Book Review: I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits

Book Blurb

I Am Forbidden is a multi-generational portrayal of family, faith and history which takes the reader across continents, from pre-war Transylvania to modern-day New York via Paris and England. This novel explores what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law and centuries of tradition collide.

Opening in 1939 Transylvania, five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard and is rescued by a Christian 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. 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.

 Mila's faith intensifies, while her beloved sister Atara discovers a world of books and learning that she cannot ignore. A beautifully crafted, emotionally gripping story of what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law, and centuries of tradition collide, I Am Forbidden opens a startling window on a world closed to most of us.

My review

This book was a Goodreads recommendation so I went in without any expectations and ended up being blown away by the beauty of the writing. Everything about it ticked all the right boxes: the poetic, mesmerising style of its prose, the restrained nature of the narrative, the flawed by relatable, characters that the author was able to create with such conviction. I was in turns sad, angry and hopeful but the overall feeling I came away with was one of intense heartbreak: for Mila and Josef; for what was and what could have been. It is a book about dogma and traditions; about what is allowed and what is forbidden.

“We've always known that a marriage our parents approved meant giving up Paris and its bells.”

But it might not be for everyone. If you're a proud feminist, don't read this book. It will anger you. If you hate restrictive orthodox doctrine, don't read this book. It will make you feel trapped and powerless. But if you want to understand a different culture, one so different from what we are used to that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was all made up, then give this book a chance. It will shock you. It will break you into tiny pieces and devastate you, and then make you whole again. A different whole than before. One that is more open to other culture and beliefs. I Am Forbidden does what every good book should do. It challenges your status quo and ingrained misconceptions and shatters them forever.

“Mila found comfort in this ordered world where sin explained suffering.”

Genre: historical fiction

First published: 2012

Location: Szatmar, Romania; Paris, France; Brooklyn, New York

Awards: Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize Nominee (2014)

Goodreads rating: 3.69 ⭐

My rating: 5 ⭐

About the author

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 bachelor of science from Columbia University, a master of architecture from Harvard, and a PhD in Romance Studies from Cornell. I Am Forbidden is her English Language debut. A more in-depth background about Anouk Markovits and the reason why she wrote this book can be found in Martha Schulman's article Inside Out: Anouk Markovits published in Publisher's Weekly (March 2012).