The Weight of Ink

The Weight of Ink, written by Rachel Kadish is a story within a story.  Though the book itself is weighty the plot moves along at a quick pace so the reader never feels dragged down by the volume.
The story is test of love and the ability to understand yourself knowing when and how to accept love otherwise you are left with loneliness.  There are many messages in this novel, of understanding yourself, being able to give yourself to someone and not feel you have forsaken your individuality and of being able to accept love.

The story is written across centuries.  Helen Watts is a senior professor at the local college in London when she receives a phone call from an former student.  He and his wife are renovating an old house and come across some ancient documents that seem to be written in Hebrew and Aramaic.  The University Library purchases the papers and as the librarians work to preserve the precious parchment and ink,  Helen and her assistant Aaron Levy, an American  graduate student begin to translate the letters and other papers.  They are working to uncover information about the author and time period of the work.  Their discoveries are incredible and they can hardly believe what they have found.  They are translating the writings of a 17th century woman, who is recording the Jewish diaspora from the horrific Spanish Inquisition to the Jews in the city of Amsterdam, who escape to the safety of London.  We follow the thoughts and correspondence of  Ester Velasquez, as she writes about her life in the 17th century, being a woman and a scholar.  She has been orphaned and rescued by elderly Rabbi Moseh HaCohen Mendes.  He was blinded during the Inquisition and has also escaped to London, where Ester is his scribe, a position unheard of in this time period, who to engage with the brilliant men of her time writes under an assumed pen name. She tries to communicate with the scholars and the shunned including Baruch de Spinoza.

The novel takes the reader back and forth between Helen and Aaron translating the letters and working to figure out who is writing them and what their positions were.  They also are working through their own awkward relationship with each other and their individual interpersonal relationships.  Both Helen and Aaron are unlucky at love.  Helen let the love of her life get away many years ago.  Aaron is at risk of loosing at love because he is unsure of his feelings.  Across the century, Ester and her friend Mary are also struggling with feelings of love and marriage.  Ester has sworn never to fall in love, Mary is anxious to find true love.  Mary asks Ester whether she thinks love is real, "I mean", Mary continued slowly, ignoring Ester;s laughter, "do you think love can be made to happen with whichever man our minds choose - so it's a thing a lady may direct as she pleases?"  Ester replies, "Outside control, and so folly to seek."  Mary disagrees and says that though it is our of her control, love is not folly but good.  Ester says, "It's a danger to a woman even to feel love."

Kadish delivers a weighty novel full of intrigue, historical references and a love story with parallels because relationships have so much in common even centuries apart.  Following all the characters and conversations can be complicated, but the reward is sweet.