Jo Carruthers is Senior Lecturer at the University of Lancaster, UK.

This is a brilliant and refreshing look at an ancient, well-worn text and its reception. The writing is lucid, the arguments subtle and complex without being cluttered with literary jargon. The indices are thorough—including an index of primary references, of authors, and of subjects ... I delighted in reading the book.

• Introduction: The Politics of PersecutionI. Lawlessness, Sovereignty and In-hospitality1. Carnival, Lawlessness and Sovereignty2. The State of Exception, Amalek and Sovereign HospitalityII. Purim and the Enemy3. The Anti-Memorial of Remembering to Forget4. The Art of Exception in the Illuminated Megillah5. Bare Life and SovereigntyIII. The Secular Politics of Esther: Sovereign and Legal Fallibility6. Law’s Limitations7. Creaturely SovereigntyIV. Purim and Hospitality8. Esther the Good Host and the Good Sovereign9. Mordecai’s Mourning: Exclusion and Vulnerability10. ‘Shalokh Manos Re-mixed’: An Aftselakhis PurimshpilConclusion

Jo Carruthers is Senior Lecturer at the University of Lancaster, UK.

This is a brilliant and refreshing look at an ancient, well-worn text and its reception. The writing is lucid, the arguments subtle and complex without being cluttered with literary jargon. The indices are thorough—including an index of primary references, of authors, and of subjects ... I delighted in reading the book.

• Introduction: The Politics of PersecutionI. Lawlessness, Sovereignty and In-hospitality1. Carnival, Lawlessness and Sovereignty2. The State of Exception, Amalek and Sovereign HospitalityII. Purim and the Enemy3. The Anti-Memorial of Remembering to Forget4. The Art of Exception in the Illuminated Megillah5. Bare Life and SovereigntyIII. The Secular Politics of Esther: Sovereign and Legal Fallibility6. Law’s Limitations7. Creaturely SovereigntyIV. Purim and Hospitality8. Esther the Good Host and the Good Sovereign9. Mordecai’s Mourning: Exclusion and Vulnerability10. ‘Shalokh Manos Re-mixed’: An Aftselakhis PurimshpilConclusion

Jo Carruthers is Senior Lecturer at the University of Lancaster, UK.

This is a brilliant and refreshing look at an ancient, well-worn text and its reception. The writing is lucid, the arguments subtle and complex without being cluttered with literary jargon. The indices are thorough—including an index of primary references, of authors, and of subjects ... I delighted in reading the book.

• Introduction: The Politics of PersecutionI. Lawlessness, Sovereignty and In-hospitality1. Carnival, Lawlessness and Sovereignty2. The State of Exception, Amalek and Sovereign HospitalityII. Purim and the Enemy3. The Anti-Memorial of Remembering to Forget4. The Art of Exception in the Illuminated Megillah5. Bare Life and SovereigntyIII. The Secular Politics of Esther: Sovereign and Legal Fallibility6. Law’s Limitations7. Creaturely SovereigntyIV. Purim and Hospitality8. Esther the Good Host and the Good Sovereign9. Mordecai’s Mourning: Exclusion and Vulnerability10. ‘Shalokh Manos Re-mixed’: An Aftselakhis PurimshpilConclusion