Barbara's Reviews > The Weight of Ink

I read and reviewed this book over two years ago. I just reread it, something I rarely do but felt was necessary in order to adequately lead the discussion for a book club. My love of the book was increased the second time around, and I had been totally blown away by it two years ago. There were so many nuances I had forgotten or had missed on the first reading. It remains one of my all-time favorite books.

Dual storylines tell the stories of Ester in 17C London and Helen in the 20C, also in London. Ester is a scribe for a blind rabbi. A woman scribe is unheard of at that time, no less one who writes her surreptitious and heretical thoughts to Spinoza and others. Helen is an aging historian of Jewish history who is assigned to decipher the cache of 300 year old documents found hidden in a 17C London home. These two intelligent women follow a life of the mind but both are filled with guilt and regret. Kadish's two storylines are equally compelling, something I have rarely found with this format.

Having recently read two books set in the 17C, O'Farrell's Hamnet and C.J Sansom's Sovereign, I am slowly reentering this present time. Although I would never wish to have lived back then, my immersion was extremely pleasurable.