The Book of V.: A Novel

Written by Anna Solomon

Narrated by Dara Rosenberg, Eva Kaminsky and Gabra Zackman

**An Audiofile Earphones Award-winning production**

For fans of The Hours and Fates and Furies, a bold, kaleidoscopic novel intertwining the lives of three women across three centuries as their stories of sex, power, and desire finally converge in the present day.

Lily is a mother and a daughter. And a second wife. And a writer, maybe? Or she was going to be, before she had children. Now, in her rented Brooklyn apartment she’s grappling with her sexual and intellectual desires, while also trying to manage her roles as a mother and a wife in 2016.

Vivian Barr seems to be the perfect political wife, dedicated to helping her charismatic and ambitious husband find success in Watergate-era Washington D.C. But one night he demands a humiliating favor, and her refusal to obey changes the course of her life—along with the lives of others.

Esther is a fiercely independent young woman in ancient Persia, where she and her uncle’s tribe live a tenuous existence outside the palace walls. When an innocent mistake results in devastating consequences for her people, she is offered up as a sacrifice to please the King, in the hopes that she will save them all.

In Anna Solomon's The Book of V., these three characters' riveting stories overlap and ultimately collide, illuminating how women’s lives have and have not changed over thousands of years.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781250754998

Anna Solomon

Anna Solomon is the author of Leaving Lucy Pear and The Little Bride and a two-time winner of the Pushcart Prize. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times Magazine, One Story, Ploughshares, Slate, and more. Coeditor with Eleanor Henderson of Labor Day: True Birth Stories by Today’s Best Women Writers, Solomon was born and raised in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Reviews for The Book of V.

[kity16 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I can't say i dislike this, but i can't say it got my attention while listening to it.
The action was slow placed and i often spaced out. The level of details in some places felt too much. I think it's described in 5-10 minutes how Lily is talking about Vera, the first wife.

[Shaana N · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed it, but I do agree with the reader who commented about parts being drawn out (Vashti figuring out how the story would be told...) I did like to unexpected connection between the stories, though. If you're reading this review, then the book is worth your time.

[Susan Shloss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a wonderful story centering women and our survival and thrive all in patriarchal cultures. Beautifully read and acted.

[Helene Hennelly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful narrative. I was spellbound until the ending. The author failed to tie up the three strands in a satisfying fashion.