The Golem And The Jinni

In Wecker's debut novel, two very unusual immigrants arrive, separately, in 19th century immigrant New York. These two characters are (unsurprisingly) a golem named Chava, created by a Jewish rabbi in Poland, and Ahmad, a jinni originating in ancient Syria. Their chance meeting ends up sparking an unusual yet believable friendship of polar opposites, and the strength of the novel is undoubtedly their conversations on a variety of subjects including free will, desire, and of course their differing reactions to dealing with the isolating struggles of being inhuman in a human world. The resulting story is a multiple award winning novel where magic exists in a historical space, a novel where the characters grow and change as result of select incidents and resulting introspection. For example, Chava is an unusual character in that she is a woman containing decidedly (for the time) unwomanly characteristics such as strength and the ability to protect others around her. Her time and circumstances limit her ability to use these powers however, and she must learn to live within these societal restrictions so as not to draw attention to herself. Any female reader will easily emphasize with her struggle.Fans of the book will be please to know that Wecker recently announced a sequel, due out in 2018.Read if You Like: mythology, historical fiction, immigrant stories, romance, folklore