The Golem and the Jinni is a long read, but worth every moment I spent on it. I really enjoyed this novel! I was first interested in reading this novel when it was published in 2013, but unfortunately never got around to it at the time. Silly me! I could have had this novel in my life for so many years! If you enjoy historical fiction and are interested in supernatural creatures from other cultures, then I highly recommend you read this novel.

The Golem and the Jinni begins in 1899 and is primarily set in New York City. In case you don’t know this already, a golem is a creature from Jewish folklore that is made of clay. They are meant to be commanded by the person who brings them to life, and they are known for their destructive nature. In this novel, the golem is created as a wife for a young Jewish man who is immigrating to New York. He decides to bring the golem to life mid-voyage, and then almost immediately dies, leaving the golem masterless. Instead of hearing the thoughts of only her master, she finds herself knowing the desires and fears of every human that she encounters. When she finally arrives in New York, she is taken in by a Rabbi who recognizes her for what she is, and he names her Chava. The Rabbi is worried because he knows that golems are capable of destruction, but instead of destroying her, he decides to teach her how to live among humans.

Meanwhile, the jinni has been freed from the flask that he has been imprisoned in for a thousand years by a tinsmith; however, there is an iron cuff attached to his wrist that can’t be removed and traps the jinni in human form. The tinsmith takes the jinni under his wing and employs the jinni in his workshop and names him Ahmad. Ahmad is a creature of fire, and even though he cannot change back to his true form, he is still able to manipulate fire to make amazing objects out of silver and other metals.

The golem and the jinni are both lonely creatures because they think they do not fit in with humans. Nighttime is the loneliest time for both as they both do not need to sleep. The jinni spends his evenings wandering the city and seducing human women. The golem, on the other hand, is trapped at home because as a woman she should not be wandering the streets at night on her own. This does not stop the golem and the jinni’s paths from eventually crossing, though, and they end up in a friendship of sorts, and eventually discover that they have a common enemy.

What I love about The Golem and the Jinni is how incredibly immersive the story is. Wecker obviously put a lot of research into crafting this novel. Her description of late 19^th century New York, especially the Jewish part of the city and Little Syria, makes the story feel incredibly real. The characters are carefully created, even minor ones. The golem and the jinni are, of course, the stars of the show, but even supporting characters are rich in detail so that you have a real sense of who they are and what motivates them.

What I love about Chava and Ahmad is how humanity is reflected through them. They keep telling themselves that they are supernatural creatures and they are different from humans, but they are more human than they realize. The golem presents herself as calm and obedient, but she constantly struggles against her destructive nature, just like we struggle against our own destructive impulses. The jinni is an arrogant creature who thinks he is above humans, but he possesses the ability to feel sympathy for humans even if he doesn’t always know how to deal with it. All creatures, whether human or not, contain multitudes.

After finishing The Golem and the Jinni, I Googled to see if Wecker has written anything else because I really want to immerse myself in another of her novels. She hasn’t published any other novels yet, however, a sequel to The Golem and the Jinni is supposed to be coming out this year! Wow, eight years between books. Good timing on my part! I can’t wait to revisit Chava and Ahmad’s relationship and their relationships with humans.