Meanwhile, a tinsmith in Little Syria sets to work on an old copper flask when suddenly out of it comes a jinni who has been trapped for a thousand years. She is taken in by a kindly rabbi who names her Chava and introduces her to the local Jewish community. But after an unexpected turn of events, the golem arrives at Ellis Island alone and masterless.
The Golem and the Jinni begins in Poland at the turn of the 20th century, when a disgraced rabbi makes a woman out of clay-a golem-to serve as his client’s perfect and obedient wife.
My whole family has been reading this book, and I’m so glad I finally hopped on that bandwagon! Yet in Helene Wecker’s debut historical fantasy novel, they meet by chance on the streets of New York City. I love stories of unexpected friendships, and what could be more unexpected than a golem and a jinni? These two mythological creatures come from different traditions, different regions, and altogether different worlds. Kyla Ward on Flowers in Gothic Literature.Paula Cappa on Review of The Writing Retreat-Channeling Stories and Spirits.Spencer on Review of Piñata-Possession in Mexico.Tricia on Review of Neil Gaiman’s Trigger Warning.Review of The Writing Retreat-Channeling Stories and Spirits.Review of FINNA and DEFEKT-Retail Terror.Rated: Mild, for some awkward physical references, and some mention of sex. If all adult books were like this, I’d probably read more of them. It was amazing and perfect and totally and completely satisfying. Wecker is such a master storyteller that I didn’t even suspect how all the pieces fit together until the conclusion was upon me (or maybe I’m just not a careful reader), and the ending blew. Flashback and stories that seemed out of place for much of the book. There are some elements of the book that I wondered how they fit in.
It’s simultaneously their separate stories and their intertwining ones. One of the things that impressed me (aside from her melding historical details with fantasy) is she managed to have both the Golem and the Jinni grow in their respective ways.
The sturdiness of the Golem and her need to fill desire, the flightiness of the Jinni. Wecker’s writing is lyrical and magical, and she captures the essence of not only her human characters, but the fantastical ones as well. I will tell you this: it’s a fantastic debut novel. I loved not knowing what was going to happen next, discovering connections and twists and turns as they came. Everything else in the story was a mystery left to unfold. And that the main characters were a golem - Jewish mysticism - and a jinni - Arabic mythology. All I knew about it, going in, was that it was turn-of-the-century New York City immigrants. I have sat here for a good while, trying to figure out how to start this off.
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