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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
A true 5 star book for me: historical, provoking, nuanced, full of unlikely friendships, and beautifully written. It has been a little while since I delayed the finishing of a book because it hurt to finish it and let it go. But the beauty of The Weight of Ink is that it will stay with me because it reached me so profoundly.
At first I wasn't sure this book was for me because it started out very slowly, and I didn't care about one of the two storylines. But at about a third in I decided to finish it. Halfway in I had the feeling this could be a really great book, and that feeling never left. There is not much lacking in this book: a great plot and wonderful character development, beautiful use of language, vivid descriptions of a people group and time in history I was pretty ignorant of. My only gripes with it were the length (23+ hr / 600 p) and the way homosexuality got 'inserted' and came across as the author's point she wanted to make. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable book that read as a combination of historical fiction, a detective, a psychological novel and a philosophical argument. If you like long novels with elaborate life stories and with a philosophical theme, read this.
Weaving timeframes to tell a webbed story of academics, history, women's lives, and Jews in the Portuguese diaspora; rich, challenging, thought provoking, touching.
Beautiful writing, imaginative story, excellent character development, well researched. So why not a 5? Despite all of the wonderful aspects of this book, I had to force myself to finish the book; it did not captivate me. There were long stretches of Hebrew Scholastics of which I just wasn't interested and made the story drag. I do think Kadish is a gifted writer and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading a fine piece of literature.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liked the writing style the story got dry at times making this book slow to read
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
The story follows two time periods, both stories being equally engaging and I found it fascinating the way it all was unveiled.
The writing is so enthralling, the author really has a way with words.
The writing is so enthralling, the author really has a way with words.
It takes some time to get going and start making sense but when it does....what a masterpiece.
I’m not sure any review I write will do this book justice. I have been utterly sucked in to the story and writing and history of this book. Helen, Aaron, Ester. So many times I just wanted to be immersed in this outstanding writing just a little longer. I do think this a book you need to have time for. I don’t think it can be read a few pages at a time. You need to sit down and savor it. I know I will think of this book and these characters long after today.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated