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

I adored this novel!

A Golem – a woman made of clay who can feel people’s desires – and a Jinni just out of the bottle are left to fend for themselves in New York, 1899. A strange and fascinating setting for an incredible novel! I absolutely adored this strange and beautiful tale. I loved the characters whose likes I’ve never encountered before.

The Jinni’s artistic creativity and thirst for freedom was fascinating reading, and I relished the Golem’s dilemmas concerning her ability to read people’s desires and find a way to function in the world. She wanted nothing more than to belong somewhere and to someone, to know her place and how to please others. He, the Jinni, wants freedom above all. From this strange mismatch forms a beautiful friendship. I highly recommend this novel!

Earth & Fire

Any additional comments?

I liked to premise using the Golem & Jinni. Part folklore, part theological argument, part supernatural, the story takes place primarily in turn of the century New York City. I looked at this for awhile before deciding to listen. Drawn to the Golem & Jinni concept & George Guidall happens to be one of my favorite narrators. This is a very entertaining, thought provoking listen.

Wonderful melding of cultures, whim & characters

This is a wonderful story, a great tale of two rich cultural traditions and their myths. The characters are incredibly well developed, and the story is surprisingly moving. We take two mythical creatures from two concurrent cultures and bring them together in unexpected ways, while examining the intrinsic possibilities of each's potential for both good and evil. The storyline is rich, the period details are fascinating and intriguing. I've listened to this twice, and enjoyed it more each time.

Fantastic Book! Outstanding Narration!

I LOVE this book. I found it mesmerizing, like I was transported into another time and place every time I got in my car to listen. The narration was outstanding and I plan to listen to more books narrated by George Guidall. I am eagerly anticipating Helene Wrecker's next book. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed listening to a book this much. I'm sorry it had to end.

So refreshingly good 👍

It's a love story after all . Great characters and easy to follow them through the story.

Great book!

Narrator was great- the characters were distinct in my head. It was a very interesting story!

Mundane Magical Beings

What made the experience of listening to The Golem and the Jinni the most enjoyable?

The narrator's voice was soothing, but still lively. Definitely lent to the magical, ethereal atmospheric quality that (I believe) the author was trying to capture.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story is about a golem and a jinni, who are both magical creatures, living amongst normal, familiar, non-magical people in early 20th century NYC. I expected the focus of the writer to be in explaining the worlds of the magical beings. Instead, through the eyes of the golem and jinni, what is explained to you is the inner workings of immigrant culture in the early 20th century... which is a subject I'm already pretty well-versed in. It is well written, but it never really pulled me in and made me want to keep going. I expected a little more magic, and a little less everyday life.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

His embodiment of different characters was great-- somehow, without over the top impressions, raising the tone of his voice to a squeak to impersonate women, etc, he lent a different voice to each character in a way that made it very easy to follow what was going on, even if I wasn't entirely focused on listening.

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

No... moved a bit too slow, didn't seem to have a driving force in the story, probably because of the split protagonist.

Any additional comments?

The narrators voice was really pleasant... unfortunately the lack of spark in the story meant that, more than once, his narration lulled me to sleep...

Loved every second of it. Great story!

Great story, great detail, the auditor was great. What a wonderful way to lose yourself for a few hours.

Wonderful, Marvelous, Beautiful

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. As a writer, I have to marvel at the depth of the characterization and the easy beauty of the writing. The story carried me along joyfully through each side story and gratifyingly brought all the threads together at the end. I deeply love this book.

looking forward to more from this author

What did you love best about The Golem and the Jinni?

There was a fairly well developed background of immigrant life in New York in 1900's, but it did not overshadow the story. It was interesting to see the unusual character's perspective on the "modern western lifestyle" etc.