Bridget O. (sixteendays) - reviewed on 2/3/2015 + 130 more book reviews

I really had no idea what I was in for when I started this book. Like many others, I would suppose, I chose this book based on the beauty of the cover, the intrigue of the title, and the knowledge that many others enjoyed it.

I really do not want to say too much, as I believe going into this book, as I did, with little-to-no knowledge of the plot, is the best way. The story follows the two characters, the Golem and the Jinni, and how they both arrive on Ellis Island and how their stories connect. Each of their stories is fully realized and neither story is stronger or weaker than the other. When the characters meet, the story becomes that much stronger as their lives intertwine.

Personally, I preferred the story of the Golem, Chava, to that of the Jinni. At the end of the book it is her that I feel compelled to continue following. I am left wanting to go with her to the dock and see what comes next.

I know none of this is helpful as a "review", but I find that the nature of this tale is one that makes it difficult to encapsulate in any kind of summary. At the heart of The Golem and the Jinni is a unstructured look at human nature from an outside perspective. Overall, it is a post-modern fairy tale filled with unsteadiness, doubt, and violence. If either of those ideas sound interesting to you, I would recommend you give this a read.

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