Over Christmas and New Year I had almost two weeks off work, so I thought I’d power through four or five books. I’d wrap up cosily from the world in chunky knits and soft blankets; move from bed to sofa to rocking chair; interrupted only by dog walks and meal times. Ha! I think I forgot that Christmas is also a time for trying to see all the family and friends for quality time. And that’s lovely, but does mean despite the truly terrible weather keeping the dog walks short, reading time was also short.

But I did finish one book, a 644-page saga with magical fantasy elements woven into an otherwise realist historical setting. And it was a great read that thoroughly absorbed me.

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker is, as the title suggests, about a golem and a djinni. Though mostly set in New York City in 1899, it also has scenes in what was then Prussia and locations in the Middle East that again straddle modern country borders. Manhattan is the perfect place for characters living in a Jewish neighbourhood with strong European roots and in Little Syria, with its Arabic roots, to encounter each other and discover that they have much in common.

The Golem is created to be the perfect obedient wife, but circumstances mean she arrives alone in New York just a few days after being brought to life. She looks like a woman in her 20s, but her severely limited life experience plus her innate sense of what every human wants, make life tough for her at first. She slowly makes friends and a life, but she struggles with her sense of self – she was, after all, created to follow one master’s orders, not to be a person of her own.

“The wishes and fears of 500 passengers hit her like a maelstrom.

“I wish I could fall asleep. If only she would stop throwing up. Will that man ever quit snoring? I need a glass of water. How long until we reach New York? What if the ship goes down? If we were alone, we could make love. Oh God, I want to go back home.

“The Golem let go of the latch, turned, and ran.”

Around the same time, a metalsmith called Arbeely begins to clean up an old copper flask for a regular customer and out pops a djinni. He looks like a tall, handsome man, can speak any language and can intricately mould metal with his bare hands. But he is thousands of miles from home with only a partial memory of the events that led to his imprisonment more than a thousand years earlier. The Djinni is full of brash, angry ego and reluctant to stick around but he is still under the ancient wizard’s spell. Working with Arbeely is the logical way for him to pass as human while he figures out the modern world.

“The Djinni watched, and listened, and decided they were a fascinating paradox. What drove these short-lived creatures to be so oddly self-destructive, with their punishing journeys and brutal battles? And how, at barely 18 or 20 years of age, could they grow to be so intelligent and cunning?”

The Golem and the Djinni adopt human names, but they never truly feel that the names are who they are. Just as they never truly feel that the places they live are their homes. Neither of them sleeps and both fear humans discovering their true identity. So when they stumble into each other one night, they have a lot in common. And yet at first it is their differences that stand out.

The Golem is reserved, careful, keen to please every human she comes near to. She follows rules and tries not to let anyone see her superhuman strength and speed, even if it means living a dull routine that repeats every day and night. The Djinni is bored, reckless, hungry for experience and ignorant of the effect he can have on some humans.

Considering current world events it was interesting to read a story so thoroughly steeped in Jewish and Arabic folklore. In both mythologies magic itself is neither good nor bad. Problems begin when people aspire to more power.

Published 2013 by HarperCollins.

Source: birthday present.