Rachel Kadish

An intellectual and emotional jigsaw puzzle of a novel for readers of A. S. Byatt's Possession and Geraldine Brooks's The People of the Book

The Weight of Ink

WINNER OF A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD A USA TODAY BESTSELLER "A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion."—Toni Morrison Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. When Helen is summoned by a former student to view a cache of newly discovered seventeenth-century Jewish documents, she enlists the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents' scribe, the elusive "Aleph." Electrifying and ambitious, The Weight of Ink is about women separated by centuries—and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order to reconcile the life of the heart and mind.

Francine Corry

I am always drawn to book which is told during two different times in history, but it is a plot which is not always successful. I found Rachel Kadish's book The Weight of Ink to use this plot device very succesfully. The characters were all multi-dimensional and well drawn. Those in the year 2000, the aging and ready to retire history professor, Helen Watt, who specializes in Jewish history and the young but confused scholar, Aaron Levy, who is pursuing his doctorate degree and the 17th century female scribe, Ester Velasquez.

Certainly at times, one time drew me more than the other, but it was never consistent. Sometimes I longed for the 20th century and others, I long to travel to the 17th. Ester was an unusual woman who longed for knowledge that was not readily available to a woman of the 17th century:

More than half the candle remained. She could read an hour before it guttered, longer if she took another candle from the drawer. How many had she burned already this month? Her hours of night reading seemed to grow ever more necessary, for each day’s study compelled her to explore these volumes further, and with a fierce attention impossible when others were about. On nights when she could rouse herself after her first sleep, she forced herself from bed and down the stairs to the rabbi’s room. Once there, she studied until she could read only by brushing tears of strain from her eyes. In vain were her most solemn determinations to burn only one candle; for when that candle guttered, she lit another—and after all, was the household’s allowance not abundant enough to pay for but one more? She’d use the rabbi’s coins to purchase replacements the next time she was sent abroad in

There were times for me where the book dragged a bit, because of Ester's love of philosophy and this part often being told as epistles. I'm not all that familiar with Spinoza or other philosophers of the time, but it was interesting to uncover some of this history.

Andrew John Kinney

Wow, what a wonderful book. I got up at 3AM to finish it. 

Most of us here at GR are dedicated readers, and most are interested in history and culture. In this book, Rachel Kadish has illuminated the lives of people who carried the fire through their love of literature and and learning in two different eras; 1600's London and London/Israel between 1954 and 2001. In 1658, we meet Ester, incandescent with a desire to be part of the intellectual world, a world denied her by the mores of her time, when the education allowed to women was nil beyond the most basic. After her parents' death, Ester and her brother are taken in by a tremendously kind, almost saintly (well, in a Jewish way) rabbi, HaCoen Mendes. Ms. Kadish invents wonderful letters from the rabbi in the style of the 1600's, letters that shine with the goodness of the man. The first one of these I read, I went back twice to appreciate the beautiful turns of phrase and gentle kindness of it. Ester becomes scribe to the rabbi from necessity, and this was highly unusual for the time, but as we come to understand the rabbi also sees in her a bright intelligence which he nurtures. 

The book has many intriguing connections (I found myself reading Wiki articles about Spinoza and Thomas Hobbes), and I learned a good bit about the Jewish communities in Europe in that era. In the modern era we meet Helen Watt, a 60-ish history professor nearing retirement, and Aaron, her initially reluctant American post-grad assistant. The developing friendship between Watt and Aaron is well written and enjoyable, but it is the Seventeenth Century story line that drives the book. Watt and Ester are both women who are willing to sacrifice everything for their love of knowledge, and Kadish draws them well. I loved the character of Ester, her intensity and honesty, and her determination be herself, rather than what the society of her time required. 

The book's meditation on the cost of committing oneself to love another (and the cost of not doing so) is painted with a deft hand by the story of Helen's turning away from love, perhaps more than Ester's path in life. 

I considered giving this a five star rating. The only thing that drops it to a 4.5 is that the ending is good, but not great. But the book is a true page-turner, and one of the best works of fiction I've read in the last few years.

altlovesbooks

The greatest curse, he thought, was to be stuck in one's own time, and the greatest power was to see beyond its horizons.

This was....a book. It's an ambitious project involving two very separate time periods: Ester in 1660s London, and Helen and Aaron in the present day uncovering historical documents she scribed for a rabbi and her own documents she penned later on. The book flips between the two time periods, mostly using Ester's letters and documents as transition pieces. As you read about Helen and Aaron trying to secure the historical documents for their own review and notoriety against the college they work for, you also get Ester's story of being a woman with educational aspirations in a period where that was unnatural. 

I approached this book with very little knowledge of the subject of the Jewish community in London, and a basic working knowledge of London history during the time period. I left the book with....not a whole lot more. The book appears to be well researched, but not a lot in the way of context or explanation is provided for the historical sections. I did some research on the side, but most of the characters mentioned in London were fictional (as is noted in the notes at the end of the book). I found myself getting a bit lost in some parts concerning very specific Jewish culture and history concepts, and I feel like the author had ample opportunity to provide some context (particularly in the present day parts) but didn't. 

I also felt like the book was just...too much. At north of 600 pages, the book is very wordy for the stories that were told and could have used a bit of an edit. Both 1660s Ester and present day Helen/Aaron's stories are relatively complex (certainly much more than, "and here's what the next letter has to say"), and because of that it feels like neither story was handled with care, and the ending(s) felt rushed. The writing style is extremely wordy, full of metaphors and flowery language that sort of hid the story's thread in parts rather than enhanced it. 

I found it a difficult read, and a lengthy one as well. The concept of uncovering documents and reading about a woman scribe in the 1660s was appealing, but I think the execution fell a little flat for me.

An intellectual and emotional jigsaw puzzle of a novel for readers of A. S. Byatt's Possession and Geraldine Brooks's People of the Book Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. As the novel opens, Helen has been summoned by a former student to view a cache of seventeenth-century Jewish documents newly discovered in his home during a renovation. Enlisting the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and in a race with another fast-moving team of historians, Helen embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents' scribe, the elusive "Aleph." Electrifying and ambitious, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, The Weight of Ink is a sophisticated work of historical fiction about women separated by centuries, and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order reconcile the life of the heart and mind.

Jane McCullough

Although I was fascinated with the historical aspects and subject matter, the writing could have used some additional sophisticated editing, including the ways in which the alternating time periods were structured. That being said, the book inspires me to search out more writings by and of women during the 17th century.

A Quiet Little Library

I enjoyed this read immensely. I loved the historian timeline and thought the whole thing was paced very well overall, but I got the most out of the 1600's timeline. Without spoilers, the main girl of the past is just who I needed to read about and if you are looking for a new favourite character, look no further. I absolutely loved the philosophy and ideas explored in this book, and it inspired me to think so much harder than I ever expected. I could envision the world so easily, which is not common for me, and fell in love with so many characters. There was just enough of a mystery element in discovering the secrets of the past that, mixed with the beautiful writing, I kept from being able to put the book down (though 560 pages, it did not feel like a big book). This book changed what I look for in literature and the way I read, and every time I think about it, the rating gets higher. A must read and instant favourite!

The Weight of Ink

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