticized for being strict and inflexible, or is it the people who slavishly implement the rules that are to be criticized. Judaism is known for being a religion open to discussion and debate, but what about in the Satmar sect? The story begins in the 1930s near the Hungarian / Romanian border. Clearly, another theme is the Jewish situation in this area during WW2, and specifically the guilt versus innocence of Rezso Kasztner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rezso_Ka...) and how the Satmar Jews viewed Zionism. Kasztner was a Zionist. Related to Kasztner is the theme whom do you choose to save? Is it the number that counts? The question expands as the novel continues. Do you do it at any cost? And when do you save yourself? None of these are easy questions. Do you understand why I could not stop listening?

BTW, I found Kasztner's Train: The True Story of an Unknown Hero of the Holocaust confusing, so I cannot recommend it.

One complaint that I had initially was that only the harshness and destructive qualities of the Hasidic beliefs seemed to be depicted. As I continued through the book the author also showed wonderful traditions of the Satmar Jews. There are songs and rituals filled with happiness and delight. The view became balanced.

The sentences, if sometimes ambiguous and even confusing at points, were also very often beautiful. Jewish expressions and French lines are thrown in. The French is usually translated, but less often the Jewish expressions. I mentioned above the theme related to how rules can restrict and thus make you crazy for freedom. Atara opened the door to the Parisian street:

In the shivery Parisian dawn a swell of poppies swayed, each blossom a scarlet freedom quivering on its fragile stem. (end of book two)

Isn't that pretty? There are many such lines.

I have not told you why the book is disturbing. It is sad to watch what people do to each other. It is hard to watch what life throws in our path. Did I want a happier ending? No, this ends on a good note that is realistic too. This is not a fairy tale novel. To really understand you have to read the book, see how the plot unfolds and concludes.

Please see the book description; I did not want to repeat what is mentioned there.

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Mar 04, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-mt-bookpile

Those who read The Chosen will find some similarities here: there's a scholar prodigy, gematria, questioning of long-held beliefs, and the transition of a Hasidic group from Eastern Europe to America. However, here the author a better knowledge and understanding about Hassidism and Judaism than I suspect most people will have. For example, Hasids originally opposed the formation of the State of Israel and were anti-Zionism. That's not so say there isn't some explanation (eg, complete immersion t...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Chris Blocker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am mystified by meandering rivers. I've never seen one in person, but I've seen photos and these have grabbed my attention. Part of what makes these rivers so beautiful are their wide arcs back and forth. If you were on any point of one of these rivers, you'd see things differently. You might, at first, think the river that flowed parallel to yours was a different river that would eventually merge with your own.

Much in the same way, I Am Forbidden meanders through scenery that is beautiful hea...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Beverly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Josef Lichtenstein sees his family murdered by the Romanian Iron Guard. He is taken by Florina, the family servant, to live with her as her son, Anghel. Anghel later saves a young girl, Mila, when her parents are killed as they try to get their Rebbe to save them. Anghel helps Mila find Zalman Stern a leader in the Satmar community. She is brought as his daughter, sister to Atara. Mila's faith endures but Atara longs for a more worldly life. They move frb on Transylvania to Paris where the secul...more Josef Lichtenstein sees his family murdered by the Romanian Iron Guard. He is taken by Florina, the family servant, to live with her as her son, Anghel. Anghel later saves a young girl, Mila, when her parents are killed as they try to get their Rebbe to save them. Anghel helps Mila find Zalman Stern a leader in the Satmar community. She is brought as his daughter, sister to Atara. Mila's faith endures but Atara longs for a more worldly life. They move frb on Transylvania to Paris where the secular world is hard to escape. Zalman realizes that Anghel is a Jew and brings him to his home. He studies the Torah and is sent to America to study with the Rebbe. When Mila and now Josef again, come of age, they become engaged and are soon married. Atara realizes that it will soon be her turn and she decides to leave. Mila and Josef set up house in Brooklyn. After almost ten years of marriage, they are still childless. According to Jewish law, a husband can divorce his w cafe if they have not had children after ten years. They are both upset. Mila has seen a doctor and he said she can conceive and she takes fertility drugs. Josef refuses to see a doctor because it is against the law to waste his seed. During a visit to Paris, Mila gets caught up in the turmoil of the student riots and picks up a young man and has sex with him. In the meantime, Josef decides to see the doctor. Of course, she gets pregnant and he finds out he is unable t o conceive. According to law he must denounce her and her offspring, but he keeps putting it off. They live in the same house but he barely acknowledges her. He wastes away until he can hardly move. The secret finally comes out with terrible consequences. This is an inside look at an ultra religious Jewish community. The law and tradition are everything. Mila, Josef and Atara react to the demands of the law in different ways. Atara leaves the community. Mila must have a child no matter what. Josef cannot reconcile his love for Mila with the fact that he is not her child's father. Atara is added at the end yet we barely know what her life was like when she broke away. I empathized with both Mila and Josef, each one trying to hold onto their beliefs and live a righteous life. So sad. We know how Josef feels but we don't get the same amount of insight into Mila's feelings. Thoughtful book.(less)

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Apr 02, 2013 Arlene rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sweeping from the Central European countryside just before World War II to Paris to contemporary Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I Am Forbidden brings to life four generations of one Satmar family.
In 1939 Transylvania, five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard. He is rescued by a Christian maid who raises him as her own son. Five years later, Josef rescues a young girl, Mila, after her parents are killed while running toward the Rebbe they hoped would save them....more

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Mar 31, 2013 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-audio

I Am Forbidden, by Anouk Markovits, Narrated by Rosalyn Landor, Produced by Random House Audio,Downloaded from audible.com.

This is a debut novel written with an isolated Hasidic Jewish group at the center with very fundamentalist and unyielding rigid beliefs. Publisher’s note explains this better thanI can. It will rank as one of my best fiction reads for the year.
Publisher’s Note:
A family is torn apart by fierce belief and private longing in this unprecedented journey deep inside the most insu...more I Am Forbidden, by Anouk Markovits, Narrated by Rosalyn Landor, Produced by Random House Audio,Downloaded from audible.com.

This is a debut novel written with an isolated Hasidic Jewish group at the center with very fundamentalist and unyielding rigid beliefs. Publisher’s note explains this better thanI can. It will rank as one of my best fiction reads for the year.
Publisher’s Note:
A family is torn apart by fierce belief and private longing in this unprecedented journey deep inside the most insular Hasidic sect, the Satmar.... Sweeping
from the Central European countryside just before World War II to Paris to contemporary Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I Am Forbidden brings to life four generations
of one Satmar family. Opening in 1939 Transylvania, five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard and is rescued by
a Gentile maid to be raised as her own son. Five years later, Josef rescues a young girl, Mila, after her parents are killed while running to meet the
Rebbe they hoped would save them. Josef helps Mila reach Zalman Stern, a leader in the Satmar community, in whose home Mila is raised as a sister to Zalman's
daughter, Atara. As the two girls mature, Mila's faith intensifies, while her beloved sister Atara discovers a world of books and learning that she cannot
ignore. With the rise of communism in central Europe, the family moves to Paris, to the Marais, where Zalman tries to raise his children apart from the
city in which they live. When the two girls come of age, Mila marries within the faith, while Atara continues to question fundamentalist doctrine. The
different choices the two sisters makes force them apart causing one to be declared dead by the family, while the other one, Mila, who marries in the faith, is forced to give up her relationship with her sister to remain in the family. But because of the very rigid structure of the religion, Mila takes an action to save her marriage which ultimately turns out to do almost the opposite. . I Am Forbidden announces the arrival of a gifted new voice and opens a window on a world long closed to most of us, until now.

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Feb 18, 2013 Zackary Berger rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A man runs naked to the Aron Kodesh. A boy, after witnessing the slaughter of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard, is saved, to be raised as a Christian. In parallel: The Satmar Rebbe, in an open car, is within shouting distance of his Hasidim whom he does not or cannot save from extermination. This is national tragedy, theological failure.

It is the year 1939, in Maramures, Transylvania. 5-year-old Josef, his skullcap gone, his golden sidecurls shorn, is being raised by Fiorina, his family’s C...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Josine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits (Hogarth) ISBN 9781781090022

Traditional religious laws have the ability to both create and break bonds of love. In Transylvania during the final days of World War II, Rabbi Zalman Stern takes responsibility for two orphaned children. Young Josef is sent to the United States and Mila is enfolded in the Rabbi’s family and becomes a sister to Atara. The sisters grow up together in the Hasidic community in Paris with strict rules and traditions. Atara is the inquisi...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Carolinecarver rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A beautifully told and horrifying account of two children from Transylvania whose parents are killed by the Iron Guard and who are saved after the war by their Satmar Hasidic community. I read that this sect are mostly Hungarian and Romanian Jews who relocated to Williamsburg, NY, after the war and continued to live, study and work together, rarely coming into contact with outsiders who might corrupt their congregation. The author herself was raised in France in a Satmar home before leaving at 1...more A beautifully told and horrifying account of two children from Transylvania whose parents are killed by the Iron Guard and who are saved after the war by their Satmar Hasidic community. I read that this sect are mostly Hungarian and Romanian Jews who relocated to Williamsburg, NY, after the war and continued to live, study and work together, rarely coming into contact with outsiders who might corrupt their congregation. The author herself was raised in France in a Satmar home before leaving at 19 to avoid an arranged marriage. Leaving means knowing that your father will disown you and you may never see your family again. Part of the story takes place in France where two sisters, one rescued and adopted, are raised in a fundamentalist home where the weight of their every action is a judgement for or against the salvation of their murdered families. This is not a light read. The search for buried family in the deserted cemeteries with its uncared for and overturned tombstones was especially poignant as my husband also visited many grown-over cemeteries with tossled about tombstones when I lived in Transylvania. There were no Jews left to care for them, and in my town the synogogue was a wood factory. "It is a catastrophe" as our French-speaking Hungarian friend and guide told my husband. In Sibiu the mayor's wife told me she had seen "the last Jew of Sibiu" riding a bicycle in town. With that in mind, I found the Transylvania sections so real and beautifully rendered and the story so compelling I wondered if it might be true. I loved the novel until Book IV and V in fact, and this is not a long book just a divided one. The last part of the book switches characters and it feels rushed, and the poetic nature of the telling becomes more labored. So, the book was spoiled for me by the new character and the suddeness of the conclusion. Markovits writes a denouement in four pages, and the loving adopted mother whom I haven't even mentioned, but is a significant character, gets a half a page. She deserves more, and as a reader, I felt I did too.(less)

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Aug 26, 2012 Elaine Campbell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This powerful story offers a unique vision inside the homes of multi-generational Hasidic families that live through the horrors of war and the difficulties of peace in many countries.

It is written with great skill, taste, proportion, subtle poetic prose and deep knowledge of its subject as the author, Anouk Markovits, was raised in France in a Satmar house. She left her home at the age of 19 when a marriage was arranged for her. She holds three degrees, in three different subjects from three U....more

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Aug 08, 2012 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was sharp and stunning. Many parts are sad, even horrific, as peoples lives warp and change around this core of Hassidic Jewish traditions. I held the book with a sort of attracted, weary respect. I devoured the first half of the book, but once Atara has left the scene, the book just seemed to slow and the plot dried just a bit. I felt like the point had been made and it might have been more efficient to start wrapping up earlier. Not to demerit the later parts of the book, but I felt...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"I am Forbidden" follows four generations of members of an insular Hasidic sect. The book opens in 1939 Transylvania as a five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by a pitchfork wielding member of the Romanian Iron Guard. Josef is rescued by the family's Gentile maid who raises the boy as her own. Five years later, Josef helps a young girl, Mila, unite with Zalman Stern, a leader in the Satmar community, after her own family is murdered while trying to board a train carrying their...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Jacque rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really found this book to be emotional and it really pulled me in. It made me think about what life could be like in a different culture or religion. I found it to be very interesting. It explained some aspects of the Hasidic Jewish faith and how the people were treated during World War II. It was a wonderful story that made me feel for the characters in the book.
It starts out in World War II with the Jews being taken on trains to the concentration camps. There was the story of the boy who wat...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

Women’s friendships

Markovits writes of a Romanian Jewish community during World War II. They are from the Satmar sect and have very strict beliefs and traditions. There are two sets of parents, one trying to flee to safety and another attacked in their home, are murdered by fascists. Left behind are two children, one from each family, each is rescued. The boy is adopted by the family maid. She’s a Christian and tries to keep him safe by teaching him to ‘pass’ by adopting Christianity and pretend...more Women’s friendships

Markovits writes of a Romanian Jewish community during World War II. They are from the Satmar sect and have very strict beliefs and traditions. There are two sets of parents, one trying to flee to safety and another attacked in their home, are murdered by fascists. Left behind are two children, one from each family, each is rescued. The boy is adopted by the family maid. She’s a Christian and tries to keep him safe by teaching him to ‘pass’ by adopting Christianity and pretending to be her own child. Though she’s misguided she loves him very much. The girl is adopted and raised as a devout Jew by her father’s Talmud study partner and bought up with his ever growing family in France.

I found the immersion in this unique culture fascinating but also heartbreaking both because of the World War II atrocities but also because of how unbending and unforgiving the Satmar tradition seems to be. I also found this culture extremely loving and caring. This contradiction is at the heart of the story. I was reminded of Lisa See’s “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” for two reasons. See’s book is centered on the very insular Chinese culture of the 19th century which also had very strict traditions and expectations for men and women and their respective roles. The second similarity between the stories was the central theme of women’s friendships that were formed early and sustained through life’s hardships. I feel like I’m walking a tightrope when I say this but neither the Satmar nor the 19th century Chinese traditions were female hating even though they were dominated by male privilege but they did have unflinching expectations.

The orphan, Mila, and her adopted sister, Atara, were of one mind as children but in adulthood their paths forked. Each still held the other dear in her heart. This is the best part of Markovits’s book. The women’s relationship holds it together and is emotionally affecting. The story is told from various viewpoints and from many time periods but it remains clear. Markovits is an affecting, skilled writer. I didn’t like the ending, it felt forced. I loved learning about a culture so different from any I’m familiar with. The contrast between the rigidity of the Satmar culture and the sweetness of the women’s love for one another touched me deeply.

3.5/5
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Jun 06, 2012 Toto66 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book proves that in any religion there are extremists that take generic 'holy' text and follow it to the letter without thinking of decency to their fellow human beings. I found this book so disturbing, not only because it is a sect of my own religion, but because this really isn't a work of fiction. This is real life to those believers. And I am all for freedom of religion but those that take their beliefs over the top and it affects children....that's when I say enough. I have never under...more

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May 25, 2012 kari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, 5-star

Heartbreaking.
I wasn't sure where the story was going to go at first, but I was drawn in by the crispness of the writing and the fullness of the characters. Even though none of them are overly-descirbed, these are people you have hopes for and want them to find happiness.
The synopsis is a bit misleading as the story continues only with Mila once Atara makes a fateful decision. She doesn't reappear until almost the end of the story. We get only the life among the Hasid. I think that works well be...more

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May 16, 2012 Florinda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As eastern Europe is fractured during World War II, the Satmar Rebbe of Transylvania makes a miraculous escape to America and begins building a new community in the Williambsurg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York; meanwhile, those of his Transylvanian followers who survive the war are dispersed throughout Europe. Zalman Stern, his wife Hannah, and their growing family end up in Paris, where they are eventually joined by two young orphans. Josef was the only survivor of the brutal murder of his f...more As eastern Europe is fractured during World War II, the Satmar Rebbe of Transylvania makes a miraculous escape to America and begins building a new community in the Williambsurg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York; meanwhile, those of his Transylvanian followers who survive the war are dispersed throughout Europe. Zalman Stern, his wife Hannah, and their growing family end up in Paris, where they are eventually joined by two young orphans. Josef was the only survivor of the brutal murder of his family, rescued and raised as her son by their Christian maid; several years later, Josef rescues Mila after her parents are killed chasing after a train--the very train on which the Satmar Rebbe is leaving. When both children end up in the care of the Sterns, Mila remains with them to be raised as a sister to their eldest daughter, Atara, while Josef is dispatched to Williamsburg to study with the Rebbe himself. Josef and Mila will be reunited a few years later when their marriage is arranged. The Sterns' daughter Atara will find herself on a different path; her curiosity about the secular world surrounding her family in Paris raises questions she is emphatically discouraged from pursuing--but she can't ignore them. While Mila and Josef become more deeply entrenched in the Satmar way of life, Atara will become estranged from it...and ultimately from her family.

The title of I Am Forbidden can be interpreted several ways within the context of the novel. Women in the Satmar sect are forbidden from furthering their educations or working; they have no role outside the family. Their most important job is producing children, and one of their greatest responsibilities related to that job is the preservation of "family purity"--the rules that govern sexual relations between husbands and wives. Sex is for procreation only, and a wife must carefully track her cycles. There are several days each month when her husband is forbidden to touch her; at the end of that time, she partakes in a ritual bath and returns home to give her husband a sign that he is now "permitted" to be with her. This "permitted" time should coincide with her most fertile days, and if all goes well, she won't have "unclean" days again for months; however, pregnancy will make her "forbidden" again. A wife who does not produce children has failed at her job, and after ten years, her husband may divorce her.

It can be hard for a modern woman to understand how any woman in this day and age could accept living like this...which is why it's key to understand that living like this is a deliberate rejection of anything "modern," and can only be perpetuated within a community that chooses to close itself off from the world. Exposure to unsanctioned ideas from the outside can raise questions; questioning can undermine an individual's belief, and individual questioners may ultimately break down a community of believers. Questioning is why Atara Stern had to leave her family behind.

Markovits has Atara leave the story behind along with her family, as the remainder of the novel focuses on Mila. Her story is probably more interesing from the outside because her life is so unfamiliar, but at the same time, the narrowness of Mila's life makes her story more challenging to tell. While Markovits rises to that challenge for the most part, when she tries to take Mila out of her life's confines, the novel takes a turn that I thought was unfortunately soap-operatic. Although I continued to be pulled along by the story, my appreciation for it diminshed a bit over the last third of the book.

Anouk Markovits' writing is lovely, and she has attempted some ambitious storytelling in I Am Forbidden. The novel spans decades and explores a way of life that seems to exist alongside our own time rather than of it. It touches on matters historical, political, and religious while focusing on one family's story. I don't think all of it worked, but I appreciate it when an author reaches the way this one does; and while I didn't find the novel entirely satisfying, I did find it consistently engaging, interesting, and emotionally resonant.(less)

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May 06, 2012 Bonnie Brody rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits is a brilliant, poetic novel that begins during World War II in eastern Europe and ends in contemporary Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

During World War II, two children become orphaned. One, a young boy named Josef, loses his parents and sister to storm troopers and is adopted by a peasant woman in Translylvania. Her name is Florina and the two of them forge a loving bond. She renames him Anghel and baptizes him to protect him from the Nazis. In yet another scene, a you...more I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits is a brilliant, poetic novel that begins during World War II in eastern Europe and ends in contemporary Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

During World War II, two children become orphaned. One, a young boy named Josef, loses his parents and sister to storm troopers and is adopted by a peasant woman in Translylvania. Her name is Florina and the two of them forge a loving bond. She renames him Anghel and baptizes him to protect him from the Nazis. In yet another scene, a young girl named Mila watches as her pregnant mother runs toward an open railroad boxcar calling, “Rebbe, Rebbe”, and is shot down mercilessly by the Nazis. She is taken in by a Satmar family, a sect of Hasidim. The Zalmans adopt her and bring her up with love and as one of their own. They have a daughter named Atari who is nearly the same age as Mila. Atari and Mila grow up together.

As time progresses, Mila becomes more and more observant of the Satmar beliefs along with its laws and observances. Atari seeks to leave the sect and make a secular life for herself. This is considered heinous and the title of the book comes from this leaving. For ten generations, she and her offspring are ‘forbidden’. They are estranged from the family and not permitted to participate in any of the Satmar rituals or be acknowledged by family members.

Marriages are arranged by the Satmar and Mila is matched with Josef who, as a young boy was separated from Florina and sent by the Zalmens to Williamsburg in order to study Torah. This is a marriage of love despite it being arranged. The goal of Satmar Hasidim is to be fruitful and multiply. If, after ten years of marriage, there are no children, the husband is permitted to leave his wife and file for divorce. After ten barren years, Mila is afraid that Josef will leave her despite knowing that he loves her and that they share a good life together. They are b’shert, which means that under the eyes of God, they are meant for one another.

Atari, meanwhile, has left her home in Paris where the Zalmans were living and is in New York making documentary films. She is a forbidden one.

The connections between the characters throughout time, geography, and family is beautifully rendered. The story is a prose poem that is sensuous, poignant, and tragic. I loved the story though the first twenty pages or so were a bit confusing. Once I was past that, I was riveted to the book and could not sleep for wanting to finish it in one sitting.

Ms. Markovits, according to the book jacket, “was raised in France in a Satmar home, breaking from the fold when she was nineteen to avoid an arranged marriage.” She went on to college and graduate school, not something that is considered possible for Satmar women. I Am Forbidden is her first work in English and I eagerly await her future work.
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Apr 09, 2012 Merrikay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits

This novel elicited a few different and emotional reactions from me. First of all, I had some difficulty following the plot initially, I believe due to my unfamiliarity with the history and the foreign (to me) names. The beauty of the writing, paired with my personal beliefs, caused the varied emotional responses. Initially, I felt increased compassion for the characters and increased understanding of the Hasidic experience. As the story continued, I experienced...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Lauren Margolin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: judaica

This book took me by surprise as my hopes for it were entirely to low. Perhaps it's because I've read many books about the Hasidic Sect of Judaism but this book steps very far apart from those I've read before. This author can write and it's seems that based on her own personal history, she writes what she knows.
Although there was a slightly elusive beginning to this book and I felt like I was lost, it took no time to grab me and suck me in to this fanatical world of the Hasidic sect called the...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel draws from the life of the author. Markovits was raised in the Satmar tradition, an ultra-conservative Jewish sect. She left it at the age of nineteen to avoid an arranged marriage and went on to further education, eventually earning a doctorate.
The novel follows three characters and begins in Transylvania, Romania near the end of World War II. Josef, a young Jewish boy, survives the murder of his family and is taken in by the family's Gentile maid, passed off as her own child. Anothe...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I probably made a mistake reading this right after finishing "Unorthodox" by Deborah Feldman, which is a memoir written by a woman who was raised in the Satmar Hasidic sect in Brooklyn NY. Going from undiluted non-fiction to this poetic, slightly-navel-gazing fictional novel admittedly colored my impressions.

In many places, the story is difficult to follow and murky. There are periods of intense action, then blank spots filled with vague descriptions of the goings-on of numerous characters. It's...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Jaclyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I Am Forbidden was a fascinating look into an insular sect of Hasidic Jews, the Satmar. When the book begins (during World War II), a young Jewish boy witnesses the murder of his family. Josef is taken in by the family's Christian maid and raised as her son. A few years later, he again witnesses the murder of a family - this time the Hellers, parents of Mila. Mila survives and Josef helps her escape to the home of Yalman Stern, her father's study partner and a leader in their Hasidic community....more I Am Forbidden was a fascinating look into an insular sect of Hasidic Jews, the Satmar. When the book begins (during World War II), a young Jewish boy witnesses the murder of his family. Josef is taken in by the family's Christian maid and raised as her son. A few years later, he again witnesses the murder of a family - this time the Hellers, parents of Mila. Mila survives and Josef helps her escape to the home of Yalman Stern, her father's study partner and a leader in their Hasidic community. The Stern family adopts Mila and raises her as their own, and she becomes particularly close to their eldest daughter, Atara, who is only a year younger. As Mila and Atara mature, Mila becomes more devout than ever, while Atara starts to question the faith. Much later in life, Mila - now married - is hiding a secret that could destroy her family. Could Atara, estranged from the family and the community, help her sister?

I definitely enjoyed this book, which is the author's English-language debut. One of my weaknesses (as far as reading is concerned) is for peeks into secretive religious communities. (I read The 19th Wife for the same reason.) I really know nothing about the Hasidic Jewish faith, so that aspect of the book was incredibly interesting. The character development and the plot, however, left me a little bit wanting. I really liked the first half of the book, which focused on Atara and Mila equally and showed their divergent paths as Atara begins to question everything and Mila feels compelled to distance herself from her embarrassing sister (much as it pains her to do so). But the second half of the book was basically The Mila Show. And while I loved and sympathized with Mila, I wanted more Atara. I wanted to see where her path in life takes her, but she essentially disappears from the story midway through and only reappears at the very end, with her entire adult life having happened off the page. That disappointed me, since she was my favorite character. I suppose I was expecting Atara to be the main character, since the author herself escaped from a Satmar community and I think Atara was supposed to be the author's stand-in on the page. It's okay that this book wasn't actually Atara's story, but I didn't realize that going in and I was disappointed when Atara eventually became little more than an off-page presence, if that.

Still. The writing was evocative and atmospheric, Mila's story was compelling, and it kept me turning pages. Three very solid stars, and I'll be following this author to see what she does next.(less)

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Apr 01, 2012 Cindi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

Josef is a young boy when he survives the massacre of his family in Transylvania during World War II. Hidden and raised by a non-Jewish woman for several years, Josef is eventually discovered by other Jews and sent to live with the Rebbe in New York City. Mila, a young Jewish girl is orphaned when her parents are brutally killed. She is taken in by another Jewish family and raised in Paris.

Thus begins I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits.

Eventually, Josef and Mila, Satmar Jews, will marry and entw...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, jewish, literature

I decided to read this after I read Unorthodox. Similar stories, I heard. Both by women who left the Satmars, they said.

That couldn't be more wrong.

It is true that the author of this book - Anouk Markovits - left the Satmar community, as did Deborah Feldman, but there the similarity ends In Unorthodox, the author clearly had an axe to grind and though she certainly had legitimate complaints her book was more an airing of grievances and a revelation of customs than the telling of a tale.

This, how...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Alice Meloy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This saga begins as the Jews of Transylvania are deported, killed and disperse to other countries at the outset of World War II, and follows the lives of two young Jewish children who survive the murders of their families and grow up in the very conservative Satmar traditions in Paris and the United States. They eventually meet again as young adults and marry, suffer through agonizing years of childlessness until a daughter is born, and then watch their daughter and granddaughter grow and mature...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Zara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, cultural-jewish, religious, own, review-list

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits is an intimate and tender revelation of the private and reverent world of the strict Hasidic sect, the Satmar. This generational story is both a delicate and harsh division in one family whose one polar opposite is deeply rooted in the full conviction of its piety, complete obedience, and practice of its extreme spiritual traditions to the other spectrum of yearning for independence through secularism and modernity.

The narrative is beautifully written, a clear a...more

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May 15, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, fiction, non-fiction

3.5. I love when books can take me to some place that I haven't been before. Before this book, I was not familiar with the Satmar sect of Judaism, a very conservative sect that really limits what women in the sect are able to do. Women are supposed to be almost subservient to their husbands at all times. They don't hold a lot of power. It was interesting to get a glimpse of what it must be like to be in that world. It's also very interesting that the author grew up in a sect much like the one Mi...more 3.5. I love when books can take me to some place that I haven't been before. Before this book, I was not familiar with the Satmar sect of Judaism, a very conservative sect that really limits what women in the sect are able to do. Women are supposed to be almost subservient to their husbands at all times. They don't hold a lot of power. It was interesting to get a glimpse of what it must be like to be in that world. It's also very interesting that the author grew up in a sect much like the one Mila finds herself living in later on in the book once she marries Josef. The author obviously left the sect and has been out of the sect for awhile as she would have never been able to have written a book like this one while remaining a part of the sect.

Standing at under 300 pages, this book that covers from WWII to the present day moves very quickly and sometimes too quickly for my own liking. While I do like books that move quickly, I found myself wishing that the author would dwell a little bit longer and explain some things. I found myself having to look up a lot about the Satmar sect as it was totally unfamiliar to me and I didn't want to miss anything in the book. I thought that the author really had three stories here that she could have written a book about each. The first story being about Josef's adoptive mother and his childhood and ultimately being taken in by another Satmar family. The second being about Mila's life in Williamsburg. The third being about Mila's grandchildren. All of these stories could have included enough detail to make really full stories.

Because the book moves so quickly, it's almost as if you are looking through a window at the characters but you don't really get to know what's going on inside of the characters heads. To me, this was both a bonus and a detriment. It's a detriment because I really wanted to know why the characters were thinking what they were thinking. It was a bonus because the writing is so crisp and fresh that the sort of sparseness of detail doesn't really detract and allows the writing to really shine through.

Bottom line: A very interesting historical fiction that covers a lot of ground.
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Mar 10, 2013 Kyle Uniss rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

know very little about the Jewish Hasidic community, and nothing about the Satmar Hasidic Jews. The big hats, the side curls and the women trailing behind the men--this was about all I knew. To me they seemed liked the Amish of the Jewish world.

Anouk Markovits gives a glimpse into this world. She opens a window just a little, uncovering a world of extremes. Things we take for granted, like reading unholy texts, are forbidden to this community, and for the women the list is longer. There are no...more know very little about the Jewish Hasidic community, and nothing about the Satmar Hasidic Jews. The big hats, the side curls and the women trailing behind the men--this was about all I knew. To me they seemed liked the Amish of the Jewish world.

Anouk Markovits gives a glimpse into this world. She opens a window just a little, uncovering a world of extremes. Things we take for granted, like reading unholy texts, are forbidden to this community, and for the women the list is longer. There are no trips to the Goyim world that aren’t fraught with peril--you may see a Roman statue from the corner of your eye, or see a Catholic church by accident. A woman must keep track of the days leading up to and following her period to know when she can have ‘relations’ with her husband, which also cannot happen until she has taken her ritual bath and been declared kosher. They definitely cannot visit the library and cannot read a Goyim newspaper. News outside the community is definitely forbidden.

I Am Forbidden’s focal point is the Satmar, a very isolated, very regulated Hasidic Jewish sect. The story spans pre-World War II to modern times, following two orphan’s intermingled lives from Transylvania to Paris to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It is a tragic love story stemming from people trying to do the right thing, make each other happy and follow Hasidic law--which seems to be impossible to do.

There is no gray in the Satmar community--there is black and white, man and woman, married and unmarried, clean and unclean, Godly and worldly. What is right and what is Holy aren’t always in harmony, and this torments the characters. The characters live with memories of the Holocaust and the troubling thought that their leader may have bargained with Nazi leaders to save his own life while not saving his community.

Author Anouk Markovits grew up in a Hasidic home, leaving it for a life of freedom and expression. She knows of what she writes, and I wonder how much of this book comes from her life. You feel the pain she felt, and understand what went into her decision to leave.

This book was lovely, sad, tragic and beautiful. It isn’t often that a book and make you feel deeply and teach you something all at the same time. I definitely recommend this book. (less)

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