Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
informative
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
I loved this book. The writing is wonderful and weighty and elegant. The story is delightful. And the characters! I gasped out loud, my skin went cold, I teared up... I was deeply invested. Were all the twists (especially that last big one) strictly necessary? No, but I forgive this book its few flaws and will be recommending it to people who love wonderful stories, especially about strong and brilliant women, for many years to come.
I just didn't love it. All these 5 star ratings, but it just didn't do it for me. *sigh* I may have learned a thing or two, so that's a plus I guess, but it just tries too hard to be pro-feminist and pro-homosexuality and anti-religion and blah, blah, blah -- all in the context of a long, long time ago. I liked a couple of the characters, I guess. Oh well. I'm just feeling a bit of regret for having given some of my short time on earth to such a long book I didn't love and that I wanted to because it was so different from many of the other books I've read.
In the mid-seventeenth century Jews were first allowed back into England after 350 years, the philosopher Spinoza was formulating daring new ideas in Amsterdam, and the false messiah Shabbetai Zvi was electrifying Jewish communities across Europe. Rachel Kadish explores this vital era in her National Jewish Book Award winner The Weight of Ink.
The novel begins in England in the year 2000, when Professor Helen Watts is asked to examine some papers found behind a hidden panel in an old manor house. Due to health issues, she reluctantly accepts the help of American graduate student Aaron Levy, and they embark on a journey of discovery. In alternating chapters, the story of a passionate, brilliant woman, fighting the suppression of her desire for knowledge, is told as it happens and as the researchers discover it. Ester Velasquez; the rabbi she for whom she acts as a scribe, blinded by the Inquisition in Portugal; their Polish servant; and the many people they encounter in 1660s London are brought vividly to life by Kadish’s writing.
In the present, as well, the crusty, aging professor and the brash, cocky student, antagonistic toward each other at first, gradually come to a deeper understanding of themselves and form a true friendship, and while the ending is sad to some extent, a sort of justice is done, both for Helen Watts and for Ester Velasquez.
The novel begins in England in the year 2000, when Professor Helen Watts is asked to examine some papers found behind a hidden panel in an old manor house. Due to health issues, she reluctantly accepts the help of American graduate student Aaron Levy, and they embark on a journey of discovery. In alternating chapters, the story of a passionate, brilliant woman, fighting the suppression of her desire for knowledge, is told as it happens and as the researchers discover it. Ester Velasquez; the rabbi she for whom she acts as a scribe, blinded by the Inquisition in Portugal; their Polish servant; and the many people they encounter in 1660s London are brought vividly to life by Kadish’s writing.
In the present, as well, the crusty, aging professor and the brash, cocky student, antagonistic toward each other at first, gradually come to a deeper understanding of themselves and form a true friendship, and while the ending is sad to some extent, a sort of justice is done, both for Helen Watts and for Ester Velasquez.
informative
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:
Complicated
Interesting premise and historical setting (17th century Jewish community in London), but rambled quite a bit. Probably helps if one is interested in philosophy and academia.
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I enjoyed this book, with parallel stories in the 17th and 21st centuries. It was a quick read for me and quite entertaining. However I thought that one of the story lines, about the love life of 21st century postgraduate, was rather incongruous with other descriptions of him and took away from the rest of the book. Some of the twists and turns of their relationship felt forced and unnecessary. All in all, a perfectly good, seemingly well-researched novel!
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes