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Seller's Description:
Very good. [8], 567, [1] pages. Publisher's letter to reviewer laid in. This 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. Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, this book 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 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." Rachel Kadish is an American writer of fiction and non-fiction and the author of several novels and a novella. Her novel The Weight of Ink won the National Jewish Book Award in 2017. Her fiction work has won the National Jewish Book Award and the Julia Ward Howe Prize, the John Gardner Fiction Prize, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award. Kadish has also written in Quartz magazine about Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat who saved her family during World War II and in The Paris Review on the importance of historical fiction in illuminating forgotten history. Rachel Kadish's 2017 novel, The Weight of Ink, winner of National Jewish Book Award, is a work of historical fiction set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century. It tells the interwoven stories of two women: Ester Velasquez, an immigrant 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. Derived from a Kirkus review: A mysterious collection of papers hidden in a historic London home sends two scholars of Jewish history on an unforgettable quest. When Helen Watt receives a phone call from a former student about centuries-old documents secreted away in his posh residence, she doesn't hold out much hope for their importance. Close to retirement, Helen's seen it all. But a cursory look at the papers tells her she's holding something special. She returns to the house with Aaron Levy, an eager American graduate student, in tow. Despite butting heads over process, the unlikely pair of literary detectives uncover a stunning truth: the writer of the documents is a 17th-century woman who chronicled the Jewish diaspora, from the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition to the rich trade city of Amsterdam and the relative safe haven of London. Kadish deftly weaves contemporary scholarly intrigue with the voice of Ester Velasquez, an incandescent 17th-century mind who longed to engage with the brilliant men of her day. "Here I begin, " writes Ester in her very first attempt. "I am one soul in a great city." Ester risks everything to wrestle with ideas that counter rabbinical teachings, developing a secret identity to protect her family from harm-and relishing her newfound freedom. Clocking in at almost 600 pages, the novel could have used a judicious pruning to highlight the intellectual game of cat and mouse that plays out across four centuries. Still, Kadish's characters are memorable, and we're treated to a host of them: pious rabbis and ribald actors, socialites and troubled young men, Mossad agents and rule-worshipping archivists. 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.
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Seller's Description:
Fair. May contain writing notes highlighting bends or folds. Text is readable book is clean and pages and cover mostly intact. May show normal wear and tear. Item may be missing CD. May include library marks.