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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is stunning. It’s one of the most well written books I think I’ve ever read. The stories of all three main characters are completely captivating. I loved reading the portions of Ester’s story especially, and that was an era of history that I really knew nothing about. My only gripes were that the book honestly got too long for me and the deus ex machina connection at the end to Aaron’s dissertation was too much. I believed everything up until that point. That took it into the realm of fiction where up until that point it felt I was reading something real. Also for some reason it felt like that was trying to explain her genius as opposed to just letting her be smart on her own. It weakened Ester for me in a way I didn’t want her to and a way I didn’t think she deserved to be. Still a wonderful book though - highly recommend!
I found this long, dense, thinky novel surprisingly absorbing and difficult to walk away from to do things like eat and sleep. I don't usually love learning about history but this particular aspect was so completely unfamiliar to me that it didn't feel teachy but instead absolutely fascinating. The writing is what really sells the book, though, to the point that I read the author Q&A at the end just to have more time with the author's words. I'm very excited to talk about this one with my book club.
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a hard book-lots of words, but such a rich story.
It’s rare to read a book with only fully formed, exceptional characters. Yet alone one with so much historical fortitude and depth. Esther stole the show for me. She was ahead of her time in a fulfilling and complete way. The feminist undertones between her and Hellen’s strengths make this one to remember.
This writing. Did someone sneak into the shadows of my heart?
“Ester lay silent under the cover, willing herself toward the sweet sleep she now craved more than almost all else. The death of each day’s life. End it, she thought. End this day’s life if the world holds mercy.”
My only complaint: this is a hefty book and it feels unnecessarily long while reading. I usually don’t mind, but I do feel like there was an abundance of filler that could have been edited out and still resulted in the same emotional impact.
This writing. Did someone sneak into the shadows of my heart?
“Ester lay silent under the cover, willing herself toward the sweet sleep she now craved more than almost all else. The death of each day’s life. End it, she thought. End this day’s life if the world holds mercy.”
My only complaint: this is a hefty book and it feels unnecessarily long while reading. I usually don’t mind, but I do feel like there was an abundance of filler that could have been edited out and still resulted in the same emotional impact.
When her parents die, Ester and her brother are taken in by an elderly rabbi who was blinded during the Portuguese inquisition. Settling in London, where the Restoration has made it safer to live openly as a Jew, the rabbi uses Ester as his scribe, when no one else can be found to do the job. Freed from the relentless women's work, Ester is given a world of ideas and a freedom to think. But a plague menaces London.
Helen is just weeks away from retirement when a former student finds a cache of papers in the 17th century home he and his wife are renovating. With the aid of an American graduate student, she begins the task of finding out what the papers reveal, racing against a team of rival scholars and her own diminishing health.
This is one of the few historical novels using the framework of someone from the present day researching a past event that worked for me. Usually, one of the timelines, usually the one set in the present day, is an annoying distraction, but this novel managed to make both timelines equally compelling, despite the earlier one involving itself with much more dramatic stakes. The only criticism I have of this novel is that the plots are wrapped up very quickly and much too tidily, with unlikely happy endings bestowed with abandon. There's also a final twist that was ridiculous, but given how well-written and well-researched the rest of the novel is, these are minor quibbles.
Helen is just weeks away from retirement when a former student finds a cache of papers in the 17th century home he and his wife are renovating. With the aid of an American graduate student, she begins the task of finding out what the papers reveal, racing against a team of rival scholars and her own diminishing health.
This is one of the few historical novels using the framework of someone from the present day researching a past event that worked for me. Usually, one of the timelines, usually the one set in the present day, is an annoying distraction, but this novel managed to make both timelines equally compelling, despite the earlier one involving itself with much more dramatic stakes. The only criticism I have of this novel is that the plots are wrapped up very quickly and much too tidily, with unlikely happy endings bestowed with abandon. There's also a final twist that was ridiculous, but given how well-written and well-researched the rest of the novel is, these are minor quibbles.
I love books with alternating stories set in different times, especially the way a good writer makes them inform and add to each other.
In this book, the emphasis on writing and archiving is what grabbed me. That, and passion for the work.
In this book, the emphasis on writing and archiving is what grabbed me. That, and passion for the work.
The character development and their stories were great and hooked me...well into Part 2. Prior to that, the writing seemed dull and hard to really get into. I think throughout many parts of the book, the writing seems less philosophical (if you’ve read it, you’ll understand why it’s philosophical at all), and just more...forced. As if she was trying way too hard to be “deep.”
I did really enjoy the characters and found myself invested in their stories. I do wish there was a more concrete ending with Aaron though.
I did really enjoy the characters and found myself invested in their stories. I do wish there was a more concrete ending with Aaron though.