The Golem and the Jinni: a novel (The Golem and the Jinni, 1) - Hardcover

Wecker, Helene

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062110837 ISBN 13: 9780062110831

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2013

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

"Original and fresh...A fascinating blend of historical fiction and Jewish and Arab folklore"--Library Journal

"Wecker deftly layers their story over those of the people they encounter...[A] spellbinding blend of fantasy and historical fiction."--Publishers Weekly

"The premise is so fresh...A mystical and highly original stroll through the sidewalks of New York."--Booklist

"Wecker begins with a juicy premise...and great adventures ensue...She writes skillfully, nicely evoking the layers of alienness that fall upon strangers in a strange land."--Kirkus Reviews

"Magical thinking comes alive in an enchanting allegory of the immigrant experience as two mythical beings try to make sense of themselves and the world around them."--Family Circle Magazine

"THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI is recommended to adults who enjoy a good story and have a childlike sense of make-believe."--New York Journal of Books

"One of the joys of the novel is in watching two strangers develop a relationship that, while it's rooted in their shared magical natures, echoes the way ordinary humans can form bonds starting with a random encounter on a busy street."--Dallas Morning News

"An intoxicating fusion of fantasy and historical fiction...Wecker's storytelling skills dazzle...The book's magic, filtered through the old-time hustle and bustle of the Lower East Side, lingers long after the final page." EW Grade: A--Entertainment Weekly

"The tale is meant to be magical, and it is, but Wecker's real sleight of pen is recreating Manhattan as it was then. She has a historian's grasp of detail and a novelist's flair."--New York Daily News

"The author makes you care enough about the humanity of these magical spirits to not only see them through to the end but also to regret that you've reached the last page."--Patricia Cohen, New York Times

From the Back Cover:

Helene Wecker's dazzling debut novel tells the story of two supernatural creatures who appear mysteriously in 1899 New York. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York Harbor. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian Desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop.

Struggling to make their way in this strange new place, the Golem and the Jinni try to fit in with their neighbors while masking their true natures. Surrounding them is a community of immigrants: the coffeehouse owner Maryam Faddoul, a pillar of wisdom and support for her Syrian neighbors; the solitary ice cream maker Saleh, a damaged man cursed by tragedy; the kind and caring Rabbi Meyer and his beleaguered nephew, Michael, whose Sheltering House receives newly arrived Jewish men; the adventurous young socialite Sophia Winston; and the enigmatic Joseph Schall, a dangerous man driven by ferocious ambition and esoteric wisdom.

Meeting by chance, the two creatures become unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing natures, until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. But a powerful menace will soon bring the Golem and the Jinni together again, threatening their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.

Marvelous and compulsively readable, The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of folk mythology, historical fiction, and magical fable into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0062110837
• ISBN 13: 9780062110831
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 486