Recent reading
Oct. 2nd, 2016 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaThe Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
I feel like everybody was reading this a couple of years ago, but I never got around to it. But now we read it for my fannish book club, and everybody including me loved it! Short summary: it's about a golem and a jinni in immigrant communities in turn-of-the-last-century New York. I really liked how rooted it is in daily life, and how we get both an inside and an outside (through the golem and jinni) view of that daily life. I would call this urban fantasy, if that wouldn't give people the wrong idea about it.
For some reason I thought this was going to be straight-up romance, and I'm so glad it wasn't. Yes, I guess it does go into romance mode at the very end, but I can wave that away. Not that I would mind it if they had sex or became some sort of life partners, just that a standard romance narrative fits them badly, I think. I really liked how many of the minor characters, like Anna and Sophia and Saleh, got fleshed out and played roles in the ending.
Apparently there will be a sequel at some point, and I'm interested to see how that will go.
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (audiobook)
I came across the audiobook for this and thought, why not. It's pretty much "plucky Victorian girl adventures", and I liked it fine. Though I don't feel compelled to read/listen to more of the series.
I feel like everybody was reading this a couple of years ago, but I never got around to it. But now we read it for my fannish book club, and everybody including me loved it! Short summary: it's about a golem and a jinni in immigrant communities in turn-of-the-last-century New York. I really liked how rooted it is in daily life, and how we get both an inside and an outside (through the golem and jinni) view of that daily life. I would call this urban fantasy, if that wouldn't give people the wrong idea about it.
For some reason I thought this was going to be straight-up romance, and I'm so glad it wasn't. Yes, I guess it does go into romance mode at the very end, but I can wave that away. Not that I would mind it if they had sex or became some sort of life partners, just that a standard romance narrative fits them badly, I think. I really liked how many of the minor characters, like Anna and Sophia and Saleh, got fleshed out and played roles in the ending.
Apparently there will be a sequel at some point, and I'm interested to see how that will go.
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (audiobook)
I came across the audiobook for this and thought, why not. It's pretty much "plucky Victorian girl adventures", and I liked it fine. Though I don't feel compelled to read/listen to more of the series.
