Why did I love this book?
The story is set in London and alternates between two time periods, the mid-seventeenth century and the early twenty-first century.
In the 1660s, the plague ravages London and Sephadic Jews who had fled the Spanish Inquisition found themselves again blamed and stigmatized. And women in particular were denied scholarship of any form. However, Ester learns to read, translates for a blind rabbi, and grapples with a search for truth in an incredibly hostile environment.
In 2001, an aged British professor and her young American research assistant unexpectedly came upon Ester’s writings. Tensions simmer in both centuries and the suspenseful writing is hard to put down.
9 authors picked The Weight of Ink as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
WINNER OF A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD A USA TODAY BESTSELLER "A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion."-Toni Morrison Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. As the novel opens, Helen has been summoned by a former student to view a…
