The Golem and the Jinni

A Novel

By: Helene Wecker

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, 2014

Helene 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.

Struggling 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.

Meeting 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.

Marvelous and compulsively listenable, The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of folk mythology, historical fiction, and magical fable into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

©2013 Helene Wecker (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Unique

The story is very long—-could use editing in that regard, but fun and fascinating in any event.

A diverse Friendship

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I felt this book would be different from the title. I do pick stories by title or by well known authors. But right off the bat it peaked my interest. A mud or clay person acting as if a human and a selfish jinni. How could anyone think to put two less likely characters together. When you read it, I couldn't wait to find out where this story was going to take me. It is worth the experience.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course the Character of the Golem. She is slow and steady. She never waivers her convictions. She is helpful and friendly. She cares in her own way. It amazes me why everyone falls for her but knowing how she was created was part of the fun about her.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

I could picture the scenes and characters in my mind. His voice was soothing and fit in with how i felt the characters would speak if they did. His tone and inflection was right on. He knew the story and presented it how it should have been done.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I was willing to break it up so I could have time with it. I was interested enough to keep coming back to hear how it would turn out. I loved the way the characters stayed in character and didn't really change their personalities for anyone or anything. The development of the friendship and movement of the story keeps the listener, listening.

Any additional comments?

I am so glad that the end was complete and the story didn't hang at the end. It was completed. I loved the doctor that was cured even though his life was short. I loved it that all the little pieces were wrapped up in the end.

very nice!

I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all. It is very good.

3rd Time Through

This is literally the third time in as many years that I have listened to this story. It’s absolutely brilliant! Wonderfully written and read with such fervor and inflection that you can feel every word. George Guidall has become one of, if not the singular, best voice actors and narrators. I highly recommend this book!

Absolutely Beautiful

Someone recommended this book to a friend and he told me he was reading it. I decided to see what it was about and very glad I did. It has everything - humor, is a love story, mystery, thriller all rolled into one beautifully told story. Going to start the next one tomorrow!

Something new in fiction

A different flavor of fantasy, but quite an interesting story. Was a worthy listen, but in the end fell just short of greatness. Performance was extremely well done.

Great narrator, excellent story

This story kept me interested the entire time. Characters were well developed. Looking forward to the sequel. A narrator can make or break and audio book for me and I really liked this one.

This book was a treasure beyond all expectation!

i am writing this as I sit in my car and feeling a bit forlorn over the end of this remarkable tale. There are layers of thought and meaning that make The Golem and the Jinni fat more than fable or fantasy. My remaining hope is for a sequel. Outstanding performance.

Worth the Hype

This book was a fairytale to me, a very adult and gotham fairytale. I loved the story of the golem more at first, but as the story went on I became very entranced in the jinni also. For 2 characters that are not of this world, one made of fire (the jinni) and one made of clay (the golem), they possess many human characteristics. Chava, the golem, is a creature made of clay to resemble a human woman. She is made to be bound by a master, but her master dies soon after she is brought to life on a boat bound for New York. Ahmad, the jinni, is a being who is able to change forms, but is trapped as a male human by a wizard and locked in a flask. He is accidentally set free by a New York tinsmith, but doomed to remain in human form. Chava and Ahmad struggle to live amongst humans while keeping the secrets of their identities. Few know the truth of where they came from. Eventually they cross paths, each sensing an un-humanness the other possesses. Wecker introduces many other interesting characters that add layers to make this a complex story that is rich in imagery. As a reader, I felt the grittiness of the city and the strange qualities of the golem and the jinni to be so real. I read that the author spent 7 years researching this book and it shows in the details of the city and it's immigrants. The historical fiction aspect of this book did not disappoint.

I am not a huge fan of fantasy books. In fact, I usually avoid them unless they are getting outstanding reviews. To me, this book was worth all the hype. I found the protagonists to be strange and likable and I ultimately cared about what happened to them. I have read other reviews in which readers have said the book needed some editing because it was too long and maybe this is true, but I didn't find myself getting bored at all. I was captivated. This is the first time that I tried Whispersync and I found it to be a great tool, esp. for this longer book. Also, George Guidall did not disappoint, he was an excellent narrator and I look forward to listening to more of him in the future.

Vivid and Captivating w All-Too-Human Characters

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

He vanished into the story which--in narration in my opinion--is the highest possible compliment.

Any additional comments?

This book is 5 stars in all regards and I haven't quite finished (another 4 hours to go). One thing I find in novels that I love is that they contain characters that I care about intensely and that the story begins to feel like a movie in my mind. There are, obviously, many great and wonderful novels that have other characteristics, but this novel has these two attributes in spades. I marvel that this is Helene Wecker's first novel. She is a terrific writer, never writes in cliches and has such command of her plot that whenever I begin to anticipate the next turn she foils me with something truer and more original. Her two principal characters also surprise me at times. Both have strong and consistent characters but can still say or do something unexpected. For a long novel, I think the pacing is excellent and my interest has never flagged. I will be sorry to have it end and not to have another Helene Wecker novel to turn to.

(The rooftop world the author conjures is so brilliant. I can't imagine that this book will not be turned into a movie.)