Skip to content
Responsive image
Vendor
Fritz Agency
Christian Dittus
Original language
English

THE WEIGHT OF INK

Rachel Kadish

An intellectual and emotional jigsaw puzzle of a novel for readers of A. S. Byatt's Possession and Geraldine Brooks's People of the Book

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 cache of seventeenth-century Jewish documents newly discovered in his home during a renovation. Enlisting the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and in a race with another fast-moving team of historians, Helen embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents' scribe, the elusive “Aleph.”

Electrifying and ambitious, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, THE WEIGHT OF INK is a sophisticated work of historical fiction about women separated by centuries, and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order to reconcile the life of the heart and mind.

Rachel Kadish is the author, most recently, of the novel Tolstoy Lied: A Love Story. Among her many honors are a Koret Award, a Pushcart Prize, and citations in the 1997 and 2003 editions of The Best American Short Stories. Her work has been published in Zoetrope: All-Story, Tin House, Story, Bomb, Moment, Sh'ma, Congress Monthly, and Lilith. Kadish, a graduate of Princeton University, earned her MA in fiction writing at New York University.
Available products
Book

Published 2017-06-01 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Comments

Like A.S. Byatt's Possession and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, this emotionally rewarding novel follows [ ] present-day academics trying to make sense of a mystery from the past Vivid and memorable.

Rachel Kadish draws us deep inside the vivid, rarely-seen world of 17th century Jewish London, conjuring the life and legacy of an extraordinary woman with an insatiable hunger for knowledge and education. A vital testament to the importance of books and ideas, The Weight of Ink unfolds like a revelation. — Kate Manning, author of My Notorious Life

A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion. - Toni Morrison, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize Winning Author

The Weight of Ink is the best kind of quest novel—full of suspense, surprises and characters we care passionately about. How thrilling it is to watch the imperious Helen and the scholarly Aaron turn into brilliant literary detectives as they uncover the identity of a woman who lived more than 300 years ago, and how thrilling it is to get to know that woman intimately in her own time. A beautiful, intelligent and utterly absorbing novel. —Margot Livesey, author of Mercury

Czech: Host

Kadish positions two women born centuries apart yet united by a thirst for knowledge at the core of a richly textured, addictive novel Kadish has fashioned a suspenseful literary tale that serves as a compelling tribute to women across the centuries committed to living, breathing, and celebrating the life of the mind.

Inviting comparisons to A.S. Byatt's Possession, Kadish's third novel (after Tolstoy Lied) features two modern scholars investigating a literary historical mystery centered on a female Jewish scribe in 17th-century London. Immersive period detail about Jewish life in 1660s London combines with a riveting plot that touches on the pressures women have faced throughout time, balancing intellectual pursuits with devotion to family. ('Summer Escapes' special)

An unforgettable quest Kadish's characters are memorable, and we're treated to a host of them From Shakespeare's Dark Lady to Spinoza's philosophical heresies, Kadish leaves no stone unturned in this moving historical epic. Chock-full of rich detail and literary intrigue.