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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I learned so much from this book and I have a feeling that I will be thinking about it for a long time. For those who love historical fiction and/or Jewish history, this might be for you. It’s definitely some work; it’s 500 pages, deeply philosophical, and somewhat dense. But the story is unlike anything I have ever read, and the history and characters are rich and beautiful. Absolutely worth my time and effort.
I don’t think my own words will do justice to what I thought of this book. Letters are my weak spot, strong female characters are my even weaker spot. Could I have known this one would capture me so deeply with practically no background knowledge? Despite it taking a more than average length of time for me to read and it’s length being... not short, I still wished for more and more of it. When I am permitted I shall go and hunt for cherubs in Richmond, but until then I shall sit and write nonsense with my new fountain pen and imagine myself into this book.
I'm a sucker for dual narratives, for book ms about books (for codexes themselves), and for literary history. This painted a rich picture of the world of early modern London for Jewish women. I want to read more, so I'm glad Kadish included her sources!
I just found it too dry to follow and wasn’t invested. It started feeling like a chore.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. Some aspects were very appealing to me, e.g., a rebellious young woman struggling to find her voice in a patriarchal society, scholars working to solve an intriguing historical puzzle, mirrored stories told in two different times. That’s all great fun. However, I didn’t particularly like most of the characters (especially Aaron, who is a total weenie), the plot never quite gelled, it took too long to get interesting, and it didn’t go as far as it could have done when it finally did get interesting. I don’t know. I often have issues with contemporary “literary” fiction, as it has such an air of unearned earnestness about it, full of sound and fury, signifying much less than it wants to signify. Genre fiction tends not to take itself as seriously, but I find that a well-written science fiction or fantasy novel can speak to things that are undreamt of in the more “down-to-earth” philosophies expressed in “literary” fiction, as the rules of nature don’t have to apply. That probably is a sign of immaturity on my part.
I stopped about halfway through and picked it up months later. It took a long time to get into it, but upon picking up again, it was better. However, passages written by the main character are long and dense, and there are too many. In general, I liked it. But it was a tough read.
A stunning work of storytelling, beautiful prose, historical and philosophical enlightenment (so to speak!) and enthralling turns of events. Starts out somewhat slowly (like a roller coaster heading up the incline) and then you will want to keep reading it even after you reach the end of all 560 pages. A truly splendid book.
3.5 stars. It was work getting through the dual timelines.
I'm still thinking about this story, and the many aspects that fascinated me. Meanwhile...this discovery was just announced which has some fun parallels to this book. http://news.ku.edu/2019/06/20/major-medieval-poet-pegged-books-scribe-shaking-field
challenging
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this story, but it could've been a couple hundred pages shorter. I was more interested in the past storyline; Aaron in the present annoyed me continuously and I kept skimming over his parts. Helen was an interesting character but I felt like we really didn't explore her storyline except for one part of her life (her love affair with Dror). We spent the most time with Ester and I did find her story fascinating.