Most Popular Books by Helene Wecker

‘One of only two novels I''ve ever loved whose main characters are not human’ BARBARA KINGSOLVER For fans of The Essex Serpent and The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock. ‘By far my favourite book of of the year’ Guardian

"Richly nuanced and beautiful. . . . An immersive and magical tale of loneliness, love, and finding hope.” (Buzzfeed) “A layered novel of many complex characters…To keep their worlds safe, Chava and Ahmad must access both their greatest supernatural powers and their deepest human impulses.” (Historical Novels Review) In this enthralling historical epic, set in New York City and the Middle East in the years leading to World War I— the long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Golem and the Jinni—Helene Wecker revisits her beloved characters Chava and Ahmad as they confront unexpected new challenges in a rapidly changing human world. Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, who can hear the thoughts and longings of those around her and feels compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a restless creature of fire, once free to roam the desert but now imprisoned in the shape of a man. Fearing they’ll be exposed as monsters, these magical beings hide their true selves and try to pass as human—just two more immigrants in the bustling world of 1900s Manhattan. Brought together under calamitous circumstances, their lives are now entwined—but they’re not yet certain of what they mean to each other. Both Chava and Ahmad have changed the lives of the people around them. Park Avenue heiress Sophia Winston, whose brief encounter with Ahmad left her with a strange illness that makes her shiver with cold, travels to the Middle East to seek a cure. There she meets Dima, a tempestuous female jinni who’s been banished from her tribe. Back in New York, in a tenement on the Lower East Side, a little girl named Kreindel helps her rabbi father build a golem they name Yossele—not knowing that she’s about to be sent to an orphanage uptown, where the hulking Yossele will become her only friend and protector. Spanning the tumultuous years from the turn of the twentieth century to the beginning of World War I, The Hidden Palace follows these lives and others as they collide and interleave. Can Chava and Ahmad find their places in the human world while remaining true to each other? Or will their opposing natures and desires eventually tear them apart—especially once they encounter, thrillingly, other beings like themselves?

Chava, a golem brought to life by a disgraced rabbi, and Ahmad, a jinni made of fire, form an unlikely friendship on the streets of New York until a fateful choice changes everything.

«Storia, magia e religione si incontrano nei caseggiati della vecchia New York». New York Times «Dalle primissime pagine fino alla conclusione travolgente, Il genio e il golem è un romanzo sorprendente che trascina il lettore in un mondo alternativo». Tom Reiss

Lorsqu''elle se réveille en cette fin du XIXe siècle, Chava est enfermée dans une malle au fond d''un navire qui les emmène, elle et son nouveau mari, vers New York, loin de la Pologne. Faite d''argile, c''est une golème, créée par un rabbin qui s''est détourné de Dieu pour se consacrer à l''occultisme. Lorsqu''il se réveille, le djinn est violemment projeté sur le sol de l''atelier d''Arbeely, un artisan syrien. L''instant d''avant, c''est-àdire mille ans plus tôt, cet être de feu aux pouvoirs exceptionnels errait dans le désert. La golème et le djinn, fantastiques immigrés, se rencontrent au hasard d''une rue. Eux seuls se voient tels qu''ils sont réellement. Chacun sait que l''autre n''est pas humain. Tous deux incapables de dormir, ils se donnent rendez-vous une fois par semaine, la nuit, pour arpenter les rues de Manhattan, qu''ils découvrent avec émerveillement. Mais une menace plane sur eux. Le créateur de la golème, d''un âge très avancé, est prêt à tout pour échapper à la mort. Et il a vu où se cachait le secret de la vie éternelle : à New York. Un conte initiatique, une fresque historique, un récit choral et une merveilleuse histoire d''amour pour un premier roman éblouissant.

Zonder twijfel mijn favoriete boek van het jaar.'' Damien Walter, The Guardian Het is 1899, de vooravond van de twintigste eeuw, en de stad New York is nog nooit zo fascinerend geweest. Chava is een golem, een door haar meester uit klei gemaakte vrouw. Ahmad is een djinn, een wezen van vuur, geboren in de Syrische woestijn. De golem en de djinn vertelt het onvergetelijke verhaal van twee bovennatuurlijke wezens die in 1899 afzonderlijk van elkaar in New York aankomen. Ze worstelen met het vinden van hun weg in de nieuwe, vreemde omgeving, maar een gedeeld lot brengt hen samen. Dit caleidoscopische en betoverende verhaal verweeft historische fictie met magische fabels uit de Joodse en Arabische traditie. ''De treffende, invoelbare menselijkheid van de magische personages zorgt ervoor dat je tot de laatste pagina meeleeft, én dat je het betreurt dat je die laatste pagina hebt bereikt.'' The New York Times ''Een getalenteerde, nieuwe stem komt overtuigend tot uiting in deze bijzondere roman.'' The Washington Post ''Tot de verbeelding sprekend en een genot om te lezen, maar ook sterk opgebouwd en intelligent.'' Huffington Post ''Onweerstaanbaar prettig om te lezen. Er zijn zo veel spannende en onverwachte wendingen dat je aan het eind van deze roman met tegenzin terugkeert naar de realiteit. Een heerlijke leeservaring.'' Berliner Zeitung

A free sampler containing extracts from the very best fiction debuts of 2013

A free sampler containing extracts from the very best fiction from around the world, from million copy international bestsellers to the most exciting debut fiction in 2013

"Story Behind the Book: Volume 4" collects nearly 40 essays about writing and editing fiction from some of the most talented authors working today. These essays reveal intricacies and secrets behind the craft and offer a unique and unprecedented insight into the creative process. Includes following "Story Behind the Book" essays: "The Professor of Truth" by James Robertson "The Bug" by Ellen Ullman "The Golem and the Jinni" by Helene Wecker "The Center of the World" by Thomas Van Essen "Enchantment" by Pietro Grossi "The Delphi Room" by Melia McClure "A Fatal Likeness" by Lynn Shepherd "The Scent of Death" by Andrew Taylor "The Map of the Sky" by Felix J. Palma "Murder by the Book" by Eric Brown "This Strange Way of Dying" by Silvia Moreno Garcia "The Broken Ones" by Stephen M. Irwin "The ''Geisters" by David Nickle "Blackwater Lights" by Michael Hughes "Cain''s Blood" by Geoffrey Girard "Rivers" by Michael Farris Smith "Your Brother''s Blood" by David Towsey "Strange Mammals" by Jason Erik Lundberg "The Carpet Makers" by Andreas Eschbach "The Ravenglass Eye" by Tom Fletcher "The One-Eyed Man" by L. E. Modesitt Jr. "Copperhead" by Tina Connolly "The Tide King" by Jen Michalski "Gallow" by Nathan Hawke "Elysian Fields" by Suzanne Johnson "Theirs Not to Reason Why" by Jean Johnson "Aliens: Recent Encounters" by Alex Dally MacFarlane "Clockwork Fairy Tales" by Stephen L. Antczak "23 Years on Fire" by Joel Shepherd "The Shifted World" by Philippa Ballantine "Bang Bang" by Patrick Malloy "Gods of Earth" by Craig DeLancey "Wisp of a Thing" by Alex Bledsoe "Dream London" by Tony Ballantyne "Persistence of Memory" by Winona Kent "Disability in Science Fiction: Representations of Technology as Cure" by Kathryn Allan "King Breaker" by Rowena Cory Daniells "Gideon Smith & the Mechanical Girl" by David Barnett

Chava, un golem tra?do a la vida por un rabino deshonrado, y Ahmad, un jinni hecho de fuego, forma una amistad improbable sobre las calles de Nueva York hasta que una opci?n prof?tica cambie todo.

"Realidade e magia neste aclamado livro de fantasia histórica. Os confrontos e as barreiras vividas por duas culturas tão próximas, ainda que aparentemente opostas. Em Golem e o Gênio, premiado romance fantástico que a DarkSide Books traz ao Brasil em 2015, o leitor se transporta à Nova York da virada do século XX, em uma viagem fascinante através das culturas árabe e judaica. Seus guias serão poderosos seres mitológicos. Chava é uma golem, criatura feita de barro, trazida à vida por um estranho rabino envolvido com os estudos alquímicos da Cabala. Ahmad é um gênio, ser feito de fogo, nascido no deserto sírio, preso em uma antiga garrafa de cobre por um beduíno, séculos atrás. Atraídos pelo destino à parte mais pobre de uma Manhattan construída por imigrantes, Ahmad e Chava se tornam improváveis amigos e companheiros de alma, desafiando suas naturezas opostas. Até a noite em que um terrível incidente os separa. Mas uma poderosa ameaça vai reuni-los novamente, colocando em risco suas existências e obrigando-os a fazer uma escolha definitiva. O romance de estreia de Helene Wecker reúne mitologia popular, ficção histórica e fábula mágica, entrelaçando as culturas árabe e judaica com uma narrativa inventiva e inesquecível, escrita de maneira primorosa. Golem e o Gênio foi eleito uma das melhores fantasias históricas pelo Goodreads e ganhou o Prêmio da VCU Cabell de Melhor Romance de Estreia." -- goodreads.com

De la Pologne à New York, Chava, mystérieuse femme d''argile affranchie par la disparition de son créateur, un rabbin qui s''est détourné de sa foi, prend peu à peu conscience du monde. Après des siècles de réclusion, Ahmad, djinn de feu aux pouvoirs étranges, est libéré de sa prison par accident, dans l''atelier d''un artisan oriental. Dans les dédales du Manhattan de l''époque, la rencontre de hasard de ces deux êtres d''exception, seuls à se voir tels qu''ils sont vraiment, va inspirer une magnifique histoire d''amour et de liberté sur fond de choc des cultures, au coeur d''un âge de tous les possibles.

"Впервые на русском — продолжение «лучшего дебюта в жанре магического реализма со времен „Джонатана Стренджа и мистера Норрелла“ Сюзанны Кларк» (BookPage).Хава — голем, созданный из глины в Старом свете; она уже не так боится нью-йоркских толп, но по-прежнему ощущает человеческие желания и стремится помогать людям. Джинн Ахмад — существо огненной природы; на тысячу лет заточенный в медной лампе, теперь он заточен в человеческом облике в районе Нью-Йорка, известном как Маленькая Сирия. Хава и Ахмад пытаются разобраться в своих отношениях — а также меняют жизни людей, с которыми их сталкивает судьба. Так, наследница многомиллионного состояния София Уинстон, после недолгих встреч с Ахмадом страдающая таинственным заболеванием, отправляется в поисках лечения на Ближний Восток — и встречает там молодую джиннию, которая не боится железа и потому была изгнана из своего племени..." --

På slutten av 1800-tallet reiser Chava fra Polen til New York. Chava er en golem, en magisk skapning som er laget av leire. En rabbiner har blåst liv i henne fordi han ønsker seg en kone og en ny start i Amerika. Han dør imidlertid under overfarten, og Chava ankommer storbyen helt alene. Der møter hun Ahmad, som er skapt av ild. Dette blir starten på et uvanlig vennskap. Gjennom øynene til disse to ser vi menneskene på en ny måte, med alle våre pussige egenskaper og fikse ideer. Dette er en fantasyfortelling med innslag av virkelighet, eventyr og religiøs mystikk.