Blog Tour Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

From the Back Cover:

Helene Wecker's dazzling debut novel tells the story of two supernatural creatures who arrive separately in New York in 1899.

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master-the husband who commissioned her-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. Though he is no longer imprisoned, Ahmad is not entirely free-an unbreakable band of iron around his wrist binds him to the physical world.

Overwhelmed by the incessant longing and fears of the humans around her, the cautious and tentative Chava-imbued with extraordinary physical strength-fears losing control and inflicting harm. Baptized by the tinsmith who makes him his apprentice, the handsome and capricious Ahmad-an entity of inquisitive intelligence and carefree pleasure-chafes at monotony and human dullness. Like their immigrant neighbors, the Golem and the Jinni struggle to make their way in this strange new place while masking the supernatural origins that could destroy them.

Meeting by chance, Chava and Ahmad become unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing nature-until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. But a powerful threat will soon bring the Golem and the Jinni together again, challenging their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.

My Thoughts:

In 1899, two magical creatures are unwittingly transported from the old world to the new, set adrift in a sea of humanity in a rapidly changing New York City. The Golem Chava loses her master shortly after she awakens on a transatlantic crossing and must figure out what to do in a strange world with no money, no resources, and no direction. After a thousand-year imprisonment, the jinni Ahmad is freed to find the only world he ever knew no longer exists, and that he is bound to an unknown master. Both creatures must learn how to blend in, and after months of doing so, meeting each other is a shock. They are complete opposites: he fiery, passionate, curious -- she serious, cautious, and shy. But despite their differences and the initial unease between them, a special friendship forms. Weary of pretending to be human, they find a freedom in being themselves with each other. Chava and Ahmad's journey of discovery is interwoven with snippets of the past: tales of the jinn in folklore, Ahmad's younger years, and the darker side of Kabbalah, the tale of how Chava's creator came to be who he was, and how Ahmad came to be trapped by his mysterious master. And as it all slowly unfolds, the terrible link they have in common is revealed, along with the lengths they will have to go to to protect innocent people from an ancient evil.

Intertwined with their stories are those of the people they live among. Mostly fellow immigrants, their journeys are movingly depicted, from leaving their old lives behind to forging new opportunities, to weighing setbacks and heartbreak against the joys of success and contentment of purpose and community. The research and attention to detail bring New York at the turn of the twentieth century, particularly Little Syria and the Jewish community, to life, placing two magical creatures in a very human world, full of the paradigms that make it such a wondrous place. The merging of the old world and new, beauty and love and goodwill, cruelty and unjustness and fear... Our characters witness highs and lows of the human condition that make them question whether a difficult existence in an already difficult world is worth it, but always the thirst to experience life wins out.

The Golem and the Jinni is a superbly written debut. It's a magical tale, but the magic is not overt. It's subtle, and lies more in the sense of wonder and creation than the fantastical. Something else I liked about this book: it's a really pure story -- there's no scholarly or political agenda anywhere, it's simply a fictional tale taking place in a very convincing and appealing historical setting. It's a thick read -- there's a lot of description (there has to be since the two main characters are new to the world and take in their surroundings with that newborn inquisitiveness), and I did find the pacing a bit too slow at times. But it builds up to a dangerous and pulse-pounding conclusion, followed by a tender and hopeful ending. The characterization and period detail are excellent, and the story is surprisingly sweet and poignant. I'd recommend it to anyone in the mood for something different in historical fiction; it's fanciful, yet still intellectual and meaningful. I really enjoyed it.

My Rating:  4 Stars out of 5

Check out my Q&A with Helene Wecker

on the Historical Novel Society website!

GIVEAWAY!

Enter to win your own copy of

The Golem and the Jinni

Simply leave a comment with your

email address!

This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada and ends at 11:59pm Monday, May 6, 2013. Winner will be selected at random. Thanks, and good luck!

This giveaway is closed and the winner has been selected.
Check my sidebar for current giveaways!

The Golem and the Jinni is on a blog tour!

Click here to view the tour schedule.

Click here to visit Helene Wecker's website.