{"product_id":"the-golem-and-the-jinni-a-novel-isbn-9780062110831","title":"The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e?In \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni, \u003c\/em\u003ea chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChava 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAhmad 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAhmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni \u003c\/em\u003eweaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eHelene Wecker's dazzling debut novel tells the story of two supernatural creatures who appear mysteriously in 1899 New York. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York Harbor. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStruggling to make their way in this strange new place, the Golem and the Jinni try to fit in with their neighbors while masking their true natures. Surrounding them is a community of immigrants: the coffeehouse owner Maryam Faddoul, a pillar of wisdom and support for her Syrian neighbors; the solitary ice cream maker Saleh, a damaged man cursed by tragedy; the kind and caring Rabbi Meyer and his beleaguered nephew, Michael, whose Sheltering House receives newly arrived Jewish men; the adventurous young socialite Sophia Winston; and the enigmatic Joseph Schall, a dangerous man driven by ferocious ambition and esoteric wisdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeeting by chance, the two creatures become unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing natures, until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. But a powerful menace will soon bring the Golem and the Jinni together again, threatening their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarvelous and compulsively readable, \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni\u003c\/em\u003e weaves strands of folk mythology, historical fiction, and magical fable into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Original and fresh. . . . A fascinating blend of historical fiction and Jewish and Arab folklore” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] spellbinding blend of fantasy and historical fiction.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“From its eerie opening pages to its shattering conclusion, \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni \u003c\/em\u003eis an astonishing debut novel that sweeps us into a gaslit alternate reality rich enough to get lost in.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTom Reiss, author of The Orientalist and The Black Count\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Set against the vivid backdrop of New York City’s immigrant neighborhoods in the late 19th century, Helene Wecker’s tale of two fabled creatures has the intimate feel of a story handed down from generation to generation. With a delightful blend of the prosaic and the fanciful, \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni\u003c\/em\u003e explores what it means to be human as Chava and Ahmad struggle to live and find love while overcoming the powerful adversary who threatens to destroy them.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeborah Harkness, author of A Discovery of Witches\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A dazzling debut…You’ll be hooked by the vivid interplay of historical fiction, magical fable, and philosophical musing and the colorful supporting cast…Read it in one long, guilt-free gulp (it’s serious literature!).” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Wecker maintains her novel’s originality as she orchestrates a satisfying and unpredictable ending. \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni\u003c\/em\u003e is a continuous delight — provocative, atmospheric, and superbly paced. ” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An inventive and utterly lovely story. . . . The golem and the jinni. . . are among my favorite fictional people I spent time with this spring. . . . Wecker is a gifted new voice. . . . I’m glad that her talents have been set free in this novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChris Bohjalian, Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Her story is so inventive, so elegantly written, so well-constructed, it is hard to believe that it is her first novel. . . . The book is so good that I wonder if there was some other-worldly power involved in its creation.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJewish Daily Forward\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In the best instances, you don’t merely read a book—you dive in and happily immerse yourself, forgetting the troubles of daily life for a while. \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni\u003c\/em\u003e offers just such an absorbing experience. ” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“One of the joys of the novel is in watching two strangers develop a relationship that, while it’s rooted in their shared magical natures, echoes the way ordinary humans can form bonds starting with a random encounter on a busy street.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDallas Morning News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An intoxicating fusion of fantasy and historical fiction. . . . Wecker’s storytelling skills dazzle…The book’s magic, filtered through the old-time hustle and bustle of the Lower East Side, lingers long after the final page.” Grade: A - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The tale is meant to be magical, and it is, but Wecker’s real sleight of pen is recreating Manhattan as it was then. She has a historian’s grasp of detail and a novelist’s flair.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Daily News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This impressive first novel manages to combine the narrative magic of THE ARABIAN NIGHTS with the kind of emotional depth, philosophical seriousness and good, old-fashioned storytelling found in the stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer…The author makes you care enough about the humanity of these magical spirits to not only see them through to the end but also to regret that you’ve reached the last page.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePatricia Cohen, New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The author makes you care enough about the humanity of these magical spirits to not only see them through to the end but also to regret that you’ve reached the last page.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Magical thinking comes alive in an enchanting allegory of the immigrant experience as two mythical beings try to make sense of themselves and the world around them.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFamily Circle Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI is recommended to adults who enjoy a good story and have a childlike sense of make-believe.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It sounds like the setup for a really strange joke: 'A golem and a jinni walk into a bakery in early 19th-century New York....' But this debut novel—part fantastic tale, part historical fiction—is one of the most highly anticipated fiction releases of the spring.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The most exciting fantasy debut since Susanna Clarke’s \u003cem\u003eJonathan Strange \u0026amp; Mr. Norell\u003c\/em\u003e. Helene Wecker must be a born writer; there is no other way to account for the quality of her prose, as phenomenal as any of the supernatural wonders she delivers in the glorious \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni.\u003c\/em\u003e” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Wecker is a marvelous storyteller, attentive not just to her mystical protagonists, but to a rich cast of supporting characters as well. \u003cem\u003eThe Golem and the Jinni \u003c\/em\u003eis an impressive debut, bursting with ambition and magical in all kinds of ways.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“History, magic and religion braid together in old New York’s tenements. . . . The interplay of loyalties and the struggle to assert reason over emotion keep the pages flipping.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The premise is so fresh. . . . A mystical and highly original stroll through the sidewalks of New York.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Inventive, elegantly written and well-constructed…It’s hard to believe this is a first novel. Clearly, otherworldly forces were involved…the story is so complex and intricately woven that it does not lend itself to summary. It would be like pulling threads from a finely crafted garment to describe the whole.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Wecker begins with a juicy premise. . . and great adventures ensue. . . . She writes skillfully, nicely evoking the layers of alienness that fall upon strangers in a strange land.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888074485989,"sku":"NP9780062110831","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062110831.jpg?v=1730228088","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-golem-and-the-jinni-a-novel-isbn-9780062110831","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}