This was recommended to me by several people and I’m glad I finally found time to fit it into my burgeoning book queue. It's truly one of those novels that sweeps you away and before you know it you have forgotten to pick your
child up from school (oops!). The story centers on a clay woman known as
a golem, who is created in Europe to be a bride to a creepy little guy who packs her into a wooden box and takes
her to New York as steerage on a ship. During the voyage the man becomes ill
but can’t resist “awakening” his golem since the old man has provided instructions for both how to awaken and how to destroy her if necessary. The golem's husband does not survive the trip and the newly awake and nameless clay woman is left to fend for herself with no idea of where to go or what to do. To escape the ship she jumps
into the Hudson River as it pulls into NY and walks along the bottom of
the river to the shore. Eventually she meets a kind Rabbi who is one of the few people able to sense her true nature. The rabbi becomes her mentor, her first friend, and her protector, eventually bestowing on her a name, Chava, meaning life. Meanwhile, on the other
side of the city, a metalsmith named Arbeely accidentally uncorks a jinni who has been trapped
for a 1,000 years by a wizard who imprisoned him.
This long but glorious read tells the story of how Chava and the jinni Ahmad meet and form an uneasy relationship that changes both of them and the people they come into contact with forever. I can’t say enough about how this story and these characters
captivated me. Every time I put the book down I found myself thinking about
them and wondering what would happen next. The potential exists for a sequel, but
I think in this case maybe it’s best to leave well enough alone.
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