The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni, #1)

by Helene Wecker

In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free.

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

Reviewed by Joséphine on

4 of 5 stars

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Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Initial thoughts: For the most part, I don't like books told in alternating time settings. While thoughts and memories aren't chronologically ordered, lived experiences are. Stories that experiment with chronology usually throw me off and pull me out of the enjoyment. in the case of The Golem and the Djinni, I thankfully was so absorbed in the audiobook that the alternating times didn't bother me too much. I loved seeing how the lives of the golem and the djinni intertwined and the sinister undertones that fuelled this fantasy. The mystery propelled the plot forward despite the slow pace, which actually allowed it to unfold step by step.

Also, there's a bakery involved and baking signifies refuge. Naturally, I highly approve of that!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 March, 2016: Finished reading
  • 19 March, 2016: Reviewed