But as the episodes unfold she is shown to have a spine of steel. Physically tiny, like a child, the viewer is immediately protective of her. Who is she outside her community? How will she survive? Haas is outstanding. Drama Story of a young ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman who flees her arranged marriage and religious community to start a new life abroad. In 2009, she left her husband and community altogether, moving temporarily back to New York City before eventually settling down in Berlin in 2014. But its focus – thanks to a mesmerising lead performance by 24-year-old Israeli actor Shira Haas – is Esty’s own coming of age story. The story of rebellion and freedom then takes on the pace and aspect of a thriller as the men close in on the runaway. Complicating matters is the discovery by Yanky that Esty might be pregnant with his child. by Deborah Feldman Paperback, 254 pages purchase The show is inspired by the bestselling memoir Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, in which Deborah Feldman wrote about. Deborah Feldman was 23 when she fled her ultra-Orthodox home in New York with her son, sparking outrage in the closed Jewish community, her dramatic story inspiring the Netflix hit Unorthodox. All of this is remarkable when juxtaposed against her backstory, told through flashbacks.īut as in the case of any good drama, the stakes are raised when her husband, Yanky (Amit Rahav), and his thuggish cousin arrive with the plan to bring her back to New York and the community. Esty is resourceful enough to flee there with papers from her grandparents, to find shelter, make friends, and ultimately secure an audition at a prestigious music school. Photograph: Anika Molnar/Netflixįor Esty, as presumably for Feldman, Berlin represents a chance at a new life – and freedom. However, she grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn as a member of the Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews. As a member of the strictly religious Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, Deborah Feldman grew up under a code of relentlessly enforced customs governing ever. Esty in her Hasidic community on her wedding day. Deborah is in her mid-thirties and lives in Berlin, with her young son.

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