The Golem and the Jinni is another one of the Nebula nominated books for this year, and one I enjoyed reading tremendously. Chava is a golem, named by the rabbi who realizes her nature when he finds her in New York City. Ahmad is a jinni, trapped in human form by a wizard. Neither name fits them well. But there they are, in New York, trying to make their way in situations they didn't intend to be in.
According to the author, this book took seven years to write. It certainly marinated fully in that time. The book is well written, with plenty of action and excitement. But what's really interesting about it are the characters--the Golem and the Jinni have personalities driven by their natures--of Earth and of Fire. These characteristics animate them throughout the book, making them feel very real and true to themselves. They do end up in a relationship, but it's not an easy one. And when they confront evil they do it in a way that feels authentic to them.
I would say this is an easy read, and in the very best way--the ideas go straight into your head without a fight for understanding, yet Wecker has a lot to say about human nature through these two. Go read it and have some fun.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The Man Who Saw Seconds, by Alexander Boldizar
I rarely give a book five stars and I did for this one. I did not do it because it is a perfect book. It has rough edges and incongruities. ...
-
The introduction to Slow Tuesday Night is by Gardner Dozios, the great editor, and he tells us that "only those stories that were the ...
-
Shadow Christ is an awfully tough story to explain. It's sort of about playing with time, and religion, and deeper cultural commentary...
-
There are some interesting theories out there on what Gene Wolfe's "The Ziggurat" short story means . Indeed, Wolfe is heavil...
No comments:
Post a Comment