The Book of V. – Zoom author talk with novelist Anna Solomon

Feb 18, 2021 7:00PM

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The JCA presents

The Book of V. – Zoom author talk with novelist Anna Solomon

Thursday, February 18th at 7:00 PM EST

Advanced registration required by Weds. 2/17 at https://mainejewish.z2systems.com/eventReg.jsp?event=73508&

Free. Suggested donations of $10/household gratefully accepted.

The Zoom link will be email to registered participants on Weds. afternoon 2/17, and again on Thursday, 2/18 at 4 pm.

 

The Purim story of Esther is often told as the triumph of a Jewish minority over one man’s blinding hatred, through the courage and selflessness of one woman. Anna Solomon’s The Book of V. challenges this simple narrative — asking, what is Vashti’s story? And how do we choose to represent women’s lives, both in the past and today?

 

The narrative alternates between the historical Esther’s perspective, Vivian, known as Vee, a 1970s wife of a senator, and Lily, a modern-day Brooklynite, second wife, and mother of two. Each of these women’s lives is constrained by the expectations of a patriarchal society. Vee enjoys her socialite life but is plagued by her husband’s past and her own insecurities when she compares herself to her peers; Lily is haunted by the memory of her husband’s first wife, and cannot relinquish feelings of ineptitude towards her domestic duties and her marriage.

 

The Book of V. explores the idea of people living on the margins — geographically, socially, and economically, and offers new interpretations of the story of Esther.

The book will be available to order from our friends at Longfellow Books at this link:

https://www.longfellowbooks.com/event/community-event-book-v

The first 20 copies purchased will include a signed bookplate.

The JCA is a member of the Jewish Book Council network.

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