Megillat Esther

Book Summary

The Book of Esther reinvented as a graphic novel with the Hebrew text, an original English translation with Rabbinic interpretations woven throughout the panels. Megillat Esther is commonly referred to as the Book of Esther?but there is nothing common about Waldman's interpretation of this biblical story. In what may be the world's first religious, scholarly comic book, Waldman tells the epic tale of exile and redemption in graphic form. Each page of Megillat Esther is a visual tour de force and features the Hebrew text with original English translation, as well as opulent drawings depicting the story of the Persian queen. When Esther, a Jewish woman, is made queen of Persia, she finds that she must keep her identity hidden while maneuvering to save her people from annihilation. This familiar story is recounted every year on the holiday of Purim, but readers will be entranced the year round by what Waldman depicts in his unique visual interpretation of the text and allusions to some more esoteric midrash. At once traditional and groundbreaking, Megillat Esther will challenge contemporary assumptions about this biblical tale. Waldman's drawings build on centuries of classic commentary, and all the Rabbinic sources found in Megillat Esther are cited in the appendix. Megillat Esther presents the reader with a topsy-turvy world in which fortunes reverse and nothing is what it seems. This vibrant, edgy retelling of a classic biblical tale is sure to amaze and intrigue scholars, comic book lovers, and everyone in between.

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