From the Bookshelf of Ask Helene Wecker - Tuesday, January 14th…
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What Members Thought
I have found this story to be great in the sense of how much it is based on a good historical understanding. Regardless of it possibly being another [modern] fairy tale, it is culturally informative and enlightening.
I like how Wecker takes liberty in creating her main characters based on folklore. Yet, knowing how much lore exists about Jinn both in folk tales and religious Islamic texts, I can't help but feel that she departed too far from that and rather went with the "thousand nights genie" m ...more
I like how Wecker takes liberty in creating her main characters based on folklore. Yet, knowing how much lore exists about Jinn both in folk tales and religious Islamic texts, I can't help but feel that she departed too far from that and rather went with the "thousand nights genie" m ...more
Fantastical and exciting, this book was everything I wanted from something by this title. The setting of old New York was well researched and so intricate in its descriptions that I felt like I was really there at times. I loved both the Golem and the Jinni for very different reasons and rooted for the both of them the whole way through. The supporting characters were well-developed and I fell in love with quite a few of them.
An absorbing read that has two mythical creatures cross paths in 1899 New York. Although the story sags a bit in the middle and the details of past lives slows the story, all lovers of historical fiction and/or folktales will enjoy the book. The ending is a bit unsatisfying, with a few too many twists and turns, but ...
I loved this book from beginning to end. The author brought the setting of New York in 1900 to life in vivid detail. She also did something much more difficult: she breathed life into a clay character. I was worried that a novel with a golem as one of the main characters would be boring, but this was not the case; the golem is a wonderful character and a great focal point for an intriguing story. Although it was quite a long book I didn't want it to end.
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Wonderful. It reveals so much about human nature while exploring the vicissitudes of being a supernatural being in fin de siecle New York City. An obsessive read, in my experience.
Aug 13, 2013
Olivia
rated it
it was amazing
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