The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 18, 2019 Sk888888 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, challenge, xx-popsugar2019, xx-read-harder-2019

ETA: Second reading, done. I'd forgotten a lot of the story, it was great to be with these characters again. Now, I'll wait patiently for the Glass Castle to continue this fabulous journey.
I'm sorry I waited so long to read this - it was wonderful. Totally not my 'chosen genre' at all, read for a challenge, but - I cannot WAIT for the sequel! If you have this on your TBR, move it up!! ...more

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Oct 12, 2016 MichelleCH rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, contemporary-fic, kindle, new-york-new-york

Really enjoyed it and felt like I learned even more about the immigrant experience and of other cultures. I've heard the term 'Golem' but never had known exactly what it was or the folklore behind it. Wecker does an excellent job navigating the reader through the story of Chava (the golem) and The Jinni who is from the Syrian desert. Both arrive separately in New York alone and naive to how the world and humans work. By coincidence they meet one night and realize that they much in common; both s ...more

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Sep 24, 2015 Ellen Librarian rated it really liked it

This is a terrific book, it's original, it's beautifully written, it's well researched and you really feel like you have been transported back to early 20th century or late 19th century New York. But magical realism and folk tale-type fiction just isn't my cup of tea. ...more

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May 08, 2017 Pam rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club-choice, 2016

Very creative use of traditional folklore. I was skeptical at first because I tend to be cranky, but this was a fun escape from the ordinary.

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Nov 08, 2013 Cherylcali "turn the page" rated it really liked it

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life 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 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 lo ...more

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May 24, 2014 Kay Green rated it liked it

Shelves: set-in-nyc

I enjoyed all of the sections about the Golem and the Jinni - they were interesting characters alone and in their dealings with each other. But all the supporting characters were confusing and I kept mixing them up. Good scenes in NYC but tedious back stories and legends.

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