#chava levy

Just got ahold of the second The Golem and the Jinni book and it has reminded me of my musings on what exactly Chava was built with. She has the modesty and curiosity requested, and she has a general knowledge of the world that she would need as a wife, she can sew, she can bake, etc. but she doesn’t seem to have been imbued with the basics of *jewish* life, which I find confusing. Wouldn’t Rothschild have wanted a good *jewish* wife? Why then does she not know the prayers, the rules around shiva, etc? She has to learn how to be Jewish in a way I would have expected to be in her nature as a golem. Is it a purposeful oversight on her creator’s part to show how out of touch he was? An oversight of the author’s? It just strikes me as odd.

me, immediately after finishing the hidden palace: ok but will there be a third one

I just finished reading The Golem and The Djinni, and i have to say it was absolutely amazing. This book took a completely different approach to telling a story and wasn't based solely on plot progression, but rather building characters with a considerable amount of depth while still lacing together a larger story. Amazing book, but one thing left me extremely disappointed: Helene Wecker left me with a burning desire to see Ahmad's true name written across the last few pages of the book. the things i would do just to find out what his real name was. He is by far my favorite character in the novel and i feel like his name is some magical thing, whose sound would send shivers down my spine; so perhaps not knowing is what keeps that feeling alive.