A review by saintsaens
Le Golem by Gustav Meyrink

challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This novel is haunting, half a dream (or a nightmare ) and half a reflection on Jewish beliefs. It spins together an ambiance awakening what could have been the Jewish ghetto of Prague before it got destroyed by the city, with all its complexity of relationships existing in such a small neighborhood, and the economic and social pressures applied on its population by the state. Following the narrator, we encounter a great variety of Jewish characters, showcasing the diversity of situations and status with dire clarity and endings. At the same time, the narrator is as lost as the reader, circuiting in what he lives through and what he has been told before, a truly dreamlike construction. Horror is underlying in the whole book, the text swinging between hopeful dreaminess and stark terror. It is an experience I had not had before.