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makennakjacobs's review against another edition
3.5
The story of Esther is very important, and Edghill proposes some interesting dynamics, including the acknowledgment of the full palace world with the addition of other characters, and Mordecai is more in the background than in the biblical account. There were plenty of decisions I didn't agree with, but overall, there were some valuable themes and it was an enjoyable enough read, too.
lauragill's review against another edition
3.0
A good book until the end, which felt very rushed. Edghill let the excerpts from the Old Testament do the talking, instead of her narrators; that cheapened the tale for me.
elentikvah's review against another edition
4.0
Having grown up in a Christian home, the story of Esther was one that was first read to me, then I read and re-read over the years. There have been many novels written about her story - some good, some less good - one of my favorites being Gini Andrews' Esther: The Star and the Sceptre. So, I picked this one up with curiosity but not a lot of expectation.
Initially, I found the scene setting with Daniel Dream-Master to be a bit unsettling, but as the story developed I truly appreciated the attempt to craft a synoptic account in this way.
The character development of Hegai, Vashti, Ahasuerus, and Esther were delightful - inventive and refreshing.
My only critique is that everything from the time of Esther's decision to go to the King unsummoned to the 14th of Adar seemed a bit rushed ... but then, we all know how that part of the story goes.
Overall, it was a delightful surprise - who knows I may re-read it again one day!
Rating: 4/5 "really liked it"
Initially, I found the scene setting with Daniel Dream-Master to be a bit unsettling, but as the story developed I truly appreciated the attempt to craft a synoptic account in this way.
The character development of Hegai, Vashti, Ahasuerus, and Esther were delightful - inventive and refreshing.
My only critique is that everything from the time of Esther's decision to go to the King unsummoned to the 14th of Adar seemed a bit rushed ... but then, we all know how that part of the story goes.
Overall, it was a delightful surprise - who knows I may re-read it again one day!
Rating: 4/5 "really liked it"
anjalisudarsan's review against another edition
2.0
As someone unfamiliar with the characters in the Old Testament, I struggled to follow through with the timelines and background. 'The book of Esther' didn't really seem to showcase much of Esther.
I also struggled to differentiate between the Jews and the Zorastrians - unless they mention a specific God, it sounded like they were all painted with one brush.
This book was not for me.
I also struggled to differentiate between the Jews and the Zorastrians - unless they mention a specific God, it sounded like they were all painted with one brush.
This book was not for me.
edna_lee's review against another edition
I started reading this book because I thought it was biblical fiction/Christian fiction and it is not. The book has Daniel liking another man. The miracles that occur are not miracles but people intervening and making the outcome. I only got 36 pages into the book, and I just can't get over the fact that it is not truly following the bible. Biblical fiction should follow the bible, and this does not.
crankylibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
There are 2 unresolved questions at the heart of the Purim story: 1) What happened to Queen Vashti, after she refused her husband's demand to present herself at the king's banquet? 2) How could pinch hitter Queen Esther love and live happily ever after with a king who had callously condemned an entire people to genocide, seemingly on a whim?
India Edghill attempts to resolve these plot points with backstories for her 3 narrators: Vashti, Esther, and chief eunuch Hegai. She also provides a convenient villainess in King Achhasverus's scheming mother, who turns out to be in cahoots with Haman.
While Edghill's additions make the idyllic ending slightly more plausible, she is not the strongest storyteller, and the characters do not come alive as much as one would hope. While I sympathized with Vashti as a precocious and willful child bride, her relationship with Achhasverus never really pops; his underdeveloped character makes it tough to believe that the independent Esther would fall madly in love with him at first sight. Mordecai is a prudish patriarch who curbs Esther's proto-feminist longings; his forcing her to enter the royal sex-and-beauty contest is thus jarringly out of character. Esther enters the story too late to have much impact; her friendship with Vashti is believable, but the idea that a horse loving, mathematically inclined scholar and linguist would meekly succumb to queenly domesticity reminds one of a 50s' teen romance novel.
Only Hegai, a shadowy puppetmaster in the Biblical tale, emerges with anything like a believable character arc. The tragic events leading to his position as chief eunuch speak poignantly to the lingering effects of trauma, and the difficulty of letting go of caustic anger and revenge.
India Edghill attempts to resolve these plot points with backstories for her 3 narrators: Vashti, Esther, and chief eunuch Hegai. She also provides a convenient villainess in King Achhasverus's scheming mother, who turns out to be in cahoots with Haman.
While Edghill's additions make the idyllic ending slightly more plausible, she is not the strongest storyteller, and the characters do not come alive as much as one would hope. While I sympathized with Vashti as a precocious and willful child bride, her relationship with Achhasverus never really pops; his underdeveloped character makes it tough to believe that the independent Esther would fall madly in love with him at first sight. Mordecai is a prudish patriarch who curbs Esther's proto-feminist longings; his forcing her to enter the royal sex-and-beauty contest is thus jarringly out of character. Esther enters the story too late to have much impact; her friendship with Vashti is believable, but the idea that a horse loving, mathematically inclined scholar and linguist would meekly succumb to queenly domesticity reminds one of a 50s' teen romance novel.
Only Hegai, a shadowy puppetmaster in the Biblical tale, emerges with anything like a believable character arc. The tragic events leading to his position as chief eunuch speak poignantly to the lingering effects of trauma, and the difficulty of letting go of caustic anger and revenge.
readingtheend's review
3.0
Note: I received a review copy of Game of Queens from the publisher for review consideration. This has no bearing upon my super-intense vengeful emotions about Haman and their contribution to my enjoyment of the book; about which, see further remarks below.
In my 2014 book preview, my expressed wish for Game of Queens, a retelling of the story of Esther, was that it not use the word sex as a euphemism for genitalia. And it did not. It also turned out to feature Daniel, of lions-not-eating-him fame, being gay without his close friends fretting too much about it, and it managed the neat trick of vilifying not Esther nor Vashti nor Ahasuerus. Which, if you remember the Book of Esther in any detail, you will notice is really quite some trick.
Haman is vilified, as is right and just. When I was a wee tot, I had this amazing book called Behold Your Queen which was also a retelling of the Esther story (it did vilify poor old Vashti), and so the moment where Haman gets hanged upon his own gallows was one of the formative Revenge moments of my childhood.
Although Game of Queens is subtitled A Novel of Vashti and Esther, it’s really Vashti’s book. In part this is because Esther’s story is already so familiar, and by the nature of her story, she’s a less dynamic character. Vashti’s the one who gets to change and grow, to realize that she can’t be Marie Antoinette all the time, and to learn to become a player in the politics of her country, instead of a pawn. She’s a fun character, and it’s surprisingly rare to have a book in which a ditzy girl gets to get to make shit happen.
Greatest book ever, Pulitzer Prize material? Okay, probably not. But I cherish the story of Esther, and what Edghill has produced here is a monumentally satisfying version of that story. Not only do we get a Vashti who finds a way to control her own destiny even after she’s set aside as Queen of All Persia, but there’s this whole subsidiary plot about getting REVENGE on Haman even before Haman comes up with the idea of killing all the Jews.
Final note: Apparently Martin Luther was ruhlly ruhlly not into the Book of Esther. It was probably too fun for him. He probably wanted to put the Book of Job in there twice, just to make everyone miserable. Cranky old jerk. (I’m glad the Reformation happened. Super important, historically. Major step forward for Europe. I’m just not such a fan of Martin Luther as a person.)
In my 2014 book preview, my expressed wish for Game of Queens, a retelling of the story of Esther, was that it not use the word sex as a euphemism for genitalia. And it did not. It also turned out to feature Daniel, of lions-not-eating-him fame, being gay without his close friends fretting too much about it, and it managed the neat trick of vilifying not Esther nor Vashti nor Ahasuerus. Which, if you remember the Book of Esther in any detail, you will notice is really quite some trick.
Haman is vilified, as is right and just. When I was a wee tot, I had this amazing book called Behold Your Queen which was also a retelling of the Esther story (it did vilify poor old Vashti), and so the moment where Haman gets hanged upon his own gallows was one of the formative Revenge moments of my childhood.
Although Game of Queens is subtitled A Novel of Vashti and Esther, it’s really Vashti’s book. In part this is because Esther’s story is already so familiar, and by the nature of her story, she’s a less dynamic character. Vashti’s the one who gets to change and grow, to realize that she can’t be Marie Antoinette all the time, and to learn to become a player in the politics of her country, instead of a pawn. She’s a fun character, and it’s surprisingly rare to have a book in which a ditzy girl gets to get to make shit happen.
Greatest book ever, Pulitzer Prize material? Okay, probably not. But I cherish the story of Esther, and what Edghill has produced here is a monumentally satisfying version of that story. Not only do we get a Vashti who finds a way to control her own destiny even after she’s set aside as Queen of All Persia, but there’s this whole subsidiary plot about getting REVENGE on Haman even before Haman comes up with the idea of killing all the Jews.
Final note: Apparently Martin Luther was ruhlly ruhlly not into the Book of Esther. It was probably too fun for him. He probably wanted to put the Book of Job in there twice, just to make everyone miserable. Cranky old jerk. (I’m glad the Reformation happened. Super important, historically. Major step forward for Europe. I’m just not such a fan of Martin Luther as a person.)
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