The Book of V. by Anna Solomon

We will be discussing the Jewish Community Library’s One Bay One Book choice for 2020–2021  The Book of V. by Anna Solomon. In this new novel, rooted in the Book of Esther, three characters' stories in different time periods overlap and ultimately collide. Lily is a young wife and mother in contemporary Brooklyn, and Vee is the wife of an ambitious young Senator in Washington, D.C. during the early 1970s. Their narratives are interspersed with an imaginative account of the stories of Vashti and Esther, illuminating how women’s lives have and have not changed over thousands of years. 

The Book of V. can serve as a starting point for discussions about:

• The characters of Vashti and Esther and their legacies in Jewish lore and celebration
• The ways in which Jewish women's experiences are not adequately reflected by our history and tradition, beginning with the Bible
• Sexism, class privilege, and power
• Sexual harassment in the Bible and in modern times
• Societal and familial gender dynamics and role expectations
• The challenges of balancing care for ourselves and care for others 
• The history of the women's rights movement, and the second wave feminist movement of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s 
• The dynamics of women’s relationships

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  Our book group meets quarterly to discuss the book of the quarter! Each quarter's book is from Book Club in a Box, a program of the Jewish Community Library of San Francisco.

  NEW! Due to COVID19, we will be switching to eBooks. Each member needs to sign up for borrowing privileges with the Library and then download their copies individually. 

  To apply for eBook borrowing, please fill out the Application for Jewish Community Library borrowing privileges. 

  Once the Library receives your application, you will be sent your user name and password. You'll then be able to download eBooks and audiobooks through their ebook supplier, OverDrive.