Title: The Golem and the Jinni Author: Helene Wecker
Published: April 23, 2013
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Paranormal
Page Count: 486
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic, created to be the wife of a man who 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.
The Golem and the Jinni is a melding of literary fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy; it rather defies being shoehorned into any one genre. Wecker’s debut novel is inventive, atmospheric, and richly nuanced. I didn’t find it to be a faultless novel, but it came close.
Set in Gilded Age New York city, the book follows the unlikely existences of a Syrian jinni and a Polish golem, both of whom are rather out of their element. Though their lives seem completely unrelated for some time, Wecker eventually weaves their stories together into a cohesive whole, so that both their past, present, and future are combined.
In virtually all areas, The Golem and the Jinni is a successful venture. Wecker’s exploration of Jewish and Arabic culture, through the vehicle of her two supernatural protagonists, is insightful and well-done. More than that, the author has truly grasped the 19th-century reality of an immigrant, as well as the varied and complex setting that is historical New York.
There was, naturally, quite a lot going on in this book, yet the pacing was always subdued and steady, as Wecker slowly unveiled the truth, piece by piece. I think that the story actually moved a bit too slowly—the golem and jinni didn’t even meet until halfway through the book! While I appreciate the attempt to create a fully realized scene before launching into the conflict, I think The Golem and the Jinni was much too unbalanced between exposition and action. A less patient reader than I probably would have given up, and rightfully so.
That being said, the story itself was rewarding. In the end, a showdown with an ancient sorcerer and a last stand by the golem-jinni duo created quite a climax, and the epilogue left things vague enough to be interpreted, but still offered enough closure for two characters who’d dealt with a lot of adversity over the course of 500 pages.
The Golem and the Jinni is historical fantasy for the patient, contemplative reader. Helene Wecker’s storytelling is ultimately rewarding, but it can sometimes feel like the payoff is too long in arriving. For myself, I’m pleased by this unique, thoughtful cross-genre novel, and would be more than willing to read another novel of the author’s, should she choose to write one.
