Reviews

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

brettwhisler's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lindsayaunderwood's review against another edition

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4.0

Loved the mythical parts of this book as well as the religious history!

brittrivera's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

soreadssonya's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Kinda dark but interesting story! Loved seeing the cultural similarities and learning about nyc in the turn of the 20th century 

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jamesadams0's review against another edition

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5.0

Thoroughly enjoyable!

glowbunny's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

emiek11's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

tsukibunny68's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

peterkeep's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm really amazed at this book. It's beautifully written, has excellent characters that are all important but also easy to read about, and a great, imaginative plot rooted in historical accuracy and mythology. Following Chava and Ahmad through their lives and experiences in New York really left me with the same sense of wonder and amazement that the characters go through in their new environment. When they triumph over some obstacle, great or small, I felt immensely proud; when they were given some disappointment or had to suffer through some loss, I felt I was grieving with them, as if I had something to do with their successes and had some stake in their losses just by watching and reading along.

The story itself is extremely well done, with lots of suspense and intrigue, a clear direction and ending, but twists and turns along the way. It's as close to a perfectly crafted story as I've read in a while. I'm so happy to have read it, and it will definitely be one of the books I recommend quickly and easily to others.

dilchh's review against another edition

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5.0

Do you ever have that feeling when you’re watching a movie that is so good that you’re torn between keeping your eyes glued to the screen and to pay attention to every single detail happening before your eyes that you’ve completely stop eating your bucket of popcorn entirely, with the feeling of nervousness about the movie that you didn’t even realise that you’ve been eating your bucket of popcorn nonstop? Well, reading this book is somewhat like that; it was intense that every time I had to put the book down, my mind kept coming back to the story and it made me restless not knowing what’s to happen next.

It was so addictive, intense and more!
It was such a beautiful world that the author was building, it shed light on immigrants coming to America for the first time from all over the world, it shed light on the many interesting and diverse culture. I am pleased to see such beautiful take on diverse culture in this book without seeming like it’s only there for the heck of it and not a substantial presence to the story. This is really the kind of book that you can’t put down once you’ve start reading it; the more you read it, the stronger your bonds are to the story and the characters that you’d feel surge of emotions for their well-being.

The world building was beautiful. The cultural background was written perfectly. Wait until you’ve met the characters!