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Now that was indeed a five star read! I am always a bit worried when a sequel to a beloved book arrives close a decade later. But for anyone who loved the first book, the Golem and the Jinni, the author writes so the important elements of the first book are slowly revealed so that nothing is lost and the stage is set. And what a beautiful stage and set it is. The book was filled with a continuation through another 15 years that allows history and old and new characters to develop. I rather thought the relationship between the golem and the jinni that had begun in the first book, resembled a modern day marriage and partnership. Where the love is there, but it's hard work. There are arguments, misunderstandings, resentments, and unfulfilled desires. That their love was the most human part about them, bringing them into the world in an entirely human far from divine kind of way. That they needed to learn about human love and its limits and frailties, along with what makes it so divine and magical. I thought the character development of each of them trying to confront the truth of their realities, alone and together, was somehow sort of perfect, if not extremely well done. The story continued to be both magical and psychological. Big rings that lead to special stages have not been implemented completely yet, but code and art for it exists in the ROM. Nor does she neglect the maturation of her two main characters. What she focuses on is their development as artists. It turns out that dedication to, and passion for, their separate artforms is what was missing from—or only partly fulfilled by—the earlier lives of golem and jinni. Chava pursues her passion for teaching and cooking—the later nurturing artform ironic, in that her own nature needs no such sustenance. Meanwhile, Ahmad plunges into a hyperbolic dream of ironwork, creating the hidden palace of the title. This book then comes to function as a tale of two artists in a relationship where neither is willing to sacrifice for the other—until they learn better. and he’d been momentarily baffled by the speed with which his solitude had crumbled. Was this what it was like, he wondered, to have neighbours, acquaintances? To allow oneself to be talked about and watched over? It felt ... disconcerting.
One hand brushed along her hip; his fingers found a divot where the metal spar had pierced her. He winced, and moved his hand away. “Does that hurt?” He made her feel so young and inexperienced sometimes, so very unsure of herself. He’d lived for centuries, but she knew next to nothing of his earlier life, only a scant handful of facts. Likely he could tell her tales to fill a year’s worth of nights—so why didn’t he? Did it pain him too much? Or did he think that the stories would pain her? She knew that he’d had lovers, knew that he’d lived in a manner that humans would call immoral; that much, at least, he’d made clear. Did he think her too naive to hear the details? Worse, was he right to? The mystery of Rosalie was fascinating. I enjoyed her story so much, from her stifling life in Paris to the excitement and danger of her life in Malta. I loved how her story and Florence’s came together as Florence finally made it to the island to look for her.
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Nintendo, being a video game company that originates from the Kyoto Prefecture in Japan, approaches game design from the point of view of an entertainer. Nintendo games and hardware are designed primarily, and purely, to entertain. The characters they created aided them in that goal, and it paid off in spades. Of course, other companies were fully aware of this fact, and Nintendo made it no secret. So it was inevitable that other companies would try to find a character that they could call their own. Most video game characters whose sole purpose was to be the mascot for a video game company would often combine traits that represent that particular game company. This character would not only serve as that company’s mascot, but would also attract existing players and newcomers to try that company’s other games. Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, able to hear the thoughts and longings of the people around her and compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a perpetually restless and free-spirited creature of fire, imprisoned in the shape of a man. Fearing they’ll be exposed as monsters, these magical beings hide their true selves and pretend to be human—just two more immigrants in the bustling world of 1900s Manhattan. Sonic doesn’t die if he falls into a bottomless pit. Instead he just warps to the top of the stage.
Yes, this a fantasy book, and the magic powers of these supernatural creatures are a central part of the story, but just as important are the real, historical communities where Chava and Ahmad live. The amount of research done for the story is truly amazing. Proprio con quest’ultimo Riva instaura da subito uno splendido e meraviglioso rapporto di amicizia che successivamente diventa di lavoro. Ma la ragazza ha un compito importante affidatole dalla madre Claudette da portare a termine: andare a Malta in cerca della zia Rosalie (alias Riva Janvier) della quale nessuno ha più notizie. The unique level fade in and out does not exist in the prototype. Instead, the normal level fade in and out is used. It was an interesting plot and I enjoyed both the timelines. However, there did seem to be a couple of ideas that were introduced into the novel and then not developed. Rosalie’s friend Charlotte was one of these. She seemed to pop up whenever the plot required her to but her storylLevel select can be activated by pressing A+START on the title screen. For the final version, a level select code is used instead (UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, A+START). There is no code for a level select cheat. Debug mode can still be entered by holding A button while selecting a level from the level select.
It was good to revisit the characters of Chava the golem and Ahmad the jinni as their relationship develops and they continue to try to fit in among the humans of early 20th century America. The historical setting is meticulously recreated, from the immigrant neighborhoods of New York to the towns and deserts of Syria, where Sophia seeks a cure for her malady. Significant events are woven into the story, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the sinking of the Titanic, and characters encounter notable figures like T.E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell. Speaking of golems, Chava is trying her best to be as human as possible, given her natural limitations. Q: When you thought about writing a golem character, did you think about other legends and myths about people being created out of inanimate matter? Adam from earth? The famous Golem of Prague, the greek myth of Prometheus, or Pygmalion? Frankenstein’s monster? Or even the idea of creating a modern robot? Did you want to write from those traditions or come up with something completely different?
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The Golem and the Jinni took place over about a year, but The Hidden Palace covers more like 15. Why did you want to move your timeline forward so rapidly this time out? This sequel, “The Hidden Palace”, to “The Golem and the Jinni” is on steroids……and as enchanting as can be. Thea wants me to come to supper,” she told the Jinni sourly one winter night, as they walked the Mall beneath the snowy elms. “She’s planning, in secret, to invite a neighbor of hers, a man she thinks of as ‘poor lonely Eugene.’ You can guess her motives.” A little bit of brutal honesty here: I've never been much of a fan of Magical Realism. I can count on only two hands the number of MR books that I thought were truly great. The rest either felt pretentious or vapid or an excuse to write a banal book and slap a little bit of magic in there to have it slide into the specific genre like an evil-ass bird egg-bombing another species' nest. Without the wonderful descriptions of our two protagonists learning to make their way in the world and the histories of their kind, we are left this time with their tangential presence to real world historical events. This could have worked beautifully, but alas. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Titanic, the construction of the train station. In other words, the exact same events that always get used in novels of this era. Their presence here adds nothing to their story or to the imagined story of the characters. It’s a boring, safe route to go in an era when there are loads of other interesting goings-on to incorporate into a novel.
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