Esther

Esther is an unusual book: God is never mentioned, and yet everything in it seems guided by an invisible hand. The story takes place in the Persian court. A young Jewish woman, Hadassah (Esther), becomes queen without revealing her origin; her cousin Mordecai uncovers a plot to exterminate the Jewish people, engineered by the powerful Haman. The decisive line is Mordecai's: "who knows if you haven't come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther fasts, risks her life by entering the king's presence uninvited and reverses the situation. The book explains the origin of the festival of Purim and reads with humor and irony: the villain's schemes turn back on himself.