The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Jinni received mostly positive reviews. He is discovered to be a reincarnation of the evil sorcerer who trapped Ahmad. Chava and Ahmad's influence on the lives of the people around them comes to a climax as Chava's creator comes to New York, intent on finding the secret to eternal life. Chava seeks to be more human and fears losing control and exposing herself, whereas Ahmad holds a jaded view towards social restraints and engages in hedonistic pursuits.

He takes the name Ahmad and apprentices with the tinsmith while searching for a way to return to his natural form.Ĭhava and Ahmad eventually meet, recognizing each other as inhuman, and become friends, though they have different views on being inhuman while living in a human world. With no memory of how he was subdued, the jinni is virtually powerless and trapped in human form. Meanwhile, a tinsmith in New York's Little Syria accidentally frees a jinni from a flask in which he has been imprisoned for a millennium. A rabbi in New York takes in the golem and, naming her Chava, starts teaching her to pass as human among the diverse groups of people living in New York.

Rotfeld dies during a subsequent sea voyage to New York City, leaving the newly awakened golem in an unfamiliar environment. In the Polish town of Konin at the end of the 19th century, a corrupt kabbalist named Yehudah Schaalman creates a golem in the shape of a woman at the request of young Otto Rotfeld, who seeks a submissive, attentive, and curious wife. A mythical creature from each tradition is portrayed in the book, in the golem and the jinni. Wecker is Jewish and her husband Arab, and she said that elements of the story were inspired by 'similarities between our families, the way that certain themes echo between them'. Wecker wished to write a story about the blending of Jewish and Arabic cultures, and her novel is a 'metaphorical autobiography' according to scholar Brian Attebery. A sequel, The Hidden Palace, was published in June 2021. It combines the genre of historical fiction with elements of fantasy, telling the story of two displaced magical creatures in 19th century New York City. The Golem and the Jinni (published as The Golem and the Djinni in the United Kingdom) is a debut novel written by Helene Wecker, published by Harper in April 2013.

Print ( hardcover & paperback), e-book, audiobook

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker