by Rachel Kadish
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 561 pages. Historical Fiction
When a soon-to-be-retired university professor in London is called to assess a hidden cache of ancient papers, she begins a search to discover the identity of the scribe known only as "Aleph." Blending history and fiction seamlessly between London of the 1660s and the 21st century, the quest to discover who wrote the letters is interspersed with desire and the struggle of mortality across centuries.
The writing is truly phenomenal, which made the frequent switching between voices and time-periods easy to follow without feeling like anything was added just for fluff. All the story and mystery does a lovely job illustrating the struggle of humanizing history, especially when confronted with the distance of time. Contemplative, with a balance between introspective moments and an emotionally driven story, The Weight of Ink builds soul-searching moments into a depth that stayed well after reading the last page.
AS
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