On the Shelf: The Golem and the Jinni

THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI | HELENE WECKER | HARPERCOLLINS | APRIL 2013

An immigrant tale that combines elements of Jewish and Arab folk mythology, 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 in 1899. 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. 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.

If you like magical realism, then you're going to love this book. Wecker's story weaves two unforgettable lives together in a way that makes these supernatural characters more human than the real people inhabiting New York in 1899.

The golem, Chava, wants more than anything to fit in. She's able to hear the desires of those around her - without their knowledge - and she struggles to act like she doesn't know any better. Chava's nature is to serve a master and it's torturous to know what people want and not be able to help. On the other hand, the jinni, Ahmad, wants to be free. He doesn't want to be anything like the humans around him. Instead, he'd much rather be back in the desert without the confines of an iron band and a human form.

The Golem and the Jinni tells the story of these two characters and how their unlikely friendship changes their hopes and dreams. Wecker also introduces a handful of secondary characters - mostly all human - that have equally as compelling stories. We're taken back in time to learn the history of the jinni and how he came to be lying naked on the floor of a metalsmith's shop and are lucky enough to know the story of the golem from the moment of her creation.

The novel continuously changes direction as the golem and the jinni's struggles affect the other characters. The story is told at a quick pace, especially with the amount of characters involved, and the prose has a simple and magical quality to it. This is an incredible debut.

Chava and Ahmad are quite opposite in personality, but as we learn more about them - and they rely more on one another to navigate the human world - we discover that one could not exist without the other. The Golem and the Jinni is a beautiful story about wanting to fit in and yet needing to be unique... with a touch of magic thrown in to weave the tale together.