The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Djinni

Helene Wecker

In a city teeming with immigrants, two creatures struggle against their nature and their feelings of apartness. A moving love story develops against a background of rich observation and big questions: nature vs nurture, free will vs destiny. You will grow very attached to the myriad of characters and won't want the story to end.

Extract
'I'm called Ahmad, though that's not my true name. I am a djinni. I was born a thousand years ago, in a desert halfway across the world. I came here by accident .... Until this moment, only one person in New York knew my true nature.'
It was as though he'd opened a floodgate. He had not realized until that moment how much he'd been longing to tell someone, anyone.
Her face was the portrait of a struggle, some inner war. Finally she said, 'My name is Chava.'
'Chava,' he repeated. 'Chava, what are you?'
'A golem,' she whispered. And then her eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth, as if she'd told the most dangerous secret in the world.
Parallels
  • Midnight Children by Salman Rushdie
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor
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Violence
Explicit sexual content