One Bay One Book is a year-long conversation connecting Bay Area readers through discussions, events, and informal conversations centered around a single title and its themes.
Read the article in J!
Join the conversation! A limited number of sets of The Book of V. are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis through the Library’s Book Club in a Box program, or you may purchase the book through Afikomen here or another independent bookstore here. For more information about One Bay One Book, write to noa@jewishlearning.works.
The 2020–21 selection is The Book of V. by Anna Solomon.
Read reviews at the New York Times, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus.
The Book of V. by Anna Solomon
“A sinuous, thoughtful braid of women’s unceasing struggles for liberty and identity.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Engrossing, highly readable…The Book of V. is a meditation on female power and powerlessness, the stories told about women and the ones we tell about and to ourselves.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Fresh and tantalizing, with fascinating intergenerational discussions about desire, duty, family, and feminism.” —Publishers Weekly
“[A] multifaceted masterwork…The Book of V. radiates a dynamism that invites rereads and generously keeps giving.” —The Washington Post
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.
Upcoming Book Discussions
Congregation Etz Chayim Bookworms, Palo Alto
December 6
Contact Aaron Schuman for more information
Congregation Kol Shofar Spirituality Book Club, Tiburon
December 8
Contact Linda Samuels for more information
Women of Rodef Sholom Book Club, San Rafael
December 16
Contact Alice Miller for more information
Jewish American Fiction Book Club, Fairfax
January 13
Contact David Knepler for more information
Congregation Sherith Israel, San Francisco
February 22
Contact Julie House for more information
Congregation Kol Emeth, Palo Alto
February 23
Contact Alan Bennett for more information
Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Foster City
February 23 at 10:30 AM
Facilitated by Jim Van Buskirk
Contact Kimberly Gordon for more information
Congregation Shir Hadash, Los Gatos
February 28
Contact Diane Goldman for more information
Coastside Jewish Community Book Club, El Granada
March 10
Contact Vaughn Harrison for more information
Congregation Beth Jacob Sisterhood Book Group, Oakland
March 10
Contact Jackie Dines for more information
Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills
March – Date TBD
Contact Rabbi Sarah Weissman for more information
Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley
April 11
Contact Barbara Bibel for more information
Kehilla Community Synagogue, Piedmont
April 12
Contact Tree Gelb Stuber for more information
Hadassah, Berkeley Chapter
June 17
Contact Lisa Brinner for more information.
Anna Solomon
Anna Solomon is the author of three novels—The Book of V., Leaving Lucy Pear, and The Little Bride—and a two-time winner of the Pushcart Prize. Her short fiction, essays, and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Boston Globe, Tablet, and elsewhere. Prior to becoming a novelist, she worked as an award-winning journalist for National Public Radio’s environmental news program Living on Earth. A graduate of Brown University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she teaches writing at Barnard College, Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program in Creative Writing, and the 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center. Born and raised in Gloucester, Massachusetts, she lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family.
