As promised last week, since June has ended, here are my latest book reviews.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
I’ll begin with this delightful beauty since I’ve literally just finished it.
My first thoughts are of gratitude to Wecker for embracing two cultures which are so intimate to myself, I felt I was reading a personal, alternate history of familiar lives long parted from me. It made me proud to read a story about these two cultures I cherish.
The way she captured life in New York City at the turn of the nineteenth century, including the Jewish Lower East Side and Little Syria, was a stunning vignette of precision and creativity, anyone could read this novel and find themselves amongst the influx of immigrants as one of them.
She dazzlingly adds the fantastical elements in the form of her two main characters: an estranged golem seeking refuge without a master to guide her, and a jinni waking after a millennia of imprisonment. I enjoyed her juxtapositioning of their characteristics to highlight the shared similarities between such stark mythological creatures, and how they themselves discover their solace in one another through this comparison, not only with each other, but the humans surrounding them.
There were so many threads Wecker began with, I wondered how she would be able to weave them altogether into one tapestry, but she did it so effectively, so elegantly, I’m ashamed I ever doubted her. It was like watching a BBC Drama series with all the different characters – their stories, plights, fears, and desires – and how they all unfold into one cacophony of hope. How she meticulously devoted just enough time to each one whilst continuing the main plot was fascinating.
The journey of each soul on the page brought a fresh perspective on the human condition: our struggles and pains, but ultimately our similarities, our hopes and dreams of love, companionship, safety, and peace. How each character strives to achieve such goals is the tapestry Wecker creates in this sweeping historical, urban epic.
If The Golem and the Jinni isn’t adapted as a mini-series soon, then studio executives are reading the wrong material.
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
This second book in the Winternight series is a brilliant expansion on Medieval Russia, and the life of one Vasya, who finds herself on a more dangerous path than she intended.
Vasya’s journey begins in The Bear and the Nightingale when she befriends the frost demon of death, Morozko, becoming what the Russian Orthodox around her deem as “witch”. After aiding Morozko at the end of the previous novel, she escapes imprisonment as a dutiful wife or silent nun to traverse the vast wild lands of Rus.
As she begins her wanderings, she stumbles across the vile deeds of vagrant bandits kidnapping the young daughters of helpless villagers. Rescuing the most recent victims, Vasya poses as a boy and soon finds herself in the midst of the Grand Prince’s inner circle, which reunites her with her brother and sister who left in the previous book for their prospective futures in Moscow.
Now in Moscow, and at the Grand Prince’s leisure, Vasya is stuck, not wanting to reveal her identity, needing to protect both herself and her siblings. She must wade through the murky waters of court life to survive, but as a man.
All the while, a sinister wizard plots to subdue her to continue thwarting Death, Morozko, and obtain his immortality.
While this story does not have a grand, fantastical battle between Russia’s magical creatures, it does something more poignant in having Vasya battling herself. Caught up in the midst of Russian politics, societal demands, familial expectations, and the longings of her own heart, Vasya learns what it means to be true to herself.
What I value most is the similarities of Vasya’s life to mine, and her courage to be different, to challenge the status quo, and to fight for herself even when no one else will. The rich, vibrant settings of Medieval Russia only give Arden’s story a thrilling, enthralling, exotic flavor, which makes me want to find books and volumes and tomes of Russian folklore, and drown myself for hours in their lush culture.
I’m so looking forward to reading the concluding book three, The Winter of the Witch, slated to release next year.
(To read my review of The Bear and the Nightingale, read here.)
Part of me wanted to wait to review these first two books, Frostblood and Fireblood, until after reading the third installment Nightblood, releasing in September, but I decided against it.
At first, Frostblood read like a standard fantasy novel: girl has powers, girl is imprisoned because of powers, girl is rescued, girl receives training, girl falls in love, is captured, is forced to battle in a gladiator arena, girl is destined to overthrow evil king – etc., etc., etc.
The action is entertaining, but the mythos is intriguing. I’m curious about what foundational elements Blake borrowed from in our world to create her own, especially since some of her gods are named after their Greek mythology equivalents.
However, the core of Frostblood is the endearing romance between the fiery Ruby and the icy Arcus.
Their opposing bloodlines and thus magical powers at first combat each other, producing a repellant aura around their strained alliance, but over time, as these types of acquaintances so often develop, their once mutual feelings of mistrust, anger, and frustration border-lining on hatred change to ones of affection and trust.
The compelling element of their romance, though, is Arcus.
When Ruby is taken from him in both novels – at first by force, the second blindly into enemy territory – he stops at nothing to have her back. Arcus continually sacrifices everything to have Ruby by his side, and his selfless, sometimes stubborn, affection is what makes this story so enchanting in addition to the mythos of Blake’s world.
Though, he is not a smothering love interest, and does give Ruby her independence, which maintains their respect for one another, adding to my own adoration of their story. He gives her the freedom she needs to find herself, even when it pains him to do so at the risk of losing her, and his loyalty and faithfulness to her stirs my silly, romantic heart. As they say, Arcus is a smol cinnamon roll, too pure and good for this world.
The second installment widened the horizons and deepened the mythos of this world and the romance of these characters Blake created, and I’m excited to see where these warring gods take our heroes in the anticipated third book.
*I am also currently reading the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, and will review the series as a whole once completed.
Writing Jewish: Modern Day Fantasy Literature
Won’t Look Back
Etched in Gold
Dare to Linger
