What kept me reading Queen Esther, a confounding bizzaro novel by author John Irving is his inimitable skill to present a hodgepodge of unrelated topics ---the history of abortion, a dog named Hard Rain, wrestlers, antisemites, surrogacy, weird sex, circumcision, orphanages--- and then ingeniously fuse these into a unified, captivating narrative. Not his very best book yet, Queen Esther, Irving’s sixteenth novel, will knock you for a loop.
Born in Vienna in 1905, beloved by everyone at St. Cloud’s orphanage, Esther Nacht is fourteen and Jewish. She’s virtually unadoptable! Orphaned at three, Esther’s mother, Hannah, was murdered in Portland Maine and her father Simon, died en route to the US. Precocious and bright, Esther knows she’s named after the Biblical queen who saved the Jews from extinction. Remaining a Jew is Esther Nacht’s mainstay of her identity. Before Esther becomes “award of the state”, Connie and Tommy Winslow choose her as the au pair for their fourth daughter, “Honor”.
The Winslows, whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower, are a prestigious American family. Neither of them Jewish, they are an annoyance to the snobs and antisemites of “Penacook”, their hometown. The Winslows raise Esther in the Jewish faith and treat her as if she were their own daughter. To express her gratitude, at 36, Esther and her charge, Honor, make a radical pact. Esther agrees to become a surrogate for a child whom Honor would raise. To fulfill their plan Esther travels to Mandatory Palestine where she finds Moshe Kleinberg, a wrestler and a married man—the perfect Daddy for the future James Winslow. Once Esther delivers baby “Jimmy,” in 1941, she hands him over to Honor and returns to Israel, her cherished homeland. Jimmy never meets his biological his father.
Fast forward to 1963. Jimmy is now 22 and Esther still in Israel. All these years Honor has been a painstakingly devoted Mom. As the Vietnamese war rages on, Honor becomes obsessed to find “a ticket out of Vietnam, “a draft deferment for her son Jimmy. A finger mutilation might do it. Or a knee injury at the wrestling club where Jimmy, like his late father, shows a passion for the sport. But it’s not until Jimmy leaves for his Junior year abroad that Honor comes up with a solid army exemption for her son. First placed into law by President Kennedy--- the 3-A classification maintains that a male with a family and a biological child would be excused from the draft. A loving mother, Honor writes to Jimmy, in Vienna, “ideally honey you should start knocking someone up this spring.” A dutiful son Jimmy obliges with a lesbian who wants, “to try it with a guy.” But what about Esther in Israel? Oy Gevalt! Only author John Irving could imagine how an invincible Zionist, Esther Nacht, like her namesake, predecessor saved Jews or how Jimmy Winslow found a purpose in life.
Not terribly outrageous for readers familiar with Irving’s other novels—but typically hilarious, entertaining and singularly startling.