Tokyo: Like the characters of her book, Anouk Markovits grew up inside the strict Satmar Hasidic Jewish sect, where reading novels was frowned upon and she was expected to wed in an arranged marriage at a young age.
Markovits, a native of France, broke away from the community, as does Atara Stern, one of the daughters of the family in "I Am Forbidden."
But most of the book centers on those who remain behind, especially the young couple Mila and Josef, whose infertility and desire for a child sets them on a collision course with tenets of their faith.
Trained as an architect and scholar of comparative literature, Markovits spoke with Reuters about her novel and her life, where they intersect and where they differ....
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11:23 AM, May 28, 2012
