The Golem and the Jinni

( 3 )

Overview

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 ...

See more details below
Hardcover
$14.83
BN.com price
(Save 45%)$26.99 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (Hardcover)
  • All (30) from $11.00   
  • New (25) from $11.0   
  • Used (5) from $16.82   
The Golem and the Jinni

Available on NOOK devices and apps  
  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet
  • NOOK for iOS
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK for Windows 8
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac
  • NOOK Study

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

NOOK Book (eBook)
$11.99
BN.com price
(Save 20%)$14.99 List Price

More About This Book

Overview

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.

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Wecker's first novel is a magical tale of two mythical creatures—a golem from a Polish shtetl and a jinni from the Syrian Desert—struggling to fit in among New York's turn-of-the-19th-century immigrants. The golem is brought to America by poor furniture maker Otto Rotfeld, who had her built from clay to be his wife, but he dies en route. Elderly Rabbi Avram Meyer, recognizing the tall and hardworking young woman's supernatural character, gives her a name—Chava—and a job in a bakery, but ponders whether to destroy her or let her fulfill a destiny that legend dictates includes mayhem and destruction. Meanwhile, a tinsmith, Boutros Arbeely, releases the jinni from a thousand-year-old flask and names him Ahmad. Proud, handsome Ahmad proves a gifted metalworker, seduces a Fifth Avenue heiress, and pines for his long-lost glass palace before meeting Chava, his unlikely soul mate. Wecker deftly layers their story over those of the people they encounter, including a Jewish baker and his wife, a Maronite coffee shop owner and his wife, a doctor turned ice cream vendor, and an apostate social worker. The ending dips into melodrama, but the human touches more than compensate in Wecker's spellbinding blend of fantasy and historical fiction. Agent: Matt McGowan, Frances Goldin Literary Agency. (May)
Kirkus Reviews
Can't we all just get along? Perhaps yes, if we're supernatural beings from one side or another of the Jewish-Arab divide. In her debut novel, Wecker begins with a juicy premise: At the dawn of the 20th century, the shtetls of Europe and half of "Greater Syria" are emptying out, their residents bound for New York or Chicago or Detroit. One aspirant, "a Prussian Jew from Konin, a bustling town to the south of Danzig," is an unpleasant sort, a bit of a bully, arrogant, unattractive, but with enough loose gelt in his pocket to commission a rabbi-without-a-portfolio to build him an idol with feet of clay--and everything else of clay, too. The rabbi, Shaalman, warns that the ensuing golem--in Wecker's tale, The Golem--is meant to be a slave and "not for the pleasures of a bed," but he creates her anyway. She lands in Manhattan with less destructive force than Godzilla hit Tokyo, but even so, she cuts a strange figure. So does Ahmad, another slave bottled up--literally--and shipped across the water to a New York slum called Little Syria, where a lucky Lebanese tinsmith named Boutros Arbeely rubs a magic flask in just the right way and--shazam!--the jinni (genie) appears. Ahmad is generally ticked off by events, while The Golem is burdened with the "instinct to be of use." Naturally, their paths cross, the most unnatural of the unnaturalized citizens of Lower Manhattan--and great adventures ensue, for Shaalman is in the wings, as is a shadowy character who means no good when he catches wind of the supernatural powers to be harnessed. Wecker takes the premise and runs with it, and though her story runs on too long for what is in essence a fairy tale, she writes skillfully, nicely evoking the layers of alienness that fall upon strangers in a strange land. Two lessons: Don't discount a woman just because she's made of clay, and consider your wishes carefully should you find that magic lamp.
Tom Reiss
“From its eerie opening pages to its shattering conclusion, THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI is an astonishing debut novel that sweeps us into a gaslit alternate reality rich enough to get lost in.”
Deborah Harkness
“With a delightful blend of the prosaic and the fanciful, THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI explores what it means to be human as Chava and Ahmad struggle to live and find love while overcoming the powerful adversary who threatens to destroy them.”
Booklist
“The premise is so fresh...A mystical and highly original stroll through the sidewalks of New York.”
Library Journal
In 1899 two very different creatures find themselves in New York City. Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay and brought to life by a Polish magician to be the perfect wife. Ahmed is a jinni, a being made of fire, who has been released from a flask he's been bound in for centuries. Forming an unexpected friendship, Chava and Ahmed must learn how to survive undetected while preparing to battle a dangerous adversary. First-time novelist Wecker introduces readers to an immigrant community of kindly rabbis, skillful tinsmiths, and possessed ice cream venders that serves as an excellent backdrop for the debates between Chava and Ahmed about the use of power and the meaning of freedom. VERDICT Full of quirky characters and philosophical and religious musings, this fascinating blend of historical fiction and Jewish and Arab folklore excels when it comes to its gorgeous descriptions and the intriguing flashbacks to the jinni's earlier life, but it lacks some relationship development to ground Chava and Ahmed's romance. Overall this original and fresh story will attract fans of historical fantasy or folktales. [See Prepub Alert, 11/19/12.]—Katie Lawrence, Chicago
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780062110831
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 4/23/2013
  • Pages: 486
  • Sales rank: 33430
  • Product dimensions: 6.40 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Helene Wecker received a B.A. from Carleton College in Minnesota and an M.F.A. from Columbia University in New York. A Chicago-area native who's made her home in Minneapolis, Seattle, and New York, she now lives near San Francisco with her husband and daughter. The Golem and the Jinni is her first novel.

Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 3 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(1)
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted Tue Apr 23 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    more from this reviewer

    While I was initially drawn to this title simply by the title, t

    While I was initially drawn to this title simply by the title, this has become one of my favorite reads this year.  Combining the feel of a fairy tale with a romance and mixing in a serious underlying story that weaves in cultures, history, and folklore to create a tale of the immigrant experience that is unlike any I have ever read.  




    The Golem; Chava, is a figure born from clay and known in the lore of the Eastern European Jews.  Ahmad, the Jinni, is born of the fire in the Bedouin camps in the Syrian desert.  Together the essence of who they are is trapped in human forms, as they are navigating the immigrant neighborhoods and experiences of 1890’s New York.  These two very disparate characters manage to form a friendship and ultimately a bond that traverses their cultural differences and the pull of their destinies against their desires and free will. 




    Solidly researched and impeccably characterized, the story carefully and precisely wends its way through the immigrant neighborhoods as it carefully lays groundwork to bring all of the pieces together at the end.  Both Ahmad and Chava have knowledge and magic that can be used to alter and change perceptions or situations, should they, could they and will they utilize this for noble or selfish purpose.  All will be answered when your travel through the streets and neighborhoods of New York.  




    As a first novel, this couldn’t have been better.  Never did the story suffer from an overload of information or descriptions, nor was the pacing impacted as the information was presented.  Every character is well defined and built and minute details are not missed, the neighborhoods and people fairly come to life in your imagination.  The book is enchanting and will please many readers from all walks of life. 




    I received an eBook copy from the publisher from Edelweiss for purpose of honest review.  I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility. 

    4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Wed Apr 24 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    U

    Another braggart plot spoiler review, bragging how they got the book for free for their * honest and unbiased* opinion, which right off tells me it will reveal everything while brown-nosing the author, which doesnt really give a true review. Its just a mini rewrite of the book, which gives the poster a deluded sense of being an author themselves. These plot spoilers should not be allowed to post these spoilers.

    3 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Thu Apr 25 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    Loved it

    And to two below:
    Gollum is the charachter from LOTR. Golems are mythological cratures made of stone or clay.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)