The Book of V
by Anna Solomon
2/5 stars
⭐⭐
The Book of V is a set of 3 separate but slightly related stories, based on the story of the Book of Esther - the Purim story.
The V in the title is Vashti, the queen who would not follow the request of the king to appear naked at his party. He then forsakes her and ultimately marries Esther who goes on to save the Jewish people from complete annihilation.
V follows Vashti's story, the story of Vivian, a senator's wife, and the story of Lily, a young mom living in NYC. Ultimately Lily and Vivian's stories intersect, and parallels are drawn to Vashti's story, which is told from a different viewpoint.
I did not love this book, altho I did like parts of Esther and Vashti's story.
I thought the modern-day characters were whiny and self-indulgent, and I did not understand their motivation a lot of the time. I did enjoy the description of the Purim Shpiel and could appreciate the challenges of sewing a kid's costume.
There is a magic thread in the Esther story that I also felt undermined her power and diminished what she actually accomplished.
I read this for a Jewish book group, so it will be interesting to hear what the other members thought of this book. I would not recommend this- it falls in the "waste of time" category for me, although it does make me want to read a good translation of the actual Book of Esther.
Finished reading Sept 22, 2020
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