A New Take on the Biblical Story of Esther

“I have always regretted that the historian allowed Vashti to drop out of sight so suddenly”, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

The Book of V

By Anna Solomon

Hey 1000 Bookies, I just finished the novel, The Book of V by Anna Solomon.  This is a fictional account of the Book of Esther in the Bible combined with a modern retelling.  The book is the story of 4 women, two are in the ancient times and two are set in more modern times.  To understand the story, reading the very short Book of Esther would not be a bad place to start.  According to legend and scripture, Esther was a Jewish woman growing up in Persia during the Babylonian Captivity.  At one point in the ancient world, Nebuchadnezzar and his empire conquered Jerusalem and moved a segment of the Hebrew people to Babylon and other cities in the empire as slaves.  Through a series of events Esther is married to King Ahasuerus, one of the successors of Nebuchadnezzar.  At some point, the King’s Prime Minister persuades the King to exterminate the Jews throughout the kingdom.  Esther’s step father, Mordecai, a servant of the king discovers and demands Esther to intervene.  Esther throws two larges feasts for the King and eventually persuades him that the Prime Minister is evil and her people need to be saved.  The Jewish religion celebrates this delivery from evil with the festival of Purim. 

Many historians conclude that the story of Esther is a fable or mythology.   However, as the Holocaust shows, the Jewish people have always been persectuted to the edge of extermination.  I became interested in the feast of Purim watching a BBC Canada show entitled, Being Erica.  Erica is from a Jewish family in Toronto and the show did a wonderful job of explaining the Jewish holidays.  I wish American television had done more to explain the Jewish holidays when I was younger.  

The Book of V reviews the story of Esther and puts together a modern telling of the story.  The book was published this year and has received good reviews.  I wanted to expand my knowledge by reading this story for the biblical references and educate myself on the background of Purim.  The book is approximately 300 pages long and not a difficult read per se.  This is the author’s fourth book.  Her niche is for (middle aged) women readers which I figured out early in the book.

A key element of the story of Esther has to do with the fact that the King was married to another woman named Vashti.  The King, during his merriment at a festival, asked the Queen to parade around his generals and advisors in just her crown.  She refused the King and disappears from the story,  whether she was put to death ala Anne Boleyn or just dismissed like Catherine of Aragon, the Bible does not tell us.  The Book of V deals with what happened to Vashti.  The story goes back and forth between three specific characters and times.  Obviously the first is the ancient world of Esther in the city of Susa in Persia. 

The second part of the story takes place in 1973, Washington DC.  Vivian Kent is the 28 year old wife of a United States Senator.  The Senator was appointed to the seat and he wants to win re-election.  So the Kents are having a Washington cocktail party to schmooze.  A businessman and his wife from Rhode Island are attending.  The Kents have to schmooze them.   The party ends up divided on different floors between men and women.  Senator Kent and the businessman have words, it seems that Senator Kent slept with the wife, and she claims she did not want it.  So its implied that the Suitcase Manufacturer wants to see Mrs. Kent and the Senator obliges.  At the time of their meeting, the wife tells Mrs. Kent that her husband slept with her and was not a gentleman.  Vivian refuses to perform for her husband in that way.  The Senator’s Chief of Staff then sends Vivian away.  The story mimics the story of Vashti. 

The story jumps to 2016 and the life of Lilly.  Lilly is a mom of two, but the key to the story is that she is the second wife.  Lilly is plagued with unhappiness.  She was a career woman before she met and married her husband.  She gave her career away to have her children and be the wife.  The first wife left to pursue her career.  Lilly describes living in that shadow.  I find that hard to understand because she has the children with her husband.  Yet Lilly is disappointed in her life.  She is also unorganized which stems from her disappointment.  Purim is coming and Lilly wants to sew costumes for her daughters.  Lilly is always wanting something better, from her marriage and from her life.  She contemplates adultery with one of the other fathers from her daughter's school.  Then her mother is diagnosed with lung cancer and Lilly rushes to care for her.  The two modern stories collide when Vivian meets Lilly in 2016. 

In the ancient part of the story, Esther is somehow a witch or sorceress.  She is unhappy with her family and is forced to be sent to the King for him to choose another wife.  For over a year, the girls are primped and pampered for the King.  Surprise, Surprise, The King chooses Esther.  But at this point the story diverges from the Bible, Esther does not please the King, she gives birth to two children.  She spends her days trying to determine how to leave the palace and save her people.  Her schemes are foiled by the Prime Minister.  Finally with the help of her eunuch, she finds a way to warn her people to leave Susa.  She discovers that Queen Vashti was not killed but imprisoned.  Esther frees Vashti to help the Jewish people escape. 

The character of Vashti is the heroine of the story.  The jilted first wife, Vashti was the only child of the King.  She was the rightful heir to the throne.  Yet her husband and his ministers usurped her cause she was a woman.  The biblical story does not mention her in this way.  I must say this novel  is geared to women which is fine.  If you are a middle age woman this is the book for you.  For me, a middle age man, not so much.  I don’t think there is any chance that The Book of V will be joining the next iteration of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die.  I did not get into the book but that should not stop you from reading. 

Keep Reading My Friends…