(no subject)

[skygiants]

PAGING PEOPLE INTERESTED IN JEWISH FANTASY AND/OR LADY ROBOTS: I just read Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni, a novel about Jewish and Syrian immigrant communities in turn-of-the-century New York that happen to be hosting awkward mythological beings.

The Golem was created to be the wife of a creeper on his way to America; on ship, aforementioned creeper dies right after waking her up, and the Golem finds that instead of being perfectly tuned to her master's thoughts and wishes, she can hear what EVERYONE wants. WHICH IS TERRIFYING.

Having no idea what to do with herself, she bumps into a friendly rabbi who promptly panics and brings her home while he tries to figure out what to do with her. Eventually she gets a job in a Bowery bakery, always constantly on desperate guard against being too weird and too efficient, too obviously anticipating people's needs, or accidentally going into KILLING GOLEM RAGE.

Meanwhile, Arbeely, a metalworker in Little Syria, is given a flask to repair; when he knocks one of the symbols, a bound jinni promptly appears and has to be explained to that this is not the Syrian desert and also, he has apparently been in the flask for a thousand years and nobody has any idea how to undo the binding and give him his powers back. SORRY.

For lack of any better ideas, the jinni allows Arbeely to put it about that the jinni is his new apprentice ("he's Bedouin! THAT'S WHY HE'S WEIRD"), while spending all his nights wandering around the city sulking about his loss of freedom and powers and new social constraints. Then he comes home to tell Arbeely, like, "last night I climbed in the window of a big house by Central Park!" to which poor long-suffering Arbeely inevitably responds "WTF ARE YOU DOING PLEASE DO NOT INSULT ANY RICH PEOPLE DON'T WE HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS"

Eventually of course the Golem and the Jinni meet, and start hanging out, because as weird as they find each other, at least it's a break from hanging out with humans ALL THE TIME, like, wow, humans and their social norms, super weird and stressful! And then plot happens and stuff eventually gets dramatic. But the real heart of the book is the human communities themselves, and the way they function -- which is a very warm and sympathetic portrait, while at the same time showing how almost possible but deeply uncomfortable it is for the Golem and the Jinni to function within them.

While I sympathize with the Jinni on some aspects of human life (social obligation to go to weddings you're not interested in! ugh! why!) I don't care about him as much, though I am deeply fond of every single one of the human characters in Little Syria. But the Golem! How she struggles with sentience, with self-determination -- it would be so much easier to have a master, not to have the responsibility of her own choices -- and with the way that her conditioning to respond to the needs of others can become a trap for her, and how afraid she is of her own strength and potential for anger, and how being female changes and limits her choices in a way that's not the same for the Jinni, who is equally trapped, albeit in a different way. And, like, golems go wild and kill lots of people! Everyone knows that's what always happens to golems! So what can she do? I LOVE HER SO MUCH.

The book has its flaws, and I still don't know how I feel about the end, but my love for the Golem is overwhelming so here's where I stop.

Comments

[newredshoes]

I downloaded the preview for that and enjoyed it! And I've heard the ending is not the greatest, but I'm glad to know the rest of it makes up for it, to some extent. As if my to-read list wasn't hideously long (but visually appealing!) already...

[skygiants]

Yeah, the ending is -- well, let me put it this way, among other things, it's SUPER HETEROSEXUAL. Which feels really weird after the rest of the book about two nonhuman beings for whom human definitions don't really apply!

I hope you do read it at some point though, I'd love to talk about it with you.

[tree_and_leaf]

Despite your caveats about the ending, that sounds great!

[skygiants]

I'm still thinking about it a lot, which I think means it was in fact great!

[musesfool]

Yeah, I thought it went off the rails at little at the end but it was so good before that that I didn't mind.

[skygiants]

Yeah, it's not going to be any of the ending stuff that sticks with me really anyway -- it's all the buildup, and the range of characters and the sense of terrifying claustrophobia for the Golem and the Jinni both.

[varadia]

YES BECCA OH MY GOD SHE IS SO AMAZING I CANNOT EVEN.

(I also have a weakness for a swathe of the Jinni's narrative -- as I am sure you could guess -- so. *wry*)

[skygiants]

Not to resort to tumblr speak, but OH GOD SHE GIVES ME SO MANY FEELINGS. ;___; wait why did I not know this weekend that you had read this book? WHY DID WE NOT TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK?

(*cracks up* yeah, he is maybe A LITTLE up your alley. I did like large parts of his narrative too! I turned contrary when he got the surprise load of manpain dumped on him and the Golem then got stuck sitting around assuring him that dead ladies were not his fault.)

[zopyrus]

Wow, this sounds awesome!

[skygiants]

I super enjoyed it!

[oracne]

THIS SOUNDS AWESOME.

[skygiants]

It's one of the few books I picked up just from seeing the cover at the library, and I'm so glad I did!

[ellen_fremedon]

That sounds amazing!

[skygiants]

I would definitely recommend it, especially since I super want to talk to people about it!

[dorothean]

whoah that sounds great!

[skygiants]

There were a lot of things about it that made me really happy! (And a lot of things that made me really sad, but . . mostly in a skillful, intentional way!)

[genarti]

Ooooooooooh this sounds SUPER INTERESTING.

[skygiants]

Ha, I was gonna rec it to you! I think it would be super up your alley. :D

[genarti]

Hee hee. I assume this was a library book, and thus I can't steal it from you?

(Also, question! You called out people who are interested in Jewish fantasy, but not Muslim fantasy -- is that just an oversight or reflection of what you were most interested in, or is this primarily a Jewish story despite the jinni's presence? I'm interested either way, but if it's the latter I want to be prepared so I'm not irked by misplaced expectations.)

[skygiants]

Alas, yes! A Kindle library book, no less.

(Good question! That was in context of the recent discussions around the topic over at rachelmanija and coffeeandink's journals, but not mentioning the other aspect was oversight on my part which I should rectify -- is what I was about to say, but now actually on giving it more consideration, while it definitely has Muslim elements and there are one or two Muslim characters, most of the Syrian characters are actually Maronite Christian and the religious life portrayed in the Little Syria portions of the story are focused around that. So while the Middle Eastern aspect of the story has as much focus as the Jewish aspect, it's not necessarily Muslim!)

[qian]

This sounds so cool! Definitely going to read.

[skygiants]

EXCELLENT. I am so glad everyone seems so excited about this! I hope you all come back and talk to me about afterwards. :D

[thewickedlady]

Ooh! I have the sample in my too read pile on my kindle. GOOD TO KNOW.

[skygiants]

If you read it, let me know what you think!

[thewickedlady]

it was actually next after i finished fangirl even before this post, so i will let you know! i have been told to prepare for the ending, which is why I was holding off a little.

[brownbetty]

*TO READ*

[skygiants]

EXCELLENT

[rachelmanija]

That sounds AMAZING.

[skygiants]

And no one's angst is related to being Jewish! (Well, I guess one character has angst related to being a formerly-Jewish atheist.)

[likeadeuce]

Sounds cool!

What's the reading/content level for this book? Would it be middle grade/YA appropriate or is it more 'grownup'?

[skygiants]

This is definitely an adult novel -- not in the sense of explicit sex (though there are some sex scenes), but in the fact that the themes of responsibility and personhood are not really at all handled in a kidlit/YA fashion. The book's fears are definitely adult fears.

[likeadeuce]

Good to know, thanks!

[sovay]

How she struggles with sentience, with self-determination -- it would be so much easier to have a master, not to have the responsibility of her own choices -- and with the way that her conditioning to respond to the needs of others can become a trap for her, and how afraid she is of her own strength and potential for anger, and how being female changes and limits her choices in a way that's not the same for the Jinni, who is equally trapped, albeit in a different way.

What does the ending involve that you don't know how to feel about? Because what you've described right there sounds amazing.

[skygiants]

Well, there's a wacky coincidence that links the Golem and the Jinni's backstories up, but I don't mind that so much, I'm okay with narratively convenient coincidences. I am however not thrilled by the fact that the central dynamic is played like a straightforward het romance toward the end, which feels to me like both a cop-out on the essential inhumanity of the characters and just in general much less interesting than the uneasy friendship they have for most of the book.

I'm also still working through how I feel about the -- um, how do I say this? Let's say the narrative locations where the Golem gets to make choices in the finale, although choices are definitely involved.

[lacewood]

I remember seeing this in the bookstore and thinking it sounded interesting. Good to know it's worth checking out XD (one far away day... when my TBR stack is not threatening to be taller than I am...)

[skygiants]

It is definitely worth checking out! Although, wow, do I ever hear you on the TBR stack. >.

[alias_sqbr]

*is duly paged*

[skygiants]

*SALUTES*

[jinian]

Hold requested on The Golem and the Jinni. You are number 205 in line.

[skygiants]

HAHAHAHAHA well I mean, I'm glad it's doing well?

[izilen]

I never did send you that email. SO I'M GOING TO COMMENT HERE INSTEAD.

The first and most important thing: I HAVE A DEEP AND UNENDING LOVE FOR CHAVA, and really, without Chava, this novel would have been nearly as good. For me, the most interesting thing is how she related to people and the world around her – where she placed herself within the social structures she observed. Her thoughts about work, and play and love and family. BUT ALSO I found it fascinating how, despite the fact that some of her personality traits could be said to arise from the circumstances of her creation, and from her nature as a Golem, I think...the book makes it clear that it IS Chava, and she is a person, with thoughts and feelings that are her own. Whatever the origins, I feel like she OWNS them. Anyway I have a tremendous weakness for hard-working, sensible, kind women and Chava stole my heart.

The SECOND THING I really liked about the novel was the setting. This is the first book I have read about turn of the century immigrant communities in New York and I kind of want to read an ENTIRE PILE OF THEM. It was fantastic and so everyday and I LOVE IT. I loved the bakery. I loved the dude who was a doctor but sells ice-creams. I loved the kind, brash and nosy lady from the café, I found the marxist-Jewish community super interesting, I loved Arbeely and his shop and his customers. I loved that all of them are just going on with their lives! This sort of everyday magic together with everyday industry that appeals to me PERSONALLY.

The focus on immigrant communities moreover brings to the table a whole HOST of things that I adore, such as: ISSUES OF IDENTITY, and how these are in flux and vary according to context. Solidarity and conflict among those immigrant communities: what are the commonalities, what are the irreconcilable differences? Why? LANGUAGE!!! Although the book bypasses a lot of it by having Chava and the jinni be able to understand and communicate with anybody, I think the reality of language is palpable. Yiddish signs! Signs in German! The Norwegian boat people! Basically people's consciousness of accent and dialect and language and its impact on communication.

The final thing that I want to talk about is that I SURPRISED MYSELF BY NOT SHIPPING IT, despite my Romance Monster Tendencies. I think in this case my Asexual-ish Character Tendencies won out, but also I didn't much care for the Jinni. I mean, I appreciate what he brought to the mix and to the narrative but his sort of character is a sort of character I find infuriating!!! And also, I think like you, while I very much appreciated their friendship and their conversations about their completely different outlooks on life, I did not think it followed for them to have a romance – or at least such a weirdly normal one.

IN CONCLUSION I loved this book for the reasons I thought I would love it. IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

[skygiants]

YESSSS I have been eager to hear your thoughts but I did not want to bother you when you have been so busy! :D

And omg Chava. CHAVA. I love her so enormously much -- I love how she is all of these very domestic things, hard-working and kind and sensible as you say, and yet at the same time human interaction is so hard for her, and so often painful, because you don't have to like people to be kind. And the fact that the very domestic strengths that one would think would make life in her social context easier for her also can make life so difficult. (The scene where she discovers baking, and she was so proud and happy and it was too much and nothing could be done with it -- that gave me a lot of feelings for such a small moment.)

And oh, wow, if you want to find books about turn-of-the-century immigrant communities, THAT CAN BE ARRANGED. I feel a bit like I grew up on books like that! Possibly that was just because I read All-Of-A-Kind Family fifteen million times, because now I'm having a hard time thinking of other ones, but yes. This is definitely one of the best ones I've read, though. Arbeely! And Maryam! And the intersection of Judaism and atheist Marxism which was TOTALLY a thing! And, as you say, the way the communities are so similar and so different at the same time. AND THE LINGUISTIC BRIDGES THAT DON'T EXIST.

Also I am pleased that you agree with me on the shipping, and also on the Jinni. >.> Like, the Jinni is necessary to the story and I understand why he is as he is and some things about him I really do appreciate -- his very different and very differently socialized frustrations with conforming to human norms of society, I liked the way that was portrayed a lot! -- but ALSO he was extremely infuriating and I don't think he and Chava should have a romance just because they're the only not-human people around. And, I dunno, I am really attached to the idea of Chava as a person for whom romance is not and will not ever be a Thing, even aside from my apathy about the Jinni in and of himself.

BUT I'M GLAD YOU LOVED IT FOR ALL THESE REASONS I LOVED IT.

[happydork]

I read this about a week ago! I loved it so much -- and I agree with you SO MUCH about the Golem and sentience and self-determination and responsibility and femaleness (oh my god her femaleness).

I have just become aware of the extent to which I read the ending against the text as I tried to type up why I didn't see it as straightforward het*, but then I realised that doing that totally ignores the way that every other time the Golem tries to map what she feels onto the framework she has and gets it wrong, the book makes that explicit. But still. If you can read against the text AND not realise you're doing it, then the ending is perfectly satisfying! :)

*Basically, they have a really complex set of feelings for/about each other that the Golem tries to put into the framework of the language of love/marriage because she doesn't really have another way to express, "We are important to each other and I would like our existences to grow together."