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The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel Audiobook
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Publisher Description
“An intoxicating fusion of fantasy and historical fiction. . . . Wecker’s storytelling skills dazzle."" —Entertainment Weekly
A marvelous and absorbing debut novel about a chance meeting between two supernatural creatures in turn-of-the-century immigrant New York.
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay by a disgraced rabbi knowledgeable in the ways of dark Kabbalistic magic. She serves as the wife to a Polish merchant who dies at sea on the voyage to America. As the ship arrives in New York in 1899, Chava is unmoored and adrift until a rabbi on the Lower East Side recognizes her for the creature she is and takes her in.
Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert and trapped centuries ago in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard. Released by a Syrian tinsmith in a Manhattan shop, Ahmad appears in human form but is still not free. An iron band around his wrist binds him to the wizard and to the physical world.
Chava and Ahmad meet accidentally and become friends and soul mates despite their opposing natures. But when the golem’s violent nature overtakes her one evening, their bond is challenged. An even more powerful threat will emerge, however, and bring Chava and Ahmad together again, challenging their very existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.
Compulsively readable, The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, in a wondrously inventive tale that is mesmerizing and unforgettable.
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“With the intimate feel of a story handed down from generation to generation…the novel explores what it means to be human as Chava and Ahmad struggle to live and find love while overcoming the powerful adversary who threatens to destroy them.”
— Deborah Harkness, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Life
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“From its eerie opening pages to its shattering conclusion, The Golem and the Jinni is an astonishing debut novel that sweeps us into a gaslit alternate reality rich enough to get lost in.”
— Tom Reiss, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Count -
“Magical thinking comes alive in an enchanting allegory of the immigrant experience as two mythical beings try to make sense of themselves and the world around them.”
— Family Circle -
“Dive in and happily immerse yourself, forgetting the troubles of daily life for a while. The Golem and the Jinni offers just such an absorbing experience.”
— USA Today -
“An intoxicating fusion of fantasy and historical fiction…The book’s magic, filtered through the old-time hustle and bustle of the Lower East Side, lingers long after the final page. Grade: A.”
— Entertainment Weekly -
“The author makes you care enough about the humanity of these magical spirits to not only see them through to the end but also to regret that you’ve reached the last page.”
— New York Times -
“Masterful…utterly unique and enchanting.”
— Barnes & Noble, editorial review -
“An inventive and utterly lovely story.”
— Washington Post -
“History, magic, and religion braid together in old New York’s tenements…The interplay of loyalties and the struggle to assert reason over emotion keep the pages flipping.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Wecker maintains her novel’s originality as she orchestrates a satisfying and unpredictable ending. The Golem and the Jinni is a continuous delight—provocative, atmospheric, and superbly paced.”
— Boston Globe -
“A spellbinding blend of fantasy and historical fiction.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A fascinating blend of historical fiction and Jewish and Arab folklore.”
— Library Journal -
“A mystical and highly original stroll through the sidewalks of New York.”
— Booklist -
“Wecker writes skillfully, nicely evoking the layers of alienness that fall upon strangers in a strange land.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Selected for the May 2013 Indie Next List
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An AudioFile Editors’ Pick in May 2013
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Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award
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An Amazon Top 100 Book of 2013
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A 2013 Entertainment Weekly Best Book for Fiction
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A 2013 New York Times Editor’s Choice
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A USA Today bestseller
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One of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2013 in Fiction
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A Los Angeles Times bestseller
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An NPR bestseller
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A 2013 BookPage Best Book
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A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2013 in Fiction
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A 2014 Indies Choice Book Award Honoree for Adult Debut
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Finalist for the 2014 Locus Award
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Winner of the 2014 Mythopoeic Award for Best Adult Literature
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Finalist for the 2013 Nebula Award for Best Novel
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Finalist for the 2014 Audie Award for Fiction
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About Helene Wecker
Helene Wecker is the author of The Golem and the Jinni, her debut novel, which was a New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today bestseller and won great acclaim, including the Mythopoeic Award, was a finalist for the Locus and Nebula awards, and was named a best book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, BookPage, Kirkus Reviews, and others. She received a BA degree from Carleton College in Minnesota and an MFA from Columbia University in New York.
About George Guidall
George Guidall, winner of more than eighty AudioFile Earphones Awards, has won three of the prestigious Audie Award for Excellence in Audiobook Narration. In 2014 the Audio Publishers Association presented him with the Special Achievement Award for lifetime achievement/ During his thirty-year recording career he has recorded over 1,700 audiobooks, won multiple awards, been a mentor to many narrators, and shown by example the potential of fine storytelling. His forty-year acting career includes starring roles on Broadway, an Obie Award for best performance off Broadway, and frequent television appearances.