Description
Description
Indigo's Best Books of 2025 After forty years, John Irving returns to the world of his bestselling classic novel and Academy Award winner The Cider House Rules, revisiting the orphanage in St. Cloud's, Maine, where Dr. Larch takes in Esther, a three-year-old Jew whose life is shaped by anti-Semitism. Esther Nacht is born in Vienna in 1905. Her father dies on board a ship from Bremerhaven to Portland, Maine, and anti-Semites murder her mother in Portland. In St. Cloud's, it's clear to Dr. Larch, the orphanage physician and director, that the abandoned child not only knows she's Jewish, but she's familiar with the biblical Queen Esther she was named for. Dr. Larch knows it won't be easy to find a Jewish family to adopt Esther, he doubts he'll find any family to adopt her. When Esther is fourteen, soon to become a ward of the state, Dr. Larch meets the Winslows, a philanthropic family with a history of providing for unadopted orphans. The Winslows aren't Jewish, but they detest anti-Semitism and similar prejudice. Esther's gratitude to the Winslows is unending. As she retraces her steps to her birth city, Esther keeps loving and protecting the Winslows--even in Vienna. The final chapter of this historical novel is set in Jerusalem in 1981, when Esther is seventy-six.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"A story that's unmistakably Irving -- amiably peopled, compellingly plotted and, above all, compassionate for its characters."-- "NPR"
"Few skewer sanctimony quite like Irving at his best. More important: I fell in love, once again, with his people."-- "Peter Orner, The New York Times Book Review"
"Irving masterfully threads the narrative, from New England to Vienna to Jerusalem, while exploring the themes he frequently wrestles with--orphans, sexuality, and found families. Irving's luminous prose embodies his singular gifts; the novel is expansive, darkly comic, melancholic, and deeply compassionate, conveying a profound empathy for his flawed characters. Countless literary references, lyrical flourishes, and allusions add depth to the Dickensian motif as Irving brilliantly blends moral ambiguity and emotional truth in this essential addition to his oeuvre."-- "Booklist (starred)"
"Queen Esther is richly textured with unforgettable characters, vivid settings, and familial love that will stay with you long after you put the book down."
-- "The Jewish Book Council" "To read a John Irving novel is to call to mind the classic works of Charles Dickens with their broad, melancholy searches for families lost and their acceptance of families made. Irving's new work is especially potent."-- "Steven Whitton, The Anniston Star"
-- "The Jewish Book Council" "To read a John Irving novel is to call to mind the classic works of Charles Dickens with their broad, melancholy searches for families lost and their acceptance of families made. Irving's new work is especially potent."-- "Steven Whitton, The Anniston Star"
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Pub date:
2026-11-03
Length:
432 pages
The Allstora Membership
Membership Perks:
- Save 30% on all online store purchases
- Exclusive access to author's content
- You pay less, but authors still earn double
Membership Terms:
First Month:
$0.00
Monthly price:
$5.00
- To access membership discount simply log in and add to cart, discount applied automatically.
- One month free trial, cancel anytime. Membership renews on the 15th of each month.