The Golem and the Jinni Chapter 16 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • The Jinni shows up for his weekly walk, and he's wearing a jazzy hat.
  • They walk to Washington Square Park to check out the fabulous arch, and they, too, talk about faith and religion.
  • A man named Maloof visits Arbeely's shop with a request: He wants a new ceiling installed, "a true Work of Art" (16.68).
  • Arbeely doesn't think he has time for that request, but the Jinni has an idea.
  • He takes all the tin and makes a single giant panel, embossed with an image of a vast desert landscape.
  • It's pretty awesome, but Arbeely is angry that the Jinni wasted all that tin, so they argue, and the Jinni leaves.
  • Meanwhile, Saleh is startled to see the glowing man again. He stows his ice cream churn with Maryam Faddoul and decides to follow him.
  • While the Jinni is gone, Arbeely goes to Maloof and drags him to the shop to see the tin ceiling.
  • Although it isn't what Maloof requested, he wants to meet the artist behind it.
  • The Jinni decides to go to Sophia's mansion. He climbs to her balcony, but she's not there, and instead the housekeeper is. Oops.
  • She raises an alarm, and the Jinni makes a break for it. He bumps into Saleh, and ends up hoisting him over his shoulder and carrying him away.
  • They hide out in Central Park, and the Jinni demands to know how Saleh can see him.
  • Turns out that Saleh is possessed by a lower ifrit (though we're not sure if that makes it more or less boring than the ifrit on True Blood…)
  • To demonstrate his ability, the Jinni melts a spoon in his hands. Saleh tries to run… and smacks right into a pole and passes out.
  • The Jinni carries him to the coffee shop and leaves him there.
  • As he goes back to Arbeely's shop, the Jinni wonders why he didn't just kill Saleh. (Maybe because that would be like killing that 18th-century Ben or Jerry…)
  • At the shop, Arbeely tells him that Maloof bought the ceiling, and that he still wants the Jinni's help.
  • He'll even put his name on the sign.