London, 2000. Before her retirement, Helen Watt gets a call by a former student who found a bundle of 300-year-old documents in his new home. Enlisting the help of postgraduate Aaron Levy, Helen and Aaron find letters within this collection, each one signed by "Aleph". "Aleph" is a scribe for a blind rabbi, a not unusual occurrence for the time. What is unusual is that the scribe was a well-educated women, something that was basically unheard of in 17th century society. Understanding the huge discovery on their hands, Helen and Aaron's research becomes a race against time before other hungry scholars can steal all the credit for the find.
London, 1657. After fleeing to London, Ester Velasquez resides with a rabbi and his housekeeper while trying to become accustomed to her new surroundings. Since the rabbi is blind and her brother refuses to help, Ester is allowed to be his scribe. During her time writing down the rabbi's thoughts, she slowly begins to question everything she's always been told about morality and God. Despite the odds stacked against her, Ester finds a way to write her conjectures and arguments down, even managing to contact a few scholars under an assumed name. Unfortunately, fate has other ideas: a plague is coming for London, and it will take more than pen and paper for her to survive.
The Weight of Ink is a 2017 historical novel by Rachel Kadish. Each chapter alternates between Ester and Helen's stories, with excerpts from Ester's writing popping up within Helen's chapters.
This novel provides examples of:
- The Cavalier Years: Ester's story takes place during the later half of the 17th century.
- Doorstopper: The book is at least 560 pages and the text is pretty small.
- Most Writers Are Writers: Ester is a seventeenth-century woman who is compelled to write her thoughts and arguments down.
- One-Night-Stand Pregnancy: Before leaving for England, Aaron has a one night stand with a fellow classmate named Marisa. After a period of silence, Marisa reveals to Aaron via email that she's pregnant, and has been making plans on how to care for the baby.
- Turn of the Millennium: Helen and Aaron's storylines take place during late-2000 to early-2001.
