The Golem and the Djinni
Books | Fiction / Historical / General
4.3
(90)
Helene Wecker
‘One of only two novels I've ever loved whose main characters are not human’ BARBARA KINGSOLVER For fans of The Essex Serpent and The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock. ‘By far my favourite book of of the year’ Guardian One cold night, two newcomers emerge onto the streets of 1899 New York, and it is never the same again. But these two are more than strangers to this land, they are strangers to this world. From the depths of folkloric history come Chava the golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi and Ahmad, a djinni, born in the ancient Syrian desert and trapped in an old copper flask released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop. Two companions who were never meant to be released, and never meant to meet. And when they do, their opposing natures will be sealed by a special bond, but one that is threatened by watching eyes, roaming owners and a misunderstanding world. A glittering gem of a novel, as spell-binding as it is compelling, The Golem and The Djinni asks us what we’re made of and how we can break free.
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More Details:
Author
Helene Wecker
Pages
656
Publisher
HarperCollins UK
Published Date
2013-08-15
ISBN
0007480180 9780007480180
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"A really complex book grounded in the realism of our world yet still bringing with it fantastical elements. I appreciate the story, it was pretty good. Though I don’t really like the way some characters died and were kind of written off. The author went back and forth between multiple povs (which I’ve never been a huge fan of) and gave us backstory for just about all of them. Some of it, I think, wasn’t really necessary, because it didn’t make me care about certain characters anymore then I did before (eg. Arbeely). Others, I suppose, were fairly interesting (eg. Saleh). I do with that there was more time for the Jinni and Golem to interact and get to know each other rather than just one night a week. I appreciate the way the golem got under the jinni’s skin after they parted ways though. All in all, I’m glad I read a book that had Hebrew and Arab mysticism, as that part was fairly interesting. It’s always nice to learn about new cultures, though I do stay set in my own believe that there is one King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and that there is no power or man who is above Jesus Christ. <br/><br/>To sum it up: It was nice"
Jan
