Download Epub The Golem and the Jinni

The Golem and the Jinni (P.S.) [Kindle Edition]

Author: Helene Wecker | Language: English | ISBN: B008QXVDJ0 | Format: PDF, EPUB

• Description
• Book Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

Download Epub The Golem and the Jinni
Download electronic versions of selected books Download Epub The Golem and the Jinni (P.S.) [Kindle Edition] for everyone book mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link

In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and 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.

Direct download links available for Download Epub The Golem and the Jinni

• File Size: 873 KB
• Print Length: 819 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0062253824
• Publisher: Harper; Reprint edition (April 23, 2013)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
  
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008QXVDJ0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
  Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #2
    in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Jewish
  • #2
    in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Jewish American
  • #8
    in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Fantasy
• #2
  in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Jewish
• #2
  in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Jewish American
• #8
  in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Fantasy

There is a certain satisfaction in coming to the end of a long novel, but as the pages dwindled on Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni, all I felt was grief that this magical story had to end. After 500 pages, I wanted it to go on and on. And if you stop reading this review right now, that's all you really need to know.

You will be shocked to hear that the novel is, in fact, about a golem and a jinni. For those who are unaware, a golem is a figure of Jewish myth, an automaton made of earth or clay, brought to life to do the bidding of another. A jinni (or genie) is a figure of Arab myth, a magical creature of fire. So, before we even get into plot details, look at that fascinating set-up! Jewish/Arab. Earth/fire. Just hearing the premise, I anticipated some sort of culture clash to be central to the tale. And while the story does primarily unfold amongst the Jewish and Syrian immigrant populations of late 19th century New York, it is not a parable of Mid-East conflict. This was merely the first of many instances when Ms. Wecker defied expectations and convention, keeping me guessing in what direction her tale would evolve again and again.

Talk about defying convention--the titular golem is a woman, and self-aware. She was originally created (with a laundry list of attributes that included intelligence, curiosity, and propriety) to be a rich merchant's wife. He, alas, died en route to America, shortly after bringing her to life. She arrived at Ellis Island without a master or a plan. The jinni, on the other hand, WAS freed from ia thousand-year mprisonment in a flask--but don't expect him to start granting wishes any time soon.

This is the story of two creatures in turn of the century New York who are both Old Worldly and otherworldly.

4/1/13 I don't usually comment on a book while I'm reading it. Often, I read them so quickly, there's no time or inclination. Sometimes, some books have lousy endings and that completely colors my rating of the book (Feed, I'm looking at you.) So far I've read just less than a fifth of the book. I love this book. I love the picture of the Lower East Side and Little Syria in 1899. I know from golems, but Chava is unique. I know jinni, djinni and ifrit, but not as well and nothing like Ahmad.

4/3/13 The ending of the book is completely satisfying, just like the rest of the book. Wecker left the door ajar that there could be a follow-up with these characters if the book is as wildly successful as I hope and believe the book could/ will be.

I enjoyed all the time that it took for the characters to meet, because it let me spend more time with the characters getting to know them as individuals. Chava is convinced she is a monster. I disagree; she is a good woman. Ahmad looks human, but he doesn't think that way, nor does he make the effort that Chava does to blend in.

It made me happy to spend so much time on the Lower East Side and Little Syria. The first place I thought I knew from fiction and movies, but I didn't know about the dancing palaces there. Little Syria is an insular place. I liked how the center of it seemed to be Maryam's café. I wonder if there is something magical about Maryam's ability to calm and soothe the patrons of her café? Ahmad works as a tinsmith and makes a spectacular topical map of Syria in the lobby of an apartment house. I would dearly love to see this, because the way Wecker described it sounds like it must be real.

I consider myself very, very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have read such a magical book.

Book Preview

Download Epub The Golem and the Jinni Download

Please Wait...