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I Am Forbidden: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 1,962 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A family is torn apart by fierce belief and private longing in this unprecedented journey deep inside the most insular Hasidic sect, the Satmar. In 1939, five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard. He is taken in by a Gentile maid, who raises him as her own son. Five years later, Josef rescues a young girl, Mila, whose parents are killed in the wake of Nazi deportations. Josef helps Mila find safety with Zalman Stern, a leader in the Satmar community, in whose home Mila is raised as a sister to Zalman’s daughter, Atara. The two girls form a fierce bond, but as they mature, Atara feels trapped by the restraints of Jewish fundamentalism, while Mila embraces her faith and her role as a respected young woman in her community. When Josef returns and chooses Mila to be his bride, she eagerly strives to be an ideal wife, but a desperate choice after ten years of childless marriage threatens to separate her from everything—and everyone—she cherishes. A beautifully crafted, emotionally gripping story of what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law, and centuries of tradition collide, I Am Forbidden announces the arrival of an extraordinarily gifted new voice and opens a startling window on a world long closed to most of us, until now.
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"I read this in literally 24 hours. It was one of those books that absorbs every waking hour I have: even when I'm not reading it, I'm thinking about it and wondering when I can get back to it. It's a really intimate portrayal of a Satmar Hasidic family that ranges from Transylvania to Paris to Williamsburg. Like one of the reviews I read of it said, it could have been one of two easy books (the free spirit escaping oppression or the family eschewing modernity to hew to tradition), but the author treats every person (and place) with warmth and dignity. The hook of the book for me was that it took place in the Hasidic community, whose members I see in my neighborhood every day, but what's fantastic about this book is how it draws you in so close to the characters to experience their joys and struggles. The prose itself is gorgeous as well. I recommend this book so, so highly."
— Joanne (5 out of 5 stars)
I Am Forbidden Listener Reviews
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" Not what I thought it was going to be. "
— Kelly, 2/10/2014 -
" I liked it but I didn't. It was about a family of Hasidic Jews and it all seemed so extreme that I didn't know whether to believe it. The author was a Hasidic Jew who left to avoid an arranged marriage so perhaps you have to take it with a grain of salt. Another heartbreaking look at what WW2 did. "
— Maile, 2/9/2014 -
" An excellent book, but I could not enjoy it, because it made me so angry and so wounded. A religious community in which legalism and control outweigh faith and love is the ugliest thing. "
— Sharon, 2/8/2014 -
" A story of Hasidic Jews who go through the Shoah and some to America - Williamsburg. The characters are gripping and love and loss is throughout including Atara who rejects the life of Orthodoxy. The ultimate fate of the main characters did seem unlikely but at the reading was believable. "
— Jean, 1/20/2014 -
" This book was amazing, but often really hard to read. I think that having some background knowledge of Hasidism helped me deal with many of the "wtf" moments here, but the Satmar as portrayed in this novel seem even more insulated than I would typically think of a Hasidic community. "
— Jenny, 1/20/2014 -
" This book is absolute trash. I gave up after 50 pages. Next time you write a book about the Holocaust, don't start with a wet dream on the first page, OK, Ms. Markovits? "
— Paula, 1/18/2014 -
" This is the story of two children who survived the Holocaust that destroyed their parents and their Jewish faith. The story was well written but I found it very depressing and sad. "
— Janet, 12/2/2013 -
" An interesting glimpse into a closed society. "
— Mary, 11/18/2013 -
" I read this book in one day. Loved the characters and looked forward to knowing what happened to them. "
— Joy, 11/12/2013 -
" This was a fantastic book and I breezed right through it. It's always interesting to read about other cultures. I'll never understand how people can do such extreme things in the name of religion. "
— Lauren, 11/3/2013 -
" At first it was difficult to follow the story with my limited knowledge of the Hasidic community. In the end it was a very interesting story and beautifully written. "
— Jeri, 10/26/2013 -
" I couldn't put the book down; devoured it in three sittings over a weekend. "
— Alan, 10/4/2013 -
" This book made me very happy not to be a Jew. "
— Tina, 8/13/2013 -
" This was a fascinating book. I really had a hard time putting it down and finished it over a couple of late nights. "
— Louisa, 6/29/2013 -
" I was fascinated by the author's insights into the worldview and customs of Hasidic Jews. "
— Kathleen, 5/17/2013 -
" I picked up this book because it received a positive review in Bookmarks. Glad I did! "
— Melinda, 4/8/2013 -
" Very interesting look into the lives of the ultra Orthodox. A bit slow, and definitely not an uplifting read - but character relationships were very real. "
— Lauren, 3/6/2013 -
" I really wanted to love this book, but it's not well written. The story itself is also extremely disjointed and underdeveloped. "
— Katie, 2/22/2013 -
" I would give it three and a half stars. It was good, just went in a different direction that I didn't love. "
— Susie, 8/23/2012 -
" If you like Chaim Potok's books, this may interest you. "
— Phillygrrl, 6/6/2012
About Anouk Markovits
Anouk Markovits grew up in France, in an ultra-orthodox Satmar home. She attended a religious seminary in England instead of high school, and left the fold at the age of nineteen to avoid an arranged marriage. She went on to receive a BS from Columbia University, a Masters of Architecture from Harvard, and a PhD in romance studies from Cornell.
About Rosalyn Landor
Rosalyn Landor is an English-born television, theater, and multiple-award-winning audiobook narrator. Her television credits include Love in a Cold Climate, Rumpole of the Bailey, Sherlock Holmes, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has won numerous Audie awards and AudioFile magazine Earphones awards.