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There are currently 18 member reviews
for The Weight of Ink
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Linda S. (Milford, CT)
The Weight of Ink
I think the title aptly fits the story. It refers to a sentence "My hands would never again turn the pages of a book, nor be stained with the sweet, grave weight of ink, a thing I have loved since first memory." This sentence gives readers just a hint of the depth of despair felt by one of the main characters, a Rabbi, blinded during the Inquisition. That love for reading is also shared by his female scribe Ester, who is given the rare opportunity to learn to read. Readers of historical fiction will devour this book. While I wouldn't call this a page turner, it is fascinating in its portrayal of the two time frames, especially that of London in the 1600's. As a lover of reading and books I could feel the excitement as ancient pages written in Hebrew were revealed when renovations began in a historic home in the outskirts of London. I think this would be a good book for book groups. My only complaint is that the book might have been shorter.
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Nona F. (Evanston, IL)
A fascinating, compelling pair of stories
"Never underestimate the passion of a lonely mind": in a nutshell, the driving force for the 3 major characters in Rachel Kadish's The Weight of Ink, two in the 21st century mining historical documents to define the mysterious life of the scribe known as Aleph in Restoration London. Ester Velasquez—intellectual, undowered, and rebellious—is an outsider to even the small outsider Jewish community of 17th century London. Historian Helen Watt—alone, underappreciated, and ailing—shows us that the plight of intellectual women has not progressed much in 4 centuries. Kadish gives us the sights, sounds and smells of Charles II's London, including the terrors of the Black Plague. Her depiction of scholarly academic politics and the tyranny wielded by Rare Book Room librarians made me smile with reminiscence. The conclusion of the two intertwining stories is somewhat fairy tale-like, but I feel we want these characters to be rewarded after the trials they have undergone rather than opt for Hobbesian determinism. The Weight of Ink is a love story—though there are amorous couplings of many sorts in the novel, true love for its main characters is a love of learning, a love of intellectual discourse, a love of discovery. If you liked A. S. Byatt's Possession and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, this is the novel for you.
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Betty B. (Irving, TX)
The Weight of Ink - A Weighty Book
At 560 pages long, The Weight of Ink tells the story of two different women, a woman scribe for a Rabbi in 1660s London, and an ailing historian in love with Jewish history in 2000 London. Helen has discovered a cache of 17th century Jewish documents and with the assistance of Aron Levy, an American graduate student, she works to understand the secrets of the scribe Ester. I really enjoyed learning about the role of the Jewish people in England in the 17th century, the role of an intelligent woman who wishes to be more than her religion and society will allow, and the theology of the time. This book takes time to read, but will reward the reader who finishes this fascinating story.
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Gloria F. (York, PA)
Excellent historical fiction
"The Weight of Ink" (gosh, I love that title) is weighty with plot and weighty with words at 560 pages. Especially in the first chapters, I felt that tighter editing would have benefited the reader. Having said that, it's really just just one small complaint for an otherwise excellent book of historical fiction set in seventh century London.
The story has everything: the Inquisition, the plague, strong female characters, love both lost and found, philosophic debates and a mystery. I loved the women in this book and the way in which they refused to smother their intellect for the sake of society. Anyone who enjoyed "The Red Tent" will want to read this story.
Rachel Kadish is a gifted writer. I look forward to her next book.
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Marganna K. (Edmonds, WA)
Interesting book - deserved better focus than I could manage...
This is a well written book with well developed characters, a commanding story thread and an interesting presentation of the 2 time lines.
It's a book that challenged my knowledge of this time in the history of Jewish people & traditions. I always thoroughly appreciate a book that offers more than a "story" but one that encourages deeper endeavors into its subject matter.
IMO this would be a great book for book club discussion - I think it would be fun for half the club to discuss the "modern" story line and half to talk about the ancient history story.
It's a dense story - one that needs the readers full attention. It's rich & rewarding; not a quick read. Unfortunately this month's outside forces detracted me from serious reading - my short bursts of reading attention spans didn't do justice to this book. I've become more engaged with each chapter and look forward to the last quarter yet to be finished.
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Wanda T. (The Villages, FL)
The Weight of Ink
In The Weight of Ink two unlikely characters who are struggling with issues of love are brought together through the discovery of documents found as a result of a house renovation. Helen is an historian called by a former student whose wife inherited a 17th century house to take a look at papers found behind a staircase panel. Aaron Levy is hired to assist Helen against her wishes and together they enter into the life of a Jewish scribe to find the truth behind the valuable 17th century papers. The story alternates between the 1600's and present day and although it took me a while to fully understand where the author was headed I became completely engaged in the lives of the characters. This is not a quick read and I felt it was a little too wordy at times but historically interesting and beautifully written.
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Sarah B. (Streamwood, IL)
Fits those it was compared to
Often I've found that books get compared to another and they are nothing alike. The Weight of Ink was compared to AS Byatt's Possession and it was very similar. This will be one of my favorite books of the year I'm sure. It has a bit of everything, love, dual time periods, and mystery.
There are parts I wish had been trimmed, and a bit more concise, but I would recommend this to anyone that I know loves to read about history.
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