The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Golem and the Jinni is a slow builder, that's for sure. I was never bored, but there were a couple times when I wondered what it was building towards and when it was going to step it up. It's not action-driven whatsoever, so I'd only recommend this if you enjoy 19th Century historical fiction that is character-driven.

The fantasy element is there, a fine thread woven throughout that adds an exotic touch. But it doesn't play a large role until near the end of the book. And by the way, I really liked how that aspect came together.

I also liked how the details of day-to-day living allowed me to savor the particular flavor of the immigrant experience in New York, and how it subtly built into something much more. By about 60% I didn't want to put it down because I was so invested in the characters and had to see what would happen to them.

The ending was not a perfectly neat bow, but not a cliffhanger, either. I'm glad to discover there will be a sequel, although it's jumping time periods to WWI, so I'm not sure what to think about that. A large part of what I enjoyed about this book was the setting, so we'll see. I'll definitely check it out.