Category: Fiction

A Flight of Angels, Illustrated by Rebecca Guay

A Flight of Angels, Illustrated by Rebecca Guay

A Flight of Angels includes stories by Holly Black, Louise Hawes, Todd Mitchell, Alisa Kwitney, Bill Willingham.

Lovely art elevates a so-so collection of short stories about angels. Rebecca Guay, in my opinion, is one of the most talented illustrators I’ve ever seen. The artwork is classic but ephemeral with tasteful nudes and multi-layered backgrounds. In a word: gorgeous.

flightofangels

I picked this one up because of The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen. In that book, as in this, I loved the art but thought that the story was predictable. I feel like the authors that Guay has partnered with, at least so far, don’t measure up to the masterworks she produces.

flightofangels2

Borrow this one from your nearest library so that you can see how beautiful it is.

Read alikes: some of the Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile series has art on this level but they’re kind of hit or miss. Saga, Volume 1 is beautiful but the story has some very vulgar moments popped in there. If you can handle that, and I know that some people are huge fans of Saga, then that series might be a good fit. Or, of course, you may want to pick up The Last Dragon as that is done by the same illustrator.

Thanks for reading!

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Spoilers abound in this review, dear readers, so beware!  If you haven’t read this one yet, stop now.

I had never read this classic before now. It was one of the options in Advanced Literature, my freshman year of high school, along with Wuthering Heights and Dune. I ended up choosing Wuthering Heights, which, is an excellent read if you’re into the gothic romance stuff. So, I was bringing adult eyes to a book that most people seem to have read as a young adult. And, I have to say, I was enthralled.

As I mentioned in previous reviews, my undergraduate degree is in political science. For whatever reason, I love studying the building blocks of society, the structures of power, and the shifting sands of public opinion and group think. Lord of the Flies is a powerhouse of a book for all of those things.

For those like me who haven’t read this (I imagine there must be somebody out there), we start out on an island. There has been a plane crash and only children have survived. We’re on an island full of boys- no girls, interestingly enough. I guess Golding didn’t want to muddy the waters with gender issues in addition to the social hierarchy stuff. So, there’s a charismatic boy named Ralph who meets an overweight kid. Overweight kid shares with Ralph in confidence that the boys back at school used to call him, ‘Piggy’, but he’d rather be called anything but that. They find a huge conch shell on the beach and use it to call the other survivors to the shoreline. They’re sharing names and Ralph tells the group to call the fat kid, Piggy. Now, that was a huge red flag to me. When you tell somebody a secret and, not ten minutes later, they turn around and use that secret against you, you’ve got to know that you’ve got problems heading your way.

Well, the newly christened Piggy doesn’t have a lot of choice in the matter, because there’s an older group of choir boys on the island and the head of that group doesn’t like Piggy. So, to protect himself from the provocations of the bigger and stronger boy, Piggy allies himself with Ralph. The entire group takes a vote and decides that Ralph is going to lead this rag-tag bunch. Ralph wants to keep a smokey fire burning at all times, in order to attract the attention of any passing ships, and get the heck off of the island. Choir boy leader, Jack, wants to hunt the wild pigs on the island for meat. He becomes strangely obsessed with this chore and begins to go a bit bonkers- sort like Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. Remember, there are no adults around to keep the peace. And then things start to fall completely apart…

That’s the basic plot.  Now for some quotes: “This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we’ll have fun. pg 54 ebook. Famous last words, right?

Superstition and fear enter the picture in some of the first moments on the beach: “He wants to know what you’re going to do about the snake-thing.”… Either the wandering breezes or perhaps the decline of the sun allowed a little coolness to lie under the trees. The boys felt it and stirred restlessly. pg 55 ebook. Golding could have taken this story a completely different direction and made the beast real. It would have been so cool in a science fiction type of way. Oh well.

My favorite character was, of course, Piggy: “Ralph moved impatiently. The trouble was, if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise. And then the occasion slipped by so that you had to grab at a decision… Only, decided Ralph as he faced the chief’s seat, I can’t think. Not like Piggy. … Piggy could think. He could go step by step inside that fat head of his, only Piggy was no chief. But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains. Ralph was a specialist in thought now, and could recognize thought in another.” pg 125, ebook. You think Roger ever got any psychological treatment for being such a psycho and killing people? One can only hope.

One of the original young adult dystopian reads, Lord of the Flies is an excellent pick for reluctant readers. Don’t let the label of “classic” fool you. It has a very fast pace and I’m still picking apart the details in my head even though I finished it a couple days ago. Some read alikes: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (of course) and The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (fresh take on a dystopian world, accepted social order, and power struggles between characters).

Thanks for reading!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne

There are spoilers further on in this review.  Please, dear readers, do not read this if you haven’t had a chance to read the book yet.  Thank you 🙂

I had a disagreement with my husband about this book. He’s of the opinion that J.K. Rowling said she wasn’t going to write anymore Harry Potter stuff and that she should just let the seven books remain as they are- like a magnum opus. He was irritated that, with the film coming out in November, and this play being performed, and that new set of Pottermore stories that are being published, it seems like Rowling is just out for more money.

I, on the other hand, just kept saying, “But, it’s Harry Potter!” “But, it’s her creation and she should do whatever the heck she wants with it!” “But, it’s Harry Potter!” Neither of us convinced the other, so I just gave up trying to talk him into reading it and read it myself. I read it through in one sitting and cried and just adored it.

It’s funny- I’d never read a play before and this year I’ve read two, Hamilton: The Revolution and now this. I thought that it’d be annoying with the character listings and stage directions, but, as you read, all of that melts away and you’re just left enjoying the story.

And what a story it is! ***If you have not read it, do not read past this point. I have to talk about things that may ruin your enjoyment of the story and you do not want that. Here’s your warning. You’ve been warned. Seriously. Do yourself a favor and stop now!!!***

Ok. Who else thought that Ron was written like a complete moron in this? I mean, I know he wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box, but come on! He’s bumbling around, constantly eating… at least in the other books, he had moments of brilliance. I was completely let down by the way his character was developed. But, that is really my only complaint in the whole thing.

Hermione continues to be awesome in all the timelines- as it should be. She was always my favorite. I don’t know if it is because she’s a girl, or reads a lot, or both those things, or what. Minister of Magic? Of course! We all knew that she was going straight to the top.

Now Harry… he had Ginny have an interesting relationship. I thought that there’d be more affection and less judgement between the two of them, but maybe that was just me reading between the lines. Also, who else was relieved that Harry finally had a moment to confront Dumbledore and say, totally paraphrasing, “What the heck! I was a kid and you knew all of these terrible things were going to happen, that I’d probably have to die, and you didn’t say a thing! That was not your best moment.” I think we’ve all thought that.

So… FINALLY! It was quite a release. And then, that moment, when he’s there for the death of his parents as an adult- totally understanding what was going down but unable to change it because it would ruin the timeline forever? Oh my gosh, you guys. I don’t cry when I read, but this one had me sobbing. It was so poignant and heartbreaking…

Also, in the alternate timeline when Snape was still alive… aaaaaah! Loved it.

Let me put some of my favorite quotes in here and end this review. I could gush for pages if you let me.

GINNY: “People always look when you three are together. And apart. People always look at you.” pg 14, ebook. Can you imagine having that kind of notoriety? I guess a real world equivalent would be if you were a Kardashian or something… ugh.

DRACO: “I don’t care what you did or who you saved, you are a constant curse on my family, Harry Potter.” pg 58, ebook. Who else missed Draco? Raise your hands, friends…

SCORPIUS: “I, uh, I opened a book. Something which has- in all my years on this planet- never been a particularly dangerous activity. … DELPHI: “She’s weaponized it. She’s weaponized her library.” pg 63, ebook. Good old, Hermione. Fighting back with books.

I’ll leave you with the wisdom of Dumbledore: “Harry, there is never a perfect answer in this messy, emotional world. Perfection is beyond the reach of humankind, beyond the reach of magic. In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe. … Those that we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch. Paint.. and memory.. and love.” pg 185 & 186 ebook.

Now to see the play performed! If you loved the original series, you will probably get a huge kick out of this. Recommended for ages 10+ or younger, if they can handle some intense magical sequences.

Thank you for reading!

Chasing Embers by James Bennett

Chasing Embers by James Bennett

I seem to be on a dragon themed reading kick lately. And, as far as I’m concerned, that’s awesome!

Red Ben is a dragon, masquerading in human form so that he can walk down the street without everybody freaking out. Hundreds of years before this, he signed a pact called the Lore with a bunch of other magical creatures and knights, in which, he essentially agreed to hide his existence from humanity at large and the knights, in turn, would protect him. Tonight, he was attacked twice. What’s up with that? Ben doesn’t know, but he’s going to find out. He’s also had a falling out with his lady fair. Hiding your true nature from someone doesn’t make for a healthy relationship, but Ben’s enemies seem to know Rose’s (the girlfriend) name. So, now, he has to save his hide, her life, and still preserve the Lore.

Meanwhile, in a desert in Africa, an ancient power is awakening…

I enjoyed Chasing Embers. I really dig the basic premise that there’s a magical world existing alongside ours but we just can’t perceive it. Also, the idea that the Magna Carta wasn’t a political document but a secret, magical pact is fun too.“John, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine and Count of Anjou, doth decree and grant this day, by common counsel of our kingdom, this Pact devised by the Curia Occultus and witnessed by those guardians of our realm. Those Remnants of the Old Lands, which yet linger amongst us, shall forthwith succumb to the Long Sleep…” loc 362, ebook.

The other magical creatures are straight up creepy- like magical creatures should be in my opinion. Also, Bennett seems to ascribe to the Terry Pratchett view that too much magic use thins the veil between worlds and draws attention of the things outside of this world to the magic user, which is also pretty creepy: “The nether wasn’t space, nor the ambient cosmos, but a place that lay beyond, or between, as inner as it was outer. Perhaps it was the raw, empyreal stuff of creation, for all Ben knew. Things lurked in that astral sea, creatures hungry for life, and all magic had its price. When a person drew on the nether- drew on it like a thread in a carpet- they risked unravelling the world entire.” loc 393, ebook.

The romance between Ben and Rose is just the perfect amounts of dysfunction and sparks (nothing graphic in here though for folks who look for such things): “I miss you,” she said, quiet and fierce. “I hate you.” Defeated, Ben rested his head on her shoulder, smoothing down the flowers on her dress. He let her anger hit him like a wave, tasting her muted fury at her love for him. Since he’d first crawled out of his egg, it had always been this way. Some women went for the knight. Others wanted the beast. Neither stood a chance of a happy ending.” loc 711, ebook.

Ben’s angst at his long-lived existence reminded me of Atticus in The Iron Druid Chronicles. He loves deeply but, at the same time, he realizes that those he loves aren’t going to be around that long: “Your love of humans. Do you never grow tired of it? You might as well love a sunbeam that flickers through a cloud. This world was not meant to hold them. Time will take them all so quickly. A blink in the life of a god.” loc 3112, ebook.

What kept Chasing Embers from being a five star read to me is that I thought Bennett explained himself too much. Leave some of the plot mysterious and murky, like magic itself. I don’t need to be spoon-fed why this happened or that happened. Otherwise, this was an excellent read. There’s some language in here and a few disturbing, physical descriptions, but nothing that a mature teen couldn’t handle. Highly recommended for urban fantasy and dragon readers!

Some read alikes: Hounded by Kevin Hearne or Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for a free, digital advanced reader’s copy of this book for review purposes.  And, thank you for reading!

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

This is the second book in the Seraphina series. Seraphina is a half dragon/half human musician who, in the last book, was trying to hide her identity from those around her because, in this world where dragons are real, her existence was considered an abomination by religious authorities. How would a human and a dragon come together to make such a child, you ask? Dragons can take human form when they choose to, the trouble is that, they’re not very human-like in their actions and behavior, even when they do. Dragons consider emotions to be beneath logic, so, to put it in Star Trek terms, Hartman wrote them like Vulcans.

Seraphina, for a young adult novel, was rather complex. Not only was Seraphina dealing with her species identity, there’s also religious conflicts, internal/emotional conflicts, a meditation based “magic” system, a burgeoning war between the humans and dragons, factions on both sides who are opposed to the majority, dragon culture and hierarchy questions, tricky cross species friendships, the obligatory romance that every young adult book seems it MUST have and, in Shadow Scale, the added complication of Seraphina trying to find other half dragons like herself. It’s mind-boggling really when you write it all down and try to sort it out. I enjoyed trying to keep it all straight but I can see how Seraphina might not be a good fit for reluctant readers. There is a long list of characters at the end so that if you get confused, you can look each one up. If that kind of thing makes you crazy, you may want to pass on this one.

Seraphina has really come into her own in this story. Hartman certainly doesn’t skimp on the characterizations:“These scales, my visible emblem of shame… which I had hidden, suppressed, and even once tried to pry off with a knife- how was i now able to laugh about them with strangers? Something had changed in me. I was such a long way from where I had started.”pg 436, ebook.

My favorite parts of this book were anything to do with dragons! :“Dragons lay one egg at a time, and we grow slowly. Each death is significant, and so we settle our differences with litigation, or with an individual combat at most. It has never been our way to fight on this scale; if the war continues, our whole species loses.” pg 38, ebook.

Seraphina has a dream- to bring all the half-dragons like herself together to create a family, of sorts: “I am on a mission to find all our kind. Goredd requires our assistance with the dragon civil war, but once that’s over, I hope we might form a community of half-dragons, supporting and valuing each other.” Dame Okra rolled her eyes so hard I feared she’d give herself an aneurysm.” pg 112, ebook.

The intolerance taught by the religion in Seraphina’s world was terrifying, perhaps because it sounded so real: “I was no great hand at scripture- I avoided most of it- but I knew every line written about my kind, thanks to the pamphlet Orma had made me. “Half human, all malevolence” was one of Abaster’s best. Or: “If a woman hath lain with the beast, beat her with a mallet until she miscarries or dies. Let it be both, lest her horrifying issue live to claw its way out, or the woman live to conceive evil again.” pg 287, ebook. One of the main messages of Seraphina is tolerance for different cultures- that everyone has something positive to contribute in their own way.

As much as I gripe about the romance that always crops up in the young adult books, at least this one is well written:“However strenuously the world pulls us apart, however long the absence, we are not changed for being dashed upon the rocks. I knew you then, I know you now, I shall know you again when you come home.” pg 491, ebook. Awww, right?

This is a well written fantasy about dragons- fire breathing, scaled, roaring dragons! There’s nothing in here that parents should find objectionable for their teens to read and the messages that it teaches are worth while and should be repeated. Some read alikes: Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr (first book in a long, adult series, but, eventually, there’s dragons!) or The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde (appropriate for young adults).

Thanks for reading!

Rise of an Oligarch by Carlito Sofer and Nik Krasno

Rise of an Oligarch by Carlito Sofer and Nik Krasno

I only knew what an “oligarch” is because of my political science degree. For folks who do not know, here’s the definition:

oligarch
noun ol·i·garch \ˈä-lə-ˌgärk, ˈō-\
: a person who belongs to a small group of people who govern or control a country, business, etc.
Source: Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

I remember learning about the different types of government in college and one of the students in class asked, “Where might one find an example of an oligarch?” The professor replied, “Eastern Europe, pretty much.” So, now you know.

Rise of an Oligarch is basically The Godfather set in Europe with a Jewish protagonist. The book starts with an assassination attempt on Mikhail Vorotavich, the boss of his crime syndicate, I mean, business group. The story is told in a series of flashbacks to Mikhail’s childhood and then the current investigation by his associates into the situation with the shooter. Mikhail grew up poor with no connections Through various illegal schemes and associations, he clawed his way to the top. Along the way, he makes a ton of enemies, any one of which could be responsible for the bullet in his skull.

I loved the childhood flashbacks. It reminded me of the film,The Godfather Part II which was my favorite of that trilogy: “I learned that the best way to fight violence was with violence. Eye for an eye beats turning the other cheek every time. Bullies bully easy targets, not those who fight back. Never again was I impressed by physical superiority after that.” pg 18, ebook

Mikhail’s childhood and knowledge of what it is to have nothing drives him to become one of the richest men in the world: “Poverty became our reality. No more ice cream, cinema or toys. My mother’s answer to anything I asked was, “We don’t have money for that, Mishenka,” as she tried to suppress her tears. The colour of my childhood turned grey- the grey buildings, the grey filthy snow after the first day it falls, and the grey, sullen face of my mother.” pgs 24-25 ebook

He also develops his philosophy for life: “I learned many lessons during my high-school days: the value of friendship, never snitching on your friends, the state is the enemy and manipulating it is a virtue not a sin, and if something is prohibited it means you just need to pay to make it allowed. But most importantly, and never forget it, the key to survival is to fly below the radar, unnoticed. Once noticed, you’re doomed.” pg 36 ebook

As much as I enjoyed the scheming and unique ways in which Mikhail bent the law, I gave Rise of an Oligarch only three stars because of the occasional (not constant) vulgarity which wasn’t necessary, because it became repetitive when the story focused on Mikhail’s actions rather than the relationships with his partners (which were discussed briefly but honestly felt tacked on to me rather than incorporated into the story), and because there wasn’t a single, strong female protagonist in the whole thing. There were opportunities for a female character (Mikhail’s mother, his wife, Masha) but the authors chose not to develop them.

Mikhail sees himself as the “best” of the bad men: “Many oligarchs hated the state. Their families lived in Monaco or Sardinia, their children were educated in London and their wealth was stashed in Switzerland. Ukraine was used only as a place where you make money and squeeze it of its last drop of juice… Was this line of thought a kind of self-loathing? Definitely. I hoped I was a bit different though.” pg 260 ebook. Which struck me as the kind of mental gymnastics that everyone goes through- we never see ourselves as the problem. Maybe that’s the problem?

If you enjoyed Rise of an Oligarch, you may want to pick up Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich or Amish Confidential by “Lebanon” Levi Stoltzfus. A big thank you to the authors of this book for a free digital copy for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you for reading!

13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt

13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt

13 Days of Midnight is an enjoyable thrill ride through the world of Luke Manchett, a boy who is about to become a necromancer even though he didn’t know magic exists. His father dies suddenly and leaves him a “Host” which is a group of souls bound to serve and assist him.

The world of the new necromancer is fraught with peril and the souls that his father trapped do not respect him nor do they have his best wishes at heart.  Will Luke survive long enough to discover his own power?

Photo by luizclas on Pexels.com

13 Days of Midnight is classified as a young adult novel and it has enough teen angst and non-graphic violence for that to be true, but I enjoyed it on its own merits, which is something that not all young adult books have going for them.

My favorite part of Hunt’s book is that the reader gets to discover the world and its magical rules along with Luke. You don’t know what the spirits are capable of or what the necromancer’s spell book is going to reveal- it’s exciting! I kept coming back to the story because I just had to know what was going to happen next.

The only issue that I had with 13 Days of Midnight was the premise that Luke’s father didn’t teach his son the magical methods that he knew to protect Luke from what went down after his father’s death. The story cleared up that question for me towards the very end, but I spent most of the book not buying into it. There’s something primal in the parent/child bond that would never allow such a thing to happen. At least, there is for me.

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas on Pexels.com

If you enjoyed this book, I’d recommend Shutter by Courtney Alameda (YA horror) or The Engelsfors Trilogy by Mats Strandberg (group of teens discover that they have magical powers and have to save the world).

Thank you to the Goodreads First Reads program for sending me a free copy of this book for review purposes.  And, thank you for reading!

Epic by Conor Kostick

Epic by Conor Kostick

Perfect for fans of Ready Player One or anyone who has ever enjoyed playing an MMORPG. Erik, a young boy in a futuristic society, tires of scrabbling for his day-to-day existence in real life and in a virtual world, where all wealth and legal issues are decided by combat in a game called Epic. Almost everyone in Erik’s society kills kobalds and other low level monsters every day, to gather pennies to improve their online characters and, therefore, their society. After dying, yet again, and crushing his family’s hopes for his advancement in Epic, Erik creates a ridiculously attractive female character and puts all of his points into beauty, a skill that no one else ever considers because it is a useless stat from a fighter’s standpoint. What happens next is an exciting adventure through virtual worlds with magic, monsters, swords, and sorcery… who will triumph? Erik and his friends or the all-powerful Central Allocations team or the game, itself?

Erik’s creation of Cindella (his avatar): “Serious gamers, and the whole world consisted of serious gamers, never wasted a point on beauty that could be spent on more practical attributes, or combat skills, craft skills, weapons, magic items and spells. As a result, Epic’s population of players consisted entirely of dull, gray-looking humanoids. His friends were in for a shock; it would be impossible to explain his choices to them, as there was no rational argument in favor of throwing away every practical advantage in favor of beauty.” pg 15

The power of beauty: “While they made their way through the flapping canvas and rope of the market stalls, Bjorn noticed something unusual. The NPCs were not stationary; their heads were turning towards the two players. “Erik, look at the merchants.” “Hmmm. That’s odd.” Erik’s character made the actions that arose from the wave+smile command. A nearby seller of herbs smiled and waved back. “You try.” Bjorn had his big warrior wave. Nothing. “They like me!” pg 27

Librarians play a huge part in this story, which of course I LOVED: “Son, your story of Cindella and the pirate treasure is exciting. But you need to obtain more information.” “I know.” “Hope has a library. Where all the information ever learned about Epic has been stored. It is our right to be able to consult that information. So we are going to pay the librarian a visit.” pg 36

The villain in this book is just awful: “… the illicit thrill of being a player-killer was something that could not be understood with logic. Nor could logic explain the pattern of his killings. Curiously it was not the stronger looking players that attracted his attention- and if there was any justification for the deaths of players it was to eliminate possible threats to the Central Allocations team. No, it was the slightly heartrending players, with their one weapon and tiny pieces of armor, which drew his attention. There was something bewitchingly naive and tender about them, spending their spare time killing kobolds and orcs for pennies, saving assiduously and slowly. And so he rode them down, bringing their struggle up the ladder of Epic to an abrupt end.” pg 60 Haters gonna hate.

Doing the impossible… dragon slaying! : “I agree with Bjorn,” Sigrid interjected. “Farmers’ children just don’t kill dragons. Nobody kills dragons these days. But if they did, it would be the people in Mikelgard, with all their magic and expensive gear.” “But nobody even thinks about fighting dragons anymore.” Injeborg spoke up. Erik had known that he could count on her. “Only our Erik. That’s why he has seen something that they have missed.” She turned to her brother, “Come on, Bjorn. Let’s try it.” “No, it’s hopeless.” Injeborg stamped her foot in frustration. “You are always waiting for something to happen to you. But that’s not how life is.” pg 85

Big dreams: “Tell me,” said Injeborg. “Everyone, what is it that you would like from life?” She turned to look at Sigrid. “I would like to be allocated a small farm, somewhere near here.” “Bjorn?” “I would like the same.” “B.E.?” Slightly embarrassed, B.E. laughed, and then said, “I would like to be a successful Epic player, like Svein Redbeard.” “Erik?” “I would like nothing better than to be a librarian.” pg 89 🙂

A new way to play the game: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the game didn’t matter, other than to play it? We could explore snowy mountains, spectacular caverns, and remote desert civilizations. To journey just for the pleasure of the adventures would be something…” She paused. “Only now do I understand why this game was invented.” pg 192 A good metaphor for life, I think.

Thanks for reading!

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

golemandjinniThis is the story of a golem and a jinni, how they discover who they are, their strengths, their weaknesses, and how, even though they’re composed of completely different elements, they may just be the best friend for each other in a human world where they will never truly belong.

As I was reading The Golem and the Jinni, enjoying their adventures and waiting to see how they would discover their origins, I didn’t consider for a moment the idea that the tale could be a metaphor for something else.

When I read the Q&A with the author at the end of the book, I was really kicking myself. Of course, it made total sense as a metaphor for cultural differences. And, when I thought about it that way, I liked the story even more.

On the other hand, this tale can be completely enjoyed and interpreted as a historical fiction/fairytale and, if you’re not in the mood to think any deeper than that, it doesn’t matter, because it’s still awesome. So, it’s a win/win book for the deep thinkers and the no-thinkers.

The Golem and the Jinni is not a fast read. Wecker really builds the characters and gives the back story for everybody who comes across the page.

At first I was like, “Do we really need to know the ice cream guy’s life story?” and I was getting frustrated with the pacing of it. But, as her characters came together and their lives began to intertwine, I began to appreciate the true artistry of the novel.

It is like an orchestral fugue in which the instruments play their themes one by one at the beginning, which is beautiful, but when the tones combine, it lifts the piece to a whole other place. That is The Golem and the Jinni. Give it the time and space to build the characters and you will be blown away by the ending. At least, I was.

Wecker has a talent for creating multi-layered characters. Though the golem is only a few hours old, the author manages to instill in her a childlike curiosity mixed with the timelessness of a magical creature.

In this passage, the golem is seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time: “The deck was crowded with people, and at first the Golem didn’t see what they were waving at. But then, there she was: a gray-green woman standing in the middle of the water, holding a tablet and bearing aloft a torch. Her gaze was unblinking, and she stood so still: was it another golem? … And those on deck were waving and shouting at her with jubilation, crying even as they smiled. This, too, the Golem thought, was a constructed woman. Whatever she meant to the others, she was loved and respected for it. For the first time… the Golem felt something like hope. pg 17 ebook.

She also describes scenes just beautifully. In this passage, the Jinni sees New York harbor: “The Jinni leaned against the railing, transfixed by the view. He was a creature of the desert, and never in his life had he come so close to this much water. It lapped at the stone below his feet, reaching now higher, now lower. Muted colors floated on its surface, and afternoon sunlight reflecting in the ever-changing dips of the waves. Still it was hard to believe that this was not some expert illusion, intended to befuddle him. At any moment he expected the city and water to dissolve, to be replaced by the familiar steppes and plateaus of the Syrian Desert, his home for close to two hundred years.” pg 23 ebook

I loved the little, let’s call them “wisdom nuggets,” that Wecker sprinkled throughout the story. Like: “A man might desire something for a moment, while a larger part of him rejects it. You’ll need to learn to judge people by their actions, not their thoughts.” pg 40 ebook. Or: “Men need no reason to cause mischief, only an excuse!” pg 172 ebook.

I also connected with this passage where the Jinni is thinking about the power of names: “To him the new name suggested that the changes he’d undergone were so drastic, so pervasive, that he was no longer the same being at all. He tried not to dwell on such dark thoughts, and instead concentrated on speaking politely, and maintaining his story- but every so often, as he listened to the chatter of yet more visitors, he spoke his true name to himself in the back of his mind, and took comfort in the sound.” pg 68 ebook.

I recommend The Golem and the Jinni for folks who enjoy historical fiction blended with fantasy, folks who love deep characters, and for anyone who loves to read beautiful prose. This book has all of that.

Thanks for reading!