The golem and the jinni book discussion clipping

The golem and the jinni by helene wecker goodreads. The second is ahmad, he is a jinni, a being of fire who was born in the syrian dessert long ago. Subgenreorama book club message board discussion questions. Mar 27, 2017 my thoughts on the golem and the jinni by helen wrecker. An immigrant tale that combines elements of jewish and arab folk mythology, the golem and the jinni tells the story of two supernatural creatures who arrive separately in new york in 1899. Today we will be chatting about the golem and the jinni by helene wecker, from harper books. His finger ran down a page, and he peered at something written there. Apr 22, 2019 the golem and the jinni book discussion. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker is a book that ive kind of been in the middle of reading for a wicked long time. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker book club. One book choice examines crosscultural kinship chicago. At the heart of the novel burns the two creatures evolving friendship with each other, and the risks they take in order to grope towards an understanding and transcendence of their own dangerous natures. The golem and the jinni helene wecker, 20 harpercollins 512 pp.

At 675 pages, you might pass over this book, but pick it up anyway if you like speculative fiction, historical fiction, or just have a long plane ride and only want one book. For those of you reading this post, please remember that this discussion may contain spoilers. Feb 24, 2015 the golem and the jinni by helene wecke. Choose one or two of them, and show their role in the story and in the lives of chava and ahmad. Book club the golem and the jinni by helene wecker. Accordingly, rotfeld knocked again the next day, and this time schaalman opened the door without. Overall, the golem and the jinni is a pleasant enough novel, and likely to appeal to readers looking for a light romance or a book with a little magic in it. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker youre making. Read pdf the golem and the jinni absolutely for free at. The golem and the jinni, by helene wecker the new york. Book discussions at springfieldgreene county library district libraries. The rabbi, shaalman, warns that the ensuing golemin weckers tale, the golemis meant to be a slave and not for the pleasures of a bed, but he creates her anyway. The title characters of the golem and the jinni are not the books only magic.

Describe the jinni s relationship with the tinsmith who released him, arbeely. Weckers first novel is a magical tale of two mythical creaturesa golem from a polish shtetl and a jinni from the syrian desertstruggling to fit in among new yorks turnofthe19thcentury. Marvelous and compulsively readable, helene weckers 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. Weckers first novel is a magical tale of two mythical creatures%e2%80%94a golem from a polish shtetl and a jinni from the syrian. The other is a jinni from the syrian desert, trapped inside a copper flask until a hapless tinsmith sets him free during a routine repair. See more ideas about the golem, book club books and arabian nights party. One of the wonders of the book is weckers elegant structure, which sets up plot reflections and echoes of themes as she follows the golem and the jinni, both inspired by folklore, backward and. Instead, he visits a man named yehudah schaalman, and has a golem made. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient syrian desert. The golem, chava havah, is created by unethical man who delves into dark magic.

For instance, think about sophias love affair with ahmad and michaels relationship to chava. Ill be here in person tonight at 7pm cst to answer your burning questions. In the golem and the jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turnof the century new york. The story is so inventive, so elegantly written and so well constructed that its hard to believe this is a first novel. Discussion questions for the golem and the jinni sub. This books moderator was robin above who went all out for this. The golem and the jinni is helene weckers bestselling debut novel. Im already feeling a little scared about finishing this book. I really enjoyed the golem and the jinni, and i felt that the museum of extraordinary things by alice hoffman was in the same vein. Review of the golem and the jinni wendy reads books. This podcast does contain spoilers, so please read the book before listening. The other is a jinni, a being of fire, trapped for a thousand years in a copper flask before a tinsmith in manhattans little syria releases him. What can a golem and a jinni, thrown together by chance in turnofthecentury new york, teach us about being human. No steampunk here, really, but all the same, it has most of the ingredients to shoot straight to my heart.

Robin found the majority of her discussion questions here if youd like to see some of what talked about. The golem and the jinni is an extraordinary combination of historical novel set in new york city during the height of immigration and fantasy. Numerous secondary characters are central to the golem and the jinnis story. Marvelous and compulsively readable, helene weckers debut novel the golem and the jinni weaves strands of yiddish and middle eastern. Discussion questions for the golem and the jinni subgenre. In this episode, jessica picked a fantasyfilled historical fiction christine was sure to love, the golem and the jinni by helene wecker. This is the first fantasy book i have read as an adult. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in new york harbor in 1899. Im helene wecker, author of the golem and the jinni.

Club invited our regular book writers and staff to pick. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker a rare gem of a book that combines yiddish and islamic folklore, from the perspective of a golem and a jinni that meet in new york city. Meanwhile, the golem and the jinni have their weekly night walks, and talk about independence and happiness and hats. The golem and the jinni by helene wecke wendy reads books. The golem and the jinni, by helene wecker the new york times. Please join us for our august book discussion of the golem and the jinni.

Two supernatural creatures, an enslaved jinni and an aimless golem, meet in. Theyre librarians who love a great book but almost never agree on what makes a book great. Set in 1899 new york, the story follows the lives of a golem named chava, a woman made from clay to be a wife and servant, and ahmad, a jinni who had been trapped in a flask only to be released hundreds of years later. She lands in manhattan with less destructive force than godzilla hit tokyo, but even so, she cuts a strange figure.

It is set in syria and the lower east side of new york city. I mean, since it came out ive started it and just had it on pause. Out in the syrian desert, the jinni visits fadwa once again, and they talk about love, parents, and jealousy. 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. A golem made of clay who has a young soul, and a jinni, a spirit made from fire who is centuries old. They both are forced to learn to pass as human to survive. The most famous golem tale is that of the 16thcentury golem of prague.

When shes left masterless on the streets of new york city, she fights her ingrained impulse to help and protect those around her. Numerous secondary characters are central to the golem and the jinni s story. Apr 12, 20 at the heart of the novel burns the two creatures evolving friendship with each other, and the risks they take in order to grope towards an understanding and transcendence of their own dangerous natures. Its said that the prophet jeremiah used the sefer yetzirah book of creation, a powerful kabbalistic text, to create a golem for himself. March 30, and a discussion of the film will take place at 7 p. Bptj the historical and fantasy elements are strong and credible. The golem warns the jinni to wear a hat if the weather is bad. I chose the book based on a little bit of info alone nebula award, 1899, golem, jinni, and its been just a perfect read from the first coupla pages. Helene weckers 20 novel the golem and the jinni features an intelligent female golem created by a malevolent jewish magician in danzig in 1899.

In the golem and the jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turnofthecentury new york. What about the relationship between the golem and rabbi meyer. The narrator only uses the golem and the jinni, with the adopted names only used by other characters. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the golem and the jinni. New york times bestselling author helene wecker the golem and the jinni brings us inside the disintegrating mind of a germanjewish grandmother in this sometimes chilling, sometimes heartwarming, consistently riveting story. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker is an incredible book where the main characters are taken right out of jewish and arabian folk lore. This book is called the golem and the jinni, which means its about a golem and a jinni. The rabbi, shaalman, warns that the ensuing golem in weckers tale, the golem is meant to be a slave and not for the pleasures of a bed, but he creates her anyway. The golem and the jinni are drawn to each other, kindred spirits of longforgotten fairy tales. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. There is a lot of historical fiction woven in, so if you are looking for a straight fantasy novel this may not be for you. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark kabbalistic magic.

Do the titles become their own names, or do the creatures remain more creatureish because of this. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker book club discussion. Books like the golem and the jinni and the windup girl. When released from human control, both the golem and the jinni tend inevitably towards the pitiless destruction of humanity. A golem and a jinni walk into new york city at the turn of the century. Today we will be chatting about the golem and the jinni. Helene wecker goodreads author topics about this book topics that mention this book. Helene wecker goodreads author topics about this book topics that. Freewheeling and libertine by nature, the jinni is accustomed to following his whims, and chafes at the constraint of living hidden as a human. The only thing that is missing from your list is the idea of an artificially created humanoid but there is a strong part of the story that focuses on people outside of the norm.

Dec 20, 20 while the golem and the jinni shrugged their shoulders at the nonsensical belief systems of humans, the people who were privy to the situation had a much more difficult time assessing the situation. Were quite used to books about supernatural beings vampires, werewolves, witches and more. Im helene wecker, author of the golem and the jinni, back for another ama. All library branches and library express west are currently closed to the public due to concerns about the coronavirus. Wecker does a great job at establishing the novels constraints and sticking to them. A jinni, captured and enslaved hundreds of years ago, is free of his flask but not truly free as the iron cuff that keeps him in human form remains on his wrist. Characters the golem and the jinni by helene wecker. The golem and the jinni, by helene wecker february 23, 2014 facilitated by sharon rhode. The golem and the jinni will be the focus of a book discussion led by judy levin at. The writing in this book reminds me a lot of the bear and the nightingale in that it felt very atmospheric as well as giving off a strong classic fairy tale vibe.

The golem and the jinni part i book club ideas by helene wecker. The golem and the jinni is an exciting story about two very different creatures, both that are supernatural. Welcome to the first ever savvy reader book club with vikki and kaitlyn. Describe the jinnis relationship with the tinsmith who released him, arbeely. Alternate titles found on the editing floor, like the rabbis friend made from clay and the tinsmiths supernatural apprentice or jewish mysticism meets a genie who doesnt grant wishes just dont roll of the tongue the same way. A lonely mans desire for a wife is the catalyst for the creation of a golem like no other.

The golem and the jinni is helen weckers debut noveland oh boy, what a debut. The main characters, two creatures right out of jewish and arabic myth, blend perfectly into this novel of early 20th century new york. Helene weckers first novel is an incredible tale of outsiders and finding your place in an unfamiliar world. The golem and the jinni known as the golem and the djinni in the united kingdom is a debut novel written by helene wecker, published by harper in april 20. Dont expect a great romance between a golem and a jinni, because thats what this book is not. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker the boston globe. The magic that brings life to a golem comes from kabbalah, a mystical, esoteric branch of jewish teaching. The golem and the jinni by helene wecker book club ideas. The writing and plot makes it read like a much shorter book think of it as a 450page book instead. We are dedicated to enriching your book club experience.