Reddit reviews The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel (P.S.)

The Golem and the Jinni

Winter's Tale

And as someone else mentioned The Shadow of the Wind and the follow-ups Angel's Game and The Prisoner of Heaven - they're basically Guillermo del Toro movies waiting to happen.

Have you read Gregory Maguire's Wicked or The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker? Both have a strong literary bent and a ton of allusions to other works.

Wicked is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz with the Wicked Witch of the West as a political activist protagonist. The Golem and the Jinni is about immigrant life in 1899 New York... Except the immigrants are a newly-formed Jewish golem and a just-released vaguely Bedouin jinni.

Link for Nook:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-golem-and-the-jinni-helene-wecker/1112581266?ean=9780062110855&itm=1&usri=the+golem+and+the+jinni

It is the same price on Kindle as well:
http://www.amazon.com/Golem-Djinni-Helene-Wecker-ebook/dp/B008QXVDJ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418748008&sr=8-1&keywords=the+golem+and+the+jinni

I picked this up, I've heard many good things!

The ebook is also currently on sale.

http://www.amazon.com/Golem-Jinni-P-S-Helene-Wecker-ebook/dp/B008QXVDJ0/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-golem-and-the-jinni-helene-wecker/1112581266

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-golem-and-the-jinni

Well, not too Orthodox, but ones I have on my ereader which I liked...

• Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters by Elie Wiesel. It's a really easy and engaging read. It doesn't go deep enough to get dry; which is either good or bad depending on what you're after. I worked at an old, historic building in the middle of nowhere. This was a great book to wander through in the woods.
  
  
• Tales of the Hasidim by Martin Buber. Buber goes deeper than Wiesel. It can be a little terse. Most of the book contains Hasidic stories presented in a few paragraphs. Buber was, first and foremost, a philosopher and scholar. He loved Hasidism and Judaism, but his approach was not Orthodox.
  
  
• Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion by Rabbi Joshua Trachtenberg. So, I adored this book. It explores (primarily) Jewish folklore around 1000 CE among the Rhineland Jews (Hasidei Ashkenaz). This community put forth work of the so called "Practical Kabbalah". The book examines Medieval Jewish beliefs in demons, angels, invocation magic, ghosts, amulets, and more. What I found interesting was that the approach was always very Jewish. In otherwords, they did not believe there existed a duality between the Devil with demons and God with angels. God remained supreme and One over all else in their superstitions. This book also traces some Jewish practices to their superstitious origins and contains many fascinating stories. It can be dry though. It's also available (legally) for free online!
  
  
• EVERYTHING BY DANIEL C. MATT. He's at the forefront of academic study of Jewish mysticism. He also translates beautifully. He's currently (and likely until the end of time) creating a new English translation of the Zohar. He has numerous short books containing brief translations of mystical Jewish texts. The Essential Kabbalah was short, sweet, pretty, and fun.
  
  
• The Jew in the Lotus by Rodger Kamenetz. In 1990 the first known meeting between a Jewish delegation and the Dalai Lama occurred. The delegation consisted of rabbis from different denominations with different views. They each present different aspects of Judaism. Kamenetz chronicles the historic event, but in a personal way. Through being a part of this endeavor, he learned about Buddhism and rekindled his connection to Judaism.
  
  
• The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel by Helene Wecker. BUY THIS BOOK. It's fiction (unlike the others). It's an immigrant story told using magical realism. A golem finds herself in the Jewish district of New York City in 1899. Meanwhile, a jinni is trapped in human form in the Syrian district. They are each new to the world in communities new to America. It's a beautiful book.

The Golem and the Jinni was an excellent book!

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Read The Golem and the Jinni - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008QXVDJ0 TWO immortal protagonists for the price of one. Plus it is a wonderful story.

The Golem and the Jinni (fantasy New York in 1899) comes immediately to mind.

Well since no one else has taken you up on this...
I was not able to find much for .99 but here are three (all under 3.00), any of which I would very much enjoy if you feel so inclined and are willing to change your 99 cent policy haha!
The Golem and the Jinni,
Tolkien's Letters, and/or
The City Stained Red.
Thanks for your kind consideration!

Haxan by Kenneth Mark Hoover is a pretty good Weird Western that needs more love/reviews. Also give these a try:

The Goblin Emperor

The Library on Mount Char

Academic Exercises - ($2,99 right now!)

Uprooted

The Golem & The Jinni

The Incorruptibles