Nudrat’s Reviews > The Golem and the Jinni > Status Update

"She shook her head, but then leaned into him, as though taking shelter. He drew her close, the crown of her head beneath his cheek...He thought, if he could pick a moment to be taken into the flask, a moment to live in endlessly, perhaps he would choose this one: the passing city, and the woman at his side."

Gahh, the golem and the jinni are giving me such shippy feels.

"Every fiber of his being yearned to turn east, to go to the window on Broome; to stand underneath it until she came down to meet him. The longing for her, as stark as any he'd ever felt, brought a confused anger."

All of the characters are so carefully and specifically drawn, and not just the two main ones or the handful of supporting ones, but even the minor ones. Everybody seems so real. In the minor ones, Maryam Faddoul is my favorite:
"It was clear that Maryam's smile shone from her belief in the better nature of those around her."

Man, she's so good at the world-building. Of all the books I've read about New York City, this one definitely stands out in the way it captures the feel of the city. It has such a quietly assured sense of place. And it's so much fun comparing my images of the city's specific places with the characters' descriptions of them - Ahmed discovering the Mall and Bethesda Terrace in Central Park was especially exciting.

Let the Epic Reread Marathon begin!

Also, this book is the best, I've regularly thought about it since I first read it last year.