serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
Two attempts and this is sadly just not capturing my attention.
eileen_critchley's review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes I read a book and I don't love it and I'm not sure why. The writing didn't bother me (sometimes I love the story idea and the writing itself is the problem, but not in this case), and I tend to love interconnecting stories that take place over time. It may just be where I'm at at this point in time that this book didn't resonate with me as much as I thought it would. I loved how two of the stories and timelines came together (and in a way I didn't see coming), but ultimately this book was a bit slow going for me. But, admittedly, I'm at a highly distractible and exhausted moment in my life, so I'm sure it's not the book, it's me. It's not a fast read, and I wasn't dying to get back to it; by the end it felt like more of a chore and I think that's just not what I need right now.
(library, kindle)
(library, kindle)
starrburst112's review against another edition
3.0
About Vashiti and Esther was a timely Purim read. It has multiple story lines. It is my second time trying to read it. Didn’t love all the characters. I
carinab's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
awill's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
julieanncordero's review against another edition
3.0
There were parts of this book I really enjoyed and then parts that I struggled through. I don’t know — definitely not a favorite books.
bkish's review against another edition
3.0
this book doesnt quiet come together and Anna Solomon had a far reaching plan to bring together different groups of people at different periods and tie it all together with the Jewish story of Esther the Queen who was jewish and helped to save her people at a time way way back in our history
There is a theme here which is loosely connected to the first Queen Vashti and brings us into current time in Brooklyn NY and DC in the 80s. It is a story about women and their men.
I think Anna Solomon could have made a simpler story without so much weaving of characters to give the impression of all having same issues and similar outcomes
It just gets lost in the translation and the interweavings...
It did tho hold my interest altho I didnt ever experience a connection to any of these women
Judy
There is a theme here which is loosely connected to the first Queen Vashti and brings us into current time in Brooklyn NY and DC in the 80s. It is a story about women and their men.
I think Anna Solomon could have made a simpler story without so much weaving of characters to give the impression of all having same issues and similar outcomes
It just gets lost in the translation and the interweavings...
It did tho hold my interest altho I didnt ever experience a connection to any of these women
Judy
eserafina42's review against another edition
4.0
Biblical stories are always subject to reinterpretation in the light of current times, and this is especially true of the book of Esther, as we are reminded by the endless variations in our annual Purimspiel. The character of the king’s rebellious first wife, Vashti, in particular, has become a feminist icon in recent years.
In her latest novel, The Book of V, novelist Anna Solomon gives her own spin to the age-old story, intertwining a retelling of the biblical book with the lives of two modern women: Vivian Kent (nee Barr), a political wife in the Nixon era who finds herself in a similar situation to Vashti’s; and Lily Rubenstein, a second wife facing the imminent death of her mother, Ruth, as she attempts to prepare her young daughters for her temple’s Purimspiel.
Solomon moves deftly among her three narratives - the story of Esther, which is at the same time both more realistic and more fantastic than the original; Vivian’s emancipation from her blue-blooded New England background; and Lily’s struggle with the conflict between love of her family and regret for the writing career she put on hold, as well as her lingering jealousy of her husband’s first wife. In all three stories, the relationships between women - whether friends, mothers and daughters, or first and second wives - are woven together and celebrated in all their complexity.
In her latest novel, The Book of V, novelist Anna Solomon gives her own spin to the age-old story, intertwining a retelling of the biblical book with the lives of two modern women: Vivian Kent (nee Barr), a political wife in the Nixon era who finds herself in a similar situation to Vashti’s; and Lily Rubenstein, a second wife facing the imminent death of her mother, Ruth, as she attempts to prepare her young daughters for her temple’s Purimspiel.
Solomon moves deftly among her three narratives - the story of Esther, which is at the same time both more realistic and more fantastic than the original; Vivian’s emancipation from her blue-blooded New England background; and Lily’s struggle with the conflict between love of her family and regret for the writing career she put on hold, as well as her lingering jealousy of her husband’s first wife. In all three stories, the relationships between women - whether friends, mothers and daughters, or first and second wives - are woven together and celebrated in all their complexity.
ththalassocracy's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
cozeemys22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75