What do a 2016 Brooklynite, 1970s senator’s wife and ancient Jewish hero have in common? A lot more than you’d think. “The Book of V.” by Anna Solomon threads together the stories of three women during three distinctly different eras, yet somehow finds these characters repeating eerily similar refrains. In 2016, Lily agonizes over maintaining a feminist perspective on her identity as a stay-at-home mom and second wife. During Nixon's "reign," Vivian is publicly humiliated when her senator husband reveals a dark side of himself. And the backbone behind both of these narratives is the story of Esther, the orphaned Hebrew girl who will become the Queen of Persia.

Solomon’s fascination with the Book of Esther’s contradictions, the almost mythical setting of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and her own naiveté about modern gender equality come together in her epic third novel.

The Book of Esther is a story from the Hebrew Bible about a humble Jewish girl who becomes the queen of Persia and saves her people from being killed. It wasn’t until Solomon revisited the story as an adult that she realized even a children’s book version of the story doesn’t make a lot of sense. The narrative contains plot holes, and Solomon found its basis to be offensive. (Esther becomes queen after the king’s first wife, Queen Vashti, is exiled — or possibly killed — for not parading around naked for the king and his friends.) But Solomon was interested in discussing the story with her children so they could understand the heart of the festival of Purim.

Growing up, Solomon’s family belonged to Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester, one of the few synagogues on Cape Ann. The tight-knit congregation would come together for a pageant during Purim where the children paraded their costumes around a brick hall. “There was this festive air,” Solomon says. “There was this whole spiel which the adults would perform and the humor in it really stuck with me. I didn’t know then, but the adults were probably drinking.”

Esther was the clear heroine and fan favorite for the children to dress up as, but Solomon always had questions about the exiled Queen Vashti. It was implied that Vashti became a sex worker or a leper, but no one knows her fate for certain. “The Book of V.” follows Esther’s story closely while illuminating her fight for agency in a patriarchal world, sharing the reasons behind why she refuses to shave and bathe in perfumes for the King who authorized a rampage on her people. But Solomon also seeks to shine light on Vashti’s story, since Solomon has always wondered how the catalyst for Esther’s story could be so central to the plot and then so quickly forgotten. Her modern Brooklynite character Lily compares her own internal competition with her husband’s ex-wife to Esther and Vashti to explore possible answers.

Solomon, who now lives in Brooklyn, brought her family to Cape Ann to wait out quarantine. She often dreams about her childhood home in West Gloucester along the Essex River because the surrounding woods played a huge role in her life growing up as an outdoorsy kid. She spent her days outside climbing on rocks, imagining things, talking out loud, telling stories and interacting with characters of her mind’s invention. Her mother has since moved, and for years, Solomon couldn’t bear driving by her old home to see how it had changed. But she recently decided to take her family down the long driveway to see the land that had meant so much to her. Apart from a few trees that had been cleared and some new footpaths that had been added, the house of her memory remained intact. Her son now fabricates his own stories in his room and on the sidewalks of New York City, but she says it’s incredible to see his imagination run wild in the marshes of Gloucester like an echo of her former self.

While many books that were originally scheduled to publish in May and June have had their release dates pushed to late summer or the fall, “The Book of V.” publish date had been locked in by the time the pandemic set in. Solomon’s original book tour would have spanned across the Northeast and Midwest, but now she’s working with those bookstores to recreate these events virtually or find other creative publicity solutions. “I know a lot of bookstore owners and booksellers up here, so I asked them, ‘Do you think people would want signed books?’ A number of them found that really exciting.” She had books shipped to her directly to sign and ventured down to Porter Square Books and Belmont Books to drop off at the storefront or the owner’s own porch, whichever option was safest. The Bookstore of Gloucester has already had her sign five to six boxes full of stock because the title keeps selling out again and again.

“I have a real community here, from friends of my parents who’ve known me since I was born, to the synagogue community, and there’s also a thriving writing and reading community,” Solomon says. Cape Ann has found its way into Solomon’s work — her second novel, “Leaving Lucy Pear,” was set there entirely, and Gloucester makes an appearance in “The Book of V.”

“I always continue to return to Cape Ann in my writing at different times because it has such a powerful place in my imagination and my sensory knowledge,” she says. “So much of what goes into making a character come alive and go on a journey and have intense formative experiences is to play with that. It’s my idea of honoring the place and the woods in that way.”

She was also drawn to the setting of Cambridge and what it stands for in “The Book of V.” She says Cambridge’s elite colleges, biotech companies, and overall intellectualism make it a very storied place, bordering on mythical. “It's easy to lose sight of the lives that are actually lived there,” she says. “My parents met there, so for me, there was an added layer of myth, even mystery, about the place, especially in the ‘70s.”

To Solomon, the 1970s seemed to promise equality, but upon realizing how that once-hopeful future fell short, she wanted to explore the ways women’s rights today aren’t all that different from our mothers and their mothers. “The Book of V.” character Vivian, who joins a monthly women’s group meeting but has certain societal expectations as a Senator’s wife, gives Solomon the place to explore that conflict on the page. Vivian is divided internally between embracing the radical liberation movement and maintaining the status quo.
Cover of "Book of V." by Anna Solomon. (Courtesy Henry Holt and Co.)

When Solomon was researching 1970s women’s fiction to find contemporary perspectives to inform Vivian’s character, she came across the 1977 novel “The Women’s Room” by Marilyn French, coincidentally published the same year Solomon was born. Telling the story of a 1950s housewife who gets divorced and enrolls in graduate school at Harvard, Solomon says French “drops you into the streets and living rooms of Cambridge in a very intimate way.” Here was her entry point to looking inside the mind of someone who actually lived in Cambridge decades ago. Solomon finds the book, “very radical, even now, the way it portrays women’s interior lives and the complexity of their experience. There are also limitations to it — it mostly represented a white women’s movement. But it had this really raw rage.”

The other parallel time period Solomon focused on was 2016. Originally, she started writing “The Book of V.” in 2015, during what she refers to as the “heyday” of thinking society had made “so much progress” in terms of gender and race. The 2016 presidential election was a bucket of ice water that splashed her naiveté in her face, similar to a lot of people she knew. Her character Lily freely chooses to be a stay-at-home mom in progressive Brooklyn, a choice hard-won by the people before her. But Solomon seeks to illustrate the “delusion” of equality since readers possess the knowledge of what ended up happening next hanging over Lily’s story like the sword of Damocles.

Lily, Vivian and Esther all have their own unique narrative arcs, but by reading their stories side by side, Solomon offers the reader deeper insight into each one. Lily doesn’t directly follow in Esther’s footsteps any more than Vivian follows in Vashti’s, thanks to Solomon’s deep insight into their individuality. “The Book of V.” will make you realize that we have more in common with our foremothers than we do differences.

2.5 rounded up

8 days. That's how long it took me to finish this 320 pages novel (which I usually devour within 3-4 days). I struggled a lot to get through it, and almost DNF a couple of times. But I requested this book, so I feel obligated to continue reading it, cover to cover.

My biggest problem with The Book of V., is that it is very slow-paced and hard to follow. Therefore, although the plot is interesting, it did not grab my attention. Instead, I got all confused, and many times I had to go back to the several last pages and read it again. Eventually, I got tired of it, and I was just reading it for the sake of finishing the book.

On the positive note, I think that it's amazing that Anna Solomon created three strong heroines without having them all sounded the same. Solomon made sure that each and one character has their own unique personalities and she gave them their own "voice" through their POV. And I love it.

Last but not the least, I'd like to point out that although I did not enjoy this book, please remember that you might have a different experience. So pick up this book and give it a try.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me a digital copy of this book. All opinion is mine

I really struggled to finish this book. The concept and alternating timelines were interesting but fell flat and seemed far fetched. The retelling of Vashti's story seemed anachronistic, infusing her speech and behavior with very modern feminist ideology. The protagonist's voice was very whiny and entitled.

I feel very lucky to have received an ARC of this novel. Anna Solomon has written a fascinating and multi-layered tale of roles women have played throughout the ages -- both what's changed and what has remained constant. I found this book of remarkable heroines fierce and empowering. Well done to GMA and Belletrist for selecting this as their May book club pick.

"The Book of V." is the story of three women: one in biblical times; another in the 1970s; and the third in present-day New York. The book begins with a summary of the Book of Esther, and this story is what loosely connects all the plotlines. Each woman is grappling with what it means to be a woman of her time, and feels the conflict between her desires and the desires of those around her. The author introduces thoughtful ideas about women and motherhood, and creates interesting connections between the women (and men) in the story. I really liked her writing style and she creates engaging characters and scenes, but some of the parallels to the Esther story felt a little forced, and it didn't work for all of the characters and plots. I enjoyed reading this book, but I never fully connected with it; however, the stronger elements of "The Book of V." make me want to read more by Anna Solomon.

I was very excited to jump into this month’s @belletrist pick, THE BOOK OF V. The novel follows three stories that span generations and seem very distinct, but looks can be deceiving. Feminist Vee is banished by her husband after she refuses to undress for him in front of a room of men. She refuses to be sexual humiliated even at the expense of her senator husband’s career. She arrives at her friend’s door step and is welcomed in without question as she comes to terms with her new life. Mother-of-two Lily is the second wife of a man who just wants her to be happy but something inside her strives for more. As Lily’s mom becomes sick, she starts to unravel as she fails to make dresses for her daughters to wear to a pageant honoring Esther. These two stories are connected to the Old Testament story of Esther, the teenager who reluctantly marries a Persian king becoming his second wife and savior of her people. These three women struggle for identity and independence while they grapple with male power that constrains their own self determination. The parallels drawn are very obvious. In a sense, the books says that women can be Vashti and Esther. In fact, Lily’s mother states that “it’s all the same costume, anyway.” In THE BOOK OF V, everyone is wear a costume and playing a part, but should their masks define them? Is it true “that the type of woman you imagine yourself becoming does not exist”?
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This was an extremely well written and well organized book. I absolutely love how Anna Solomon reimagines the story of Vashti and gives Esther magical powers. At the same time I was left wanting more and also questioning why Lily was so stressed about making dresses for her daughter so far in advance of the pageant.

The Book of V tells the story of three women who live in there different times. They share similar stories and in the end their stories intertwine. This book is beautifully written and incorporates topics of feminism that will definitely allow for book club discussions.

I had such high hopes for this book! The idea of three stories from three different generations discussing feminism really appealed to me, but unfortunately the execution was not all there for me. In fact, I felt like I was reading three separate short stories, each more confusing than the last. The way the author wrote made me feel like the story was bogged down with unnecessary details, plot lines, and character developments that went nowhere. Nothing seemed to make sense and there was barely any flow. It was so very hard to follow the story/stories, and I felt that the magic element with Esther was unnecessary, out of touch, and was plain confusing. Overall, I am incredibly disappointed.

Thank you to Henry Holt for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of V.: Anna Solomon

Published: May 5th, 2020 by Henry Holt & Company

Immersive, ambitious, and masterful; a converging tale.

Preface: This book is all about what it means to be a woman and how our roles have changed over time.

The Book of V. intertwines the lives of a Brooklyn mother in 2016, a senator’s wife in 1970s Washington, D.C., and the Bible’s Queen Esther. Lily struggles with what it means to be a mother, daughter, second wife, and writer in her rented Brooklyn apartment; along with grappling with her own personal desires of sex and intellect. Vivian Barr, married and committed to helping her charismatic and ambitious husband amidst the Watergate-era. One night however, he asks of her to do a humiliating favor and her refusal to follow orders changes not only her life, but the lives of others. And finally, Ester and the retelling of her biblical story. Ester is a beautiful, fierce, intelligent, young women in ancient Persia. She lives outside of the palace walls with her uncle in her tribe’s camp. After an innocent mistake that has devastating consequences, she is offered up as a sacrifice to please the kind, with hopes that she will save the tribe.

Thoughts:

This is a bold book that opens up the discussion of how expectations of women, and their restraints, have impacted women’s lives throughout history. It is a heavy, and complex read so it does take more effort on the readers part to fully grasp the delicate, and raw details that weave this book together. It is a slow-burn, savory read. Some parts were less clear to me, I found Lily’s story to be dull compared to Esters and I had wished there could have been more build up to allow the reader to grow attach to her as well. However, I did think this was one of the best, deftly woven stories of the year and I am so glad I was granted the opportunity to read it!

Along with posting on Net Galley, I will be posting my review to Goodreads, Amazon (when it becomes available), my Instagram (which has over a two thousand book review followers) and my blog. Please find the link to my blog post below. I am very grateful for the opportunity to review such a raw contemporary read. All opinions and thoughts are my own. Thank you very much

Thanks to partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Anna Solomon’s The Book of V in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Solomon’s The Book of V, out May 5th, is an astonishing and beautiful novel. Through three parallel stories, Solomon explores the ways that women can fight to define their identities, even in situations when they seem to be powerless.

At the heart of the book is the biblical story of Esther, the second wife of the king. Solomon uses this story as the core of her book, telling it on page 1 and retelling it with different details and at different depths, until we come to consider both the truth of the story and the nature of storytelling in general. In the story of Esther, the king’s first wife, Vashti, descended from royalty (and, therefore, outranking her husband) disappeared under strange circumstances–the king had tested her by asking her to strip naked in front of a crowd of advisors. When she refused . . . well, no one knows because no one has seen her since her refusal.

Esther, one of a nomadic group of Jews who have settled for decades along the palace wall, enters a contest for the king’s attention. She’s cast out from her family because her beauty gives her such power over men, and with that power ironically comes a loss of control. She and hundreds of other girls put themselves up as candidates for marriage. After the ranks of the competitors diminish, the final contestants parade in front of the king. Esther alone forgoes the extravagances of makeup and adornment and thereby catches the king’s attention, the exact opposite of her intention. The narrative then follows Esther into an unwilling marriage and the political machinations of the king’s advisors. Throughout the book, Solomon uses this story to ground the narrative, but also to challenge the original tale.

The second storyline, set in 1974 in Washington, DC, centers on Vivian “Vee” Barr. Vee, born into a political dynasty, weds an unknown and then, through her fortune and familial power, aids him in becoming Senator Kent. Now, Kent is up for re-election and decides to hold a party at their home so that he can win over a reluctant supporter. Kent decides (seemingly on a whim) to have separate parties for the genders. This story, set during the height of the feminist movement, makes clear that Vee here is a parallel for Vashti, that she is the “royalty” who must be diminished by her husband to prove his worth. Vee is yearning for power over herself and her identity, and her reluctance to have children–a decision made possible by the availability of the birth control pill–is here symbolic of her desire to control her own fate.

The third protagonist is Lily, a second wife with two small daughters who is trying to define herself as a woman within the freedom she’s apparently afforded in 2016 Brooklyn. A former academic, Lily has decided to leave her studies and her former career to be a stay-at-home mom despite the disapproval of her mother. She sees herself in constant contrast to her husband Adam’s first wife, Vira, assuming that against such a foil she’ll see herself as happy.

As Solomon weaves these stories together, we see the ways that women have–and have not–made progress in centuries. Each woman seizes a different type of power, a different type of control over herself, and yet each is in some way limited because of her gender. There’s a joy, as well, in the awareness of each character about the stories of the others–certainly, Vee and Lily both know the stories of Esther and Vashti, and that awareness highlights different facets of their own identities. Solomon plays with style throughout the book, juxtaposing a storytelling reminiscent of the King James version of the Bible with the more modern stories of women in the 1970s and the 2010s. I was transfixed with the intricacy of the book’s structure, with the ways that each alternating chapter comments upon the events of the last and each woman’s story illuminates the others’ paths.

The Book of V is a novel that rewards a close and careful reading, and I’m sure it would yield more gifts upon a second read. I’ll definitely be delving in to Anna Solomon’s rich, complex text again.

This book is very well written. The tying together of the story lines in both big and small ways is interesting. I found the story dragged at times though. I felt this one fell short of my expectations. Billing it as being like The Hours (one of my favorites that I read in one day) made me have such high hopes. It is a good book but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for granting access to this book. I will post this review tomorrow to my Bookstagram and companion Facebook page @thatreadingrealtor.

I had started to see this title pop up among the Bookstagram community and was fascinated and excited to read it.

While the story idea is thrilling, I found it difficult to connect with the characters. I was intrigued by the women in the book and did want to find out how they were all intertwined. It was well written but I found myself wanting more from the characters. Overall, it was a quick read.

Thanks to Henry Holt & Company and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

I was intrigued by The Book of V when I saw it listed on the BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge list and looking forward to reading it. I usually love parallel stories but I struggled with this one. I liked the idea of seeing the different yet same struggles by each of the women, but I just wasn't connecting with the stories.

I' DNFd the book at about 1/3 into it. I think maybe if I was in a different place I would have pushed through, but if I'm not excited to pick my Kindle up to continue reading a book right now I'm going to stop reading.

I can't actually recall requesting this book but I can tell you two reasons why I would have - I love the cover of this one and that opening paragraph comparing this book to Fates and Furies, a book I very much enjoyed and which was a probably the most talked about book in 2015. Comparing any book to it is a bold statement. Unfortunately, for me, it wasn't a comparison this one could live up to.

Perhaps if I'd more recently read the Book of Esther, this one would have had a greater impact on me. Because I hadn't, I didn't see where Solomon had veered away from that part of the Christian and Hebrew bibles and it made the final chapter of her story less impactful. Unfortunately, this storyline was also the storyline in which I had the least interest which was a problem given that it's the story that the other two storylines are based on.

To be fair to this book, it sort of felt like the wrong book for me to be reading at this time. When I finished this book and started looking for what to read next, I knew I needed either something light or something that would take me to another world. In other words, nothing like this book at all which is a book entirely designed to make readers think about what it means to be a woman, now, forty years ago, and thousands of years ago. We're in the heads of these women a lot which makes it slow going. It also makes it a book I want to be able to recommend; I want to be able to say "read this book about how being a woman has changed and how it hasn't."

I'm loathe to tell you what my other issue was with the book because I know it's not going to be a popular thing for me to say. Here goes: there was a lot of religion in the book (duh, Book of Esther) and I felt like that part took away from the part I was interested. It's not that I'm opposed to religion in a book, and I'm always up for a book that teaches me something new. But I didn't really feel like I was learning from this book, just that religion was being forced into the storylines.

Ugh. I feel like I'm beating this book up. It's not a bad book. If I'd been in the right frame of mind, I feel like I would have enjoyed this one more. If I was more familiar with the story of Esther, I might have enjoyed this one more. If the summary interests you, check out other reviews. Other people may feel very differently about it.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher, Henry Holt & Company, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of V is the story of 3 women in different places and time, and their personal struggles with themselves and their roles as women. Lily, living in Brooklyn in 2016, is the second wife to her husband and has elected to forgo her promising career path to stay at home and raise their children. In the ’70’s, Vee is the wife of a senator - a role she should be able to perform perfectly after being groomed for it by her mother and grandmother her entire life. In ancient Persia, Esther finds that, in hopes of finding favor for himself, her uncle has offered her up to the king as his potential new queen along with hundreds of other women. Throughout the book, the stories of Lily, Vee, and Esther intertwine as they share the common experiences of what it is to be a woman and live with the same doubts, pressures, and constraints even across the millennia that has passed.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style, and the concept of relating the stories of more contemporary women back to the story of Esther from the bible was very compelling to me. I was not at all familiar with the biblical Queen Esther so I found the early portion of her story fascinating. I did struggle with the magical realism aspect that features most heavily in the latter half of her story. When I separated out that portion and just looked at what was happening to her as a woman at the palace, her story flowed much better for me and was far more interesting.

Vee’s story is my preferred of the three. Her early chapters leading up to and just after her humiliation at the hands of her husband had me captivated - at times being infuriated (Angry Woman Syndrome?!), and others full of pride for her ‘small’ rebellions (yes girl, cut those buttons off!). Her story after that didn’t elicit as such intense reactions, but I enjoyed seeing how she processed what happened to her, and how she used that experience to direct her forward path.

I struggled with Lily’s character through most of the book, but did like her a bit better by the end. Not to be overly detailed as to avoid spoilers, but it seemed as if the loss she suffers finally snaps her out of an otherwise trance-like cycle of self-doubt as a wife, mother, and daughter. I think the aspect that bothered me the most about this was her borderline obsession with and comparison to her husband’s first wife. Her character also felt less solid than the other two - like I couldn’t quite fully grasp who she was.

Overall, I enjoyed the writing and the concept of this book, but it just didn’t end up being the story I thought I was getting based on the synopsis. While there are some clear themes that intersect through all three character arcs, they still never really came together for me in a cohesive way. I really do appreciate the story’s examination of women’s roles and self-perception and how far we have come, and have yet to go. 3 stars

Delivering a beautiful writing style, the thoughtful 'The Book of V' worked to bring forth parallels between the biblical story of Ester, a political wife in the 1960s, and a Brooklyn mom in 2016. Novels that follow three storylines are tough, as each plotline has to be so engaging that readers aren't jarred by the swap in storylines. Unfortunately, I was wrapped up in Ester's story much more so than the others. which tends to take away from the overall novel. However, there is a lot to love in 'The Book of V', and for the right reader, it can be a wholly engaging novel.

I appreciated the beautiful writing style of Solomon, but struggled with the story itself. I am currently trying to read different genres, but this one had me feeling a bit out of my depth. In enjoyed the story as told from the perspective of Esther, but found it hard to care about Lily and Vivian. This was one I put down a lot.

I went into this book cold; not knowing what to expect at all. I just started reading. I was so confused at first. The three stories that intertwine in this novel are sure to keep you on your toes. The Biblical story of Esther, the story of Vee, a senator's wife in the 1970s, and finally Lily, a second wife and mother of two in 2016. This book takes a hard look at feminism and women's place in society in three different eras with three very different ladies. The writing is remarkably descriptive and powerful.
This is not the type of book I usually read, hence the three stars. If this is your genre, you will love it.

This book was unlike anything I've read. The Book of V. focuses on various women from various times, all connected in one way or another. The beginning had me confused and conflicted because of its unique format, its focus on biblical history, which I tend not to read, and its multiple characters. However, I am happy that I kept reading it. As I kept reading, I began to see the three women's stories share striking similarities, shedding light on the true purpose and story that Anna Solomon was sharing in this book. It was interesting to see how Anna Solomon related a historical figure to two women of different generations and their lives. As the stories unraveled I found myself starting to relate more and more to one of the main characters. This strengthened my attention and I found myself starting to wonder what she was going to do next, it made me think "what would I do next if I were in her shoes?" Anna Solomon wrote a book that was distinctive from what I would typically read, yet I found it to be a very unique storyline that truly engages the reader and makes them question what is to come.

As a Christian woman, I did not know what to expect from this book. I love the story of Esther and I thought I'd love her point of view the most. But once I got into the story I was very invested in the 1960s timeline. However, I wish we got more in that time period. I wanted more of the politics and of the EPA. I felt the 1960s storyline could have been even more powerful and connected to Esther themes, but it quickly moved on to other focal points. I enjoyed the reveals and really loved how the three stories connected.