Book Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

In a Nutshell

I am neither Golem nor Jinni, but reading this made me a slave to the masterful (and magical) story and prose of Helene Wecker. I'd gladly be imprisoned in a lamp if I could take this book with me.

The Whole Enchilada

Helene Wecker chose wisely when she decided to tell a story of immigration--after all, who can resist a tale of leaving everything that is known to make a new life in a strange land? It's the quintessential American story. But to tell that story from the POV of two culturally specific mythological creatures, both adrift in an unknown world, with no knowledge of even their own beginnings, was a stroke of brilliance!

Chava is a Golem, a creature from Jewish mythology who is made of clay and lives only to serve her master; but when her master dies before she's even 24 hours old Chava faces something no Golem has ever faced before... Freedom.

Ahmad is a Jinni, a restless fire spirit of the Syrian desert, feared by nomadic tribesman, coveted by ruthless power-seekers. When Ahmad emerges from a copper lamp (a customer's family heirloom) in a tinsmith's shop in 1899 Manhattan he has no knowledge of how he got there... or the past few hundred years! Trapped in human form, Ahmad must learn to master his restless nature to fit into the immigrant culture around him.

These two unique and lonely creatures don't meet until halfway through the novel, when we as readers have already fallen in love with their individual characters, as well as the city and people who provide the backdrop and rich detail of their stories. You might think that's a long time to wait for our two title characters to come across each other, but somehow it isn't at all. Wecker does such a wonderful job of weaving their parallel stories--almost mirror images of each other--that the fact that they don't meet doesn't feel odd at all. Instead it gives them the necessary space to develop on their own, like twin siblings placed in different classrooms to prevent them from exerting too much influence on each other.

Once Chava and Ahmad do meet the story explodes, building speed like a freight train to the end. I kept wanting to tell myself to slow down and take my time with the last chapters, but I couldn't stop myself from tripping over words and impatiently turning pages in my NEED to get to the end; to find out What. Happens. Next!

I envy Helene Wecker the fun she must have had researching this book. With two such rich cultures to delve into I'm only amazed that she was able to stop with just one book. Perhaps she hasn't stopped though. Perhaps we will be blessed with more of Helene Wecker's writing. I hope so. I would read a hundred such books.

Exploring Genre Literature with 10 Great Women Authors



We are in for a fast, furious and FUN year in the Rediscovering the Classics group this year! Last year the theme was "An Exploration of Genre", and when I realized that the syllabus I was putting together was 90% male authors I decided to go all-out with all-male authors in each genre. What this means is that this year we get a syllabus full of wonderful WOMEN authors in every genre!

How To Spot A Book Lover

Book Lovers are dangerous people. Avid readers are like rabid creatures—we can't see straight (usually because we have a book in front of our faces), we can't walk straight (same reason), and we often drool or foam at the mouth (when a Really Good Part overpowers our swallow reflex). Luckily, keeping away from the book-toting-crazy-eyes should be easy... as long as you know what to look for.

It’s not difficult to spot a book lover, we avid readers give ourselves away in so many ways:

You can find us at parties perusing the bookshelves instead of hanging with the crowd.

Our go-to conversation starter is “So, what are you reading?” 

We bring books with us to the bank and supermarket (anywhere we might have to wait in line).

We don't think of trees as beautiful things to photograph, draw, or even climb... they're merely another place to sit and read for a spell. 

We don't just walk, we biblioambulate.

We NEVER have enough bookshelves.

We wear T-shirts that say things like “Call me Ishmael”.

Keep in mind that Book Lovers are VERY DANGEROUS CREATURES. Be warned! Should you spot a Book Lover, generally the safest thing to do is to put as much distance between them and yourself as possible.

BUT...

For today, and for today only, because it is National Book Lovers Day, should you come across a Book Lover, you should go up to them, ask them what they're reading, ask if they can recommend any books for you to read, and watch their faces light up with joy. You will have made their day.

Happy Book Lovers Day!!

Summer Reading Suggestions From My 8 & 13 Year Old Kids

My girls as... Masterpiece Theater hosts? Not sure, but they're obviously ready to do some reading!

This summer we've been making weekly trips to the library, and my darling daughters have really racked up the frequent reader pages (so to speak). This is par for the course for my 13 year old, who has always been an avid reader, but it's the first time that my 8 year old seems to be getting as excited about reading!

I always let them roam the library and choose books on their own. (Although I'm not totally hands-off, I will make suggestions from time to time.) I've been pleased with what my 13 year old has been reading (which includes some old favorites she's re-reading as well as some new discoveries and challenges) and completely thrilled with what my 8 year old is reading--especially since her choices this summer have inspired her to stay up late reading in bed, and to check out more and more books by the same author or in the same series.

Here's what my girls have been enjoying this summer:

Three Smart Writers Who Will Knock Your Socks Off

I love Smart Writers.

Now, when I say "Smart Writers" I don't mean stuffy academic writers (although let's tell it like it is, I like reading them too). When I say "Smart Writers" I mean authors who write books that express new and thought-provoking ideas with beautiful, playful, intelligent language. When I say "Smart Writers" I mean writers that I want to pluck off the page and bring home for coffee and conversation. I'm talking about writers who inspire and challenge me, and who make me laugh.

Right now I'm reading Simon Pegg's autobiography Nerd Do Well; and I tell you, that man is a Smart Writer.

The LA Times Festival Of Books Is My Coachella

Every year I look forward to the LA Times Festival of Books with something close to breathless anticipation. I’m on Ticketmaster the hour panel tickets become available, I agonize over who to see, which day to go, and which booths to visit first. Every year, whichever luckless friend has accompanied me is dragged from booth to booth, event to event until we’re hot, footsore, under-hydrated and over-stimulated. (Is it a coincidence that no friend has ever gone to the LATFOB with me twice? I think not.)

You know you're on the USC campus when...

This year the festival had an added level of excitement because I was going as the Reading Rainbow Mom, and live-tweeting the experience to Reading Rainbow Twitter fans. In retrospect, I’m not sure this was as much of an event for the RR audience as I had hoped it might be, but it was—without question—a growth experience for me. This year, instead of roaming the campus with my mouth agape (as I admittedly have done in the past) I felt I had purpose.

For someone who is usually shy, this weekend I made myself say hi to people. I introduced myself to vendors and took photos for our Twitter fans; I listened to the speakers not only for myself but for the entire RR Twitter fan base.  What would interest RR kids? What questions might parents have? What quotes could I share that would speak to them? What authors or wares would they appreciate most?

Being at the festival as the RR Mom made me brave, it’s as simple as that.

In Which I Become a Mom Again! (In An Unexpected Way...)

 Oh boy do I have an announcement to make... After a long love-affair (on my side), and a recent whirlwind courtship, I have become a part of the AMAZING Reading Rainbow family by becoming... THE READING RAINBOW MOM!

<Give me a moment while I dance and squeal with glee!>

What Should You Read Next? Six Mini-Reviews to Help You Decide

The past four weeks have brought with them flu, fever, and a heavy workload, but they’ve also brought with them some really wonderful books! So this week, instead of one long book review, I’ve written six mini-reviews: Three books released in 2012, two due for release later in 2013, and one tried-and-true classic. I hope you will enjoy these books as much as I have, and that you’ll share your thoughts with me in the comments.

Books Reviewed in this Post
Glaciers by Alexis Smith
Arcadia by Lauren Groff
The Innocents by Francesca Segal
The Third Son by Julie Wu
A Dual Inheritance by Joanna Hershon
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Happy Reading!

Glaciers by Alexis Smith
This was a perfect gem of a book, a story (and an author) to fall in love with! Perfectly encapsulated in one single day, this book nevertheless takes us back into the narrator Isabel’s childhood, launches us into her sweet hopes for the future, and ends in the bittersweet reality of the present. Glaciers is somewhat like Joyce’s Ulysses in its ability to make one day the embodiment of all days, but with a decidedly feminine twist. Smith’s writing is simply beautiful: It is poetic, vulnerable, dreamy and insightful—a perfect representation of the narrator herself. The story is deceptively simple; a shy girl who loves vintage clothing, the postcards of strangers, and the quiet ex-military man who works with her. But there’s so much more to Isabel, and to the novel, than seems at first glance—it’s all (as the title suggests) just underneath the surface. This book is not to be missed!

Publisher: Tin House Books
Release Date: January 17, 2012

A Fundamental Shift in How I Look at Literature

In the most recent issue of The Believer magazine there is an article by Colin Asher about writer Nelson Algren which states that “... every word Algren wrote was guided by the belief that writing can be literature only if intended as a challenge to authority.” I didn’t know much about Nelson Algren before this, but the article was very good, and it got me thinking about this idea that literature must challenge authority. My first reaction is to disagree. I believe that literature is complex and varied, and that putting parameters or limitations on our definition of it does the idea of literature—and ourselves as readers—a disservice. But. . .

. . . But then I started thinking about all the books and writing that I consider “literature” and I found that most of them DO challenge authority in one way or another, even those works that I consider the most tame. Pride and Prejudice challenges the social and economic conventions of the time. Lolita challenges the idea that a pedophile is a monster who can neither elicit nor deserve sympathy from the moral majority. The Hobbit challenges the assumption that the smallest and quietest among us can’t change the course of history. These are just a few examples, but the more I thought about it the more I began to convince myself that great literature does indeed pose a challenge, if not always to authority, then at least to the status quo.

I’m still not sure that I would agree with Algren’s purported belief that writing can only be literature if intended as a challenge to authority. What about non-fiction, beautifully written biographies, pieces of literature in which all the author wanted to do was write the truth? I don’t believe that writing has to be an act of revolution, or civil disobedience, in order to be literature. However, I’m not as sure, nor as quick to shoot down the assertion as I was. To be honest, I’m having more trouble than I thought coming up with examples of good literature that don’t support Algren’s belief.

I now can’t help but ask myself a question that could lead to a fundamental shift in the way I define literature: Can great literature be truly great literature if it doesn’t challenge our ideas about the world in which we live?

Book of Questions, Book of Miracles, "The Book of Why" by Nicholas Montemarano

In A Nutshell

The Book of Why is one of those rare books that is exactly what it claims to be: It's a book of questions... But with very few answers.

The Whole Enchilada

"This is a self-help book. Didn't think it was, but it is. It's also a revision, a question, a confession, an apology, a love letter."

This is how The Book of Why by Nicholas Montemarano begins. But don't let that beginning fool you; this is a book that asks more questions than it answers. Our narrator and main character Eric Newborn is a successful author and "your thoughts create your own reality" self-help guru who, after the death of his wife, has gone off his own philosophy. At least this is what he claims on the outside. On the inside, Eric is still afraid to think negative thoughts for fear that they might manifest, still afraid that his wife killed herself with her own lack of belief, or worse yet, that Eric himself killed her  because he wasn't strong enough (or didn't want enough) to will her back to health with the power of his positive thinking.

Book Review: Auraria by Tim Westover

In a Nutshell

Westover's Auraria is like having a great novel, a night of ghost stories around a campfire, and a college course in Appalachian folktales all rolled into one.

The Whole Enchilada

We all love fairy tales and legends when we're kids, but as we get older the fairy tales--and I'm talking about truly compelling fairy tales, not the simple, syrupy plotlines so many bad romantic comedies are based on--seem to dry up. Some might argue that the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre can satisfy the grown-up desire for magic and wonder, but what you get from Sci-Fi/Fantasy isn't quite the same as what you get from Fairy Tales. Fairy Tales and Legends tend to be local rather than off-world (or alternate world), and the skeleton of the Fairy Tale is often familiar. In fact, it's this very familiarity which makes the Fairy Tale so alluring... The protagonist of the story could just as easily be ourselves--our house, our grandmother, our innocence, our own deep dark woods.

My Literary ABCdery

16th Century Illuminated Alphabet

A is for Austen, Jane Austen.

B is for Book Clubs. Really good book clubs, with challenging books, insightful discussion, passionate readers... and wine, of course. (I'm looking at you, Rediscovering the Classics members!)

C is for Canon. The literary Canon may be controversial, it may be weighted toward white European men, and it may sometimes be hopelessly stuck in the mud; but oh! It's filled with so much beauty, history and emotion! It simply can't be ignored, and at the very least it's a great place to start your journey.

D is for Dark chocolate, an end-of-the-day reading necessity.

E is for T.S. Eliot, whose "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" has been the first and last word on poetry for me since I originally came across it at the age of fifteen.

            "I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,     

             And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

             And in short, I was afraid." (It still gives me chills.)