In Their Own Words: “The Golem and the Jinni”

Tuesday, February 4, 2020
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Inspired by the #OwnVoices idea in YA literature, this book club seeks to read and discuss diverse books by diverse authors. It will cover a variety of genres and include both adult and young adult novels. Read more about #OwnVoices and the author who started the hashtag here!

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life 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.

Ahmad 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.

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker’s 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.

Cold Spring Branch