'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 '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 '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 'The premise is so fresh.A mystical and highly original stroll through the sidewalks of New York.'-Booklist spellbinding blend of fantasy and historical fiction.'-Publishers Weekly 'Wecker deftly layers their story over those of the people they encounter. 'Original and fresh.A fascinating blend of historical fiction and Jewish and Arab folklore'-Library Journal

It would be like pulling threads from a finely crafted garment to describe the whole.'-Minneapolis Star Tribune Clearly, otherworldly forces were involved.the story is so complex and intricately woven that it does not lend itself to summary. 'Inventive, elegantly written and well-constructed.It's hard to believe this is a first novel. An even more powerful threat will emerge, however, and bring Chava and Ahmad together again, challenging their very existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.Ĭompulsively readable, The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, in a wondrously inventive tale that is mesmerizing and unforgettable. But when the golem's violent nature overtakes her one evening, their bond is challenged.

An iron band around his wrist binds him to the wizard and to the physical world.Ĭhava and Ahmad meet accidentally and become friends and soul mates despite their opposing natures. Released by a Syrian tinsmith in a Manhattan shop, Ahmad appears in human form but is still not free. As the ship arrives in New York in 1899, Chava is unmoored and adrift until a rabbi on the Lower East Side recognizes her for the creature she is and takes her in.Īhmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert and trapped centuries ago in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard. She serves as the wife to a Polish merchant who dies at sea on the voyage to America. Wecker's storytelling skills dazzle.' - Entertainment WeeklyĪ marvelous and absorbing debut novel about a chance meeting between two supernatural creatures in turn-of-the-century immigrant New York.Ĭhava is a golem, a creature made of clay by a disgraced rabbi knowledgeable in the ways of dark Kabbalistic magic. 'An intoxicating fusion of fantasy and historical fiction.

The golem and the jinni book review