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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Beautiful. The kind of book whose characters stay with you long after you've finished reading it.
This is a beautifully written book, that crept along at a glacial pace. I enjoyed reading it, and I really felt I learned about a historical period that I had not a lot of knowledge about before, especially when it came to the Jewish history of the time.
There were two simultanious plots. One was the plot of the historians who were investigating documents found behind a wall of an old house. The historians had various subplots going on around them, many of which, lay forgotten or ended abruptly. The second was of Esther, who the historians were learning about. Her plot was much more interesting, but many of her letter back and forth to various rabbis were a slog to get through.
Despite its slow pace, it did hold my interest throughout, but though the characters were very well defined, I didn't really connect with any of them, or more importantly, they didn't become my friends that I would miss when the book ended.
There were two simultanious plots. One was the plot of the historians who were investigating documents found behind a wall of an old house. The historians had various subplots going on around them, many of which, lay forgotten or ended abruptly. The second was of Esther, who the historians were learning about. Her plot was much more interesting, but many of her letter back and forth to various rabbis were a slog to get through.
Despite its slow pace, it did hold my interest throughout, but though the characters were very well defined, I didn't really connect with any of them, or more importantly, they didn't become my friends that I would miss when the book ended.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Weight of Ink perfectly combines two tales of two women, three centuries apart. It contains work and suffering, reality and it's unfortunate distortion, love, and longing, and hope for something worthwhile in this cruel world... a beautiful combination that comments on life in the 1660s and perhaps life in general.
The two women mentioned are those mostly followed, with the addition of Aaron Levy (Helen's assistant and perhaps a favorite for me in the character department) and Rabbi Moseh Hacoen Mendes.
While side-characters do appear they are a tad less developed and fully fleshed out. This, in my opinion, adds to the appeal of the book rather than to its detriment. It allows the author to properly focus on the viewpoints, thoughts, and opinions the main characters possess.
While they are less fleshed out, the side-characters have pure moments in which they too come to feel as alive and incredible as the two main characters; as they bounce off of them and affect their actions in incredibly believable ways.
Less fleshed out is not to say hardly developed, for that is not the case.
This is however quite a large book, plenty of time is allocated to create a setting and atmosphere that is almost unmatched. It may not be for everyone, however.
This book has also had a personal connection to me, which I'll head into more in-depth in my spoiler section of this review, here:
Helen has a short-burst love story with a character named Dror. She had this story on her visit (which involved military training) and endeavor in Israel in the 1950s was a stand-out moment for me. Never have I felt such a striking feeling of pain in the way I felt while reading the short section devoted to her backstory with this man. Her love, and her acceptance for him, was unfortunately unmatched by the unstable situation Jews faced in that era, considering she was surrounded by holocaust survivors.
Not being a Jew herself led to some turmoil between them, as he wished her to truly understand what it was that being a Jew meant. If she wanted to run scared, he wanted to know early on to spare her the pain of forming a true connection. With Dror, she wanted that, and so she read on the subject and gave it her all. It seemed it wasn't enough. This headed her life from that point onwards, and is what made her pursue Jewish history as a long term career.
This made me think of a past relationship I had been in, in which I gave my all to knowing and adoring every aspect of my lover; ultimately we failed. We could never balance out what we needed from each other with what we gave. As Dror and Helen split when he was called to be promoted into secret service and intelligence, I split with my love when she announced she had in-depth, life-changing plans to pursue things that meant the world to her... but perhaps weren't things that could work for the both of us.
The entire topic of love is explored here in ways I did not expect, as Ester Velasquez also has a pursuit of love. This view of love is different, as she has such an incredible veil cast on it by her mother Constantina Velasquez. Constantina is a character of bold rebellion to the nature imposed on women in this society, being outspoken and rash in her actions. She would usually be accompanying a bottle of wine as she ranted on and on to Ester as a child about her ideals and stories of her past.
Constantina's story is in a way tragic, her mother pursued a love of a man who could very well be Shakespeare (a mystery very well crafted in the book and slowly revealed to the reader) and as that love failed, and she chose to rather stay in Portugal, the quote was born "Love didn't fail, only one love did"
And so Ester tries, in her way, to find a love that may not fail. She experiences love in first an act of promise, then of security... and finally finds that what she truly needed, was acceptance, and friendship. She finds this in a man who himself was prosecuted, being a homosexual. They both find a way to continue their paths (hers in philosophy and his in his sexuality) through an act of marriage.
I enjoyed seeing this portrayed. Sometimes who we need beside us is very different from what may be shown in common media or Hollywood.
So, she learned to love a man who could accept her for what she truly was, in a time where such acceptance was almost unheard of.
As Helen learned of the ending of Ester's story, she found peace in her own life and wrote a very last emotional letter to Dror. Her death near the very end of the novel vehemently impacted me, I won't lie and say tears didn't well. She had developed quite a bit as a character throughout the novel, and became very close to Aaron. It was sad to see that she only really found acceptance at the tail-end of her life.
This, however sad, provided a realism to the text that is for me unmatched.
The philosophy explored in this book was phenomenal.
It was believable that given her background Ester would find a different viewpoint on the world that she wished to share. I'll end on a quote that for me encapsulated her beautiful and tragic worldview:
"She'd been wrong to think the universe cold, and only the human heart driven by desire. The universe itself was built naught but desire, and desire was it's sole living god"
The two women mentioned are those mostly followed, with the addition of Aaron Levy (Helen's assistant and perhaps a favorite for me in the character department) and Rabbi Moseh Hacoen Mendes.
While side-characters do appear they are a tad less developed and fully fleshed out. This, in my opinion, adds to the appeal of the book rather than to its detriment. It allows the author to properly focus on the viewpoints, thoughts, and opinions the main characters possess.
While they are less fleshed out, the side-characters have pure moments in which they too come to feel as alive and incredible as the two main characters; as they bounce off of them and affect their actions in incredibly believable ways.
Less fleshed out is not to say hardly developed, for that is not the case.
This is however quite a large book, plenty of time is allocated to create a setting and atmosphere that is almost unmatched. It may not be for everyone, however.
This book has also had a personal connection to me, which I'll head into more in-depth in my spoiler section of this review, here:
Spoiler
Helen has a short-burst love story with a character named Dror. She had this story on her visit (which involved military training) and endeavor in Israel in the 1950s was a stand-out moment for me. Never have I felt such a striking feeling of pain in the way I felt while reading the short section devoted to her backstory with this man. Her love, and her acceptance for him, was unfortunately unmatched by the unstable situation Jews faced in that era, considering she was surrounded by holocaust survivors.
Not being a Jew herself led to some turmoil between them, as he wished her to truly understand what it was that being a Jew meant. If she wanted to run scared, he wanted to know early on to spare her the pain of forming a true connection. With Dror, she wanted that, and so she read on the subject and gave it her all. It seemed it wasn't enough. This headed her life from that point onwards, and is what made her pursue Jewish history as a long term career.
This made me think of a past relationship I had been in, in which I gave my all to knowing and adoring every aspect of my lover; ultimately we failed. We could never balance out what we needed from each other with what we gave. As Dror and Helen split when he was called to be promoted into secret service and intelligence, I split with my love when she announced she had in-depth, life-changing plans to pursue things that meant the world to her... but perhaps weren't things that could work for the both of us.
The entire topic of love is explored here in ways I did not expect, as Ester Velasquez also has a pursuit of love. This view of love is different, as she has such an incredible veil cast on it by her mother Constantina Velasquez. Constantina is a character of bold rebellion to the nature imposed on women in this society, being outspoken and rash in her actions. She would usually be accompanying a bottle of wine as she ranted on and on to Ester as a child about her ideals and stories of her past.
Constantina's story is in a way tragic, her mother pursued a love of a man who could very well be Shakespeare (a mystery very well crafted in the book and slowly revealed to the reader) and as that love failed, and she chose to rather stay in Portugal, the quote was born "Love didn't fail, only one love did"
And so Ester tries, in her way, to find a love that may not fail. She experiences love in first an act of promise, then of security... and finally finds that what she truly needed, was acceptance, and friendship. She finds this in a man who himself was prosecuted, being a homosexual. They both find a way to continue their paths (hers in philosophy and his in his sexuality) through an act of marriage.
I enjoyed seeing this portrayed. Sometimes who we need beside us is very different from what may be shown in common media or Hollywood.
So, she learned to love a man who could accept her for what she truly was, in a time where such acceptance was almost unheard of.
As Helen learned of the ending of Ester's story, she found peace in her own life and wrote a very last emotional letter to Dror. Her death near the very end of the novel vehemently impacted me, I won't lie and say tears didn't well. She had developed quite a bit as a character throughout the novel, and became very close to Aaron. It was sad to see that she only really found acceptance at the tail-end of her life.
This, however sad, provided a realism to the text that is for me unmatched.
The philosophy explored in this book was phenomenal.
It was believable that given her background Ester would find a different viewpoint on the world that she wished to share. I'll end on a quote that for me encapsulated her beautiful and tragic worldview:
"She'd been wrong to think the universe cold, and only the human heart driven by desire. The universe itself was built naught but desire, and desire was it's sole living god"
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This was one of those books that was a struggle to pick up. But when I did (and had time to read) I got into it and enjoyed the immersive story. But after putting it down, it would take a lot to pick it back up. The only reason I finished it in time for my book club meeting was because I was able to get it on audiobook about halfway through.
It's also a struggle to review! It was interesting and I learned a lot about Jewish history. I still think about parts at time, so there's that. I'd recommend getting the audiobook for this one to help get through it.
Most of my book club enjoyed it although struggled with the size and slower pace.
It's also a struggle to review! It was interesting and I learned a lot about Jewish history. I still think about parts at time, so there's that. I'd recommend getting the audiobook for this one to help get through it.
Most of my book club enjoyed it although struggled with the size and slower pace.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-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