"The Golem and the Jinni" Part I Book Club Ideas {by Helene Wecker}

This books Moderator was Robin (above) who went ALL out for this magical book!

Just a little plug but I'm so proud of her, but everyone needs to know that Robin is getting her first book published titled, "Remembrandt" THIS fall and we are all so proud of her! Check out her website HERE to learn more about Robin and her book!

Check out the official Golem & the Jinni book trailer

If you haven't heard of this book before you might be asking yourself,

"What IS a golem or a Jinni for that matter??"

Good question, we wondered the same thing before we started reading.

From the title we wondered if a Golem was similar to theone we knew from the LOTR (it is NOT) lol, and we thought the jinni might look something out of Aladdin (not the case.

The photos below are a closer representation to what a Golem and Jinni traditionally looks in mythology (not necessarily in Weckers book.) Helene used the traditional ideas of a Golem and a Jinni and created characters with curiosity, an independent mind and humanity. 

She also created them to look more human so that they could blend into society.

The Golem:

In Jewish myth and folklore, a golem is a human-like figure that is brought to life by powerful magic. They are powerful but simple-minded, and must obey their masters in all things. Golems are usually made from clay, though they can also be made of wood or even ash. The magic that brings life to a golem comes from Kabbalah, a mystical, esoteric branch of Jewish teaching.

The Jinni:In Middle Eastern and Muslim mythology, a jinni (also djinni or genie) is a spirit made of smokeless flame. A jinni (or, to use the plural, jinn) is usually invisible to humans, but can be seen when it wants to be. In Muslim belief, God created the jinn from fire, as humans were created from earth and angels from light.

DECORATING IDEAS:

Stepping in the door for book club this month felt like stepping into another world, everything looked AMAZING! Robin spend days creating a middle eastern lounge for all of us.

There were little touches and details everywhere you looked that related to the characters and the book.

I came to book club wearing my "Jinni bands" 

I also came to book club dressed in a modern version of a jinni outfit (it was the best I could come up with being 20 weeks pregnant okay! All I want to wear are stretchy pants!) 

You can see in the picture below that I'm rubbing the magic flask hoping to free a jinni.

 (Big surprise, it didn't work, wamp, wamp.) 

ACTIVITY

Since Golems are usually made out of clay, we thought it would be fun to have our own Golem making station! 

Each book club member created their own Golem or clay creation and then we all voted on the one we liked best. You can see some examples of the "sculptures" created by some of our members below.

(There were giggles for days looking at all of them!) 

In the end, we voted on Brooke's (seriously good looking) sculpt of Chava, the Golem from the book.

She deserved to win with skills like that!

Brooke won the prize below.

Way to go Brooke!

The Golem and the Jinni is a powerful, vivid novel that pulls religion, folklore and magic into a fascinating point in American history and will pull you right in along with it.

Want to see more photos, menu ideas and inspiration for The Golem and the Jinni? 

 Then check out PART II of this post!