![]() Golems are compelling to writers both because they rely explicitly on words to give them life and because they're simultaneously more and less than human – super-strong, sub-normally mute, manlike in form but crude and unformed in outline. Erasing one letter from the Hebrew legend "emet" on a golem's brow changes its meaning from "truth" to "death", destroying its bearer. Originating in Jewish folklore, they are kneaded, like Adam, out of mud or other inanimate matter, and enlivened by words – often holy writ, either written on their foreheads or placed within their mouths. Of all fantastical life-forms, golems are my favourite.
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