The golden house
Ratings7
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings7
Average rating3.9
"A modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture--a hurtling, page-turning mystery that is equal parts The Great Gatsby and The Bonfire of the Vanities On the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, an enigmatic billionaire from foreign shores takes up residence in the architectural jewel of "the Gardens," a cloistered community in New York's Greenwich Village. The neighborhood is a bubble within a bubble, and the residents are immediately intrigued by the eccentric newcomer and his family. Along with his improbable name, untraceable accent, and unmistakable whiff of danger, Nero Golden has brought along his three adult sons: agoraphobic, alcoholic Petya, a brilliant recluse with a tortured mind; Apu, the flamboyant artist, sexually and spiritually omnivorous, famous on twenty blocks; and D, at twenty-two the baby of the family, harboring an explosive secret even from himself. There is no mother, no wife; at least not until Vasilisa, a sleek Russian expat, snags the septuagenarian Nero, becoming the queen to his king--a queen in want of an heir. Our guide to the Goldens' world is their neighbor Rene, an ambitious young filmmaker. Researching a movie about the Goldens, he ingratiates himself into their household. Seduced by their mystique, he is inevitably implicated in their quarrels, their infidelities, and, indeed, their crimes. Meanwhile, like a bad joke, a certain comic-book villain embarks upon a crass presidential run that turns New York upside-down. Set against the strange and exuberant backdrop of current American culture and politics, The Golden House also marks Salman Rushdie's triumphant and exciting return to realism. The result is a modern epic of love and terrorism, loss and reinvention--a powerful, timely story told with the daring and panache that make Salman Rushdie a force of light in our dark new age. Advance praise for The Golden House "A ravishingly well-told, deeply knowledgeable, magnificently insightful, and righteously outraged epic which poses timeless questions about the human condition. As Rushdie's blazing tale surges toward its crescendo, life, as it always has, rises stubbornly from the ashes, as does love."--Booklist (starred review) "Where Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities sent up the go-go, me-me Reagan/Bush era, Rushdie's latest novel captures the existential uncertainties of the anxious Obama years. A sort of Great Gatsby for our time: everyone is implicated, no one is innocent, and no one comes out unscathed."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"--
"When the aristocratic Golden family moves into a self contained pocket of New York City, a park in Greenwich Village called "The Gardens," their past is an absolute mystery. They seem to be hiding in plain sight: Nero Golden, the powerful but shady patriarch, and his sons Petya, a high functioning autistic and recluse; Apu, the successful artist who may or may not be profound; and D, the enchanting youngest son whose gender confusion mirrors the confusion - and possibilities - of the world around him. And finally there is Vasilisa, the Russian beauty who seduces the patriarch to shape their American stories. Our fearless narrator is an aspiring filmmaker who decides the Golden family will be his subject. He gains the trust of this strange family, even as their secrets gradually unfold - love affairs and betrayals, questions of belonging and identity, a murder, an apocalyptic terror attack, a magical, stolen baby, all set against a whirling background in which an insane Presidential Candidate known as only The Joker grows stronger and stronger, and America itself grows mad. And yet The Golden House is a hopeful story, even an inspiring one - a story about the hope that surrounds, and is made brighter by, even the darkest of situations. Overflowing with inventiveness, humor, and a touch of magic, this is a full-throated celebration of human nature, a great American novel, a tale of exile wrapped in a murder mystery, a meditation on the nature of good and evil, a thrilling page turner, and a coming of age story for the ages"--
Reviews with the most likes.
This was strangely my first Rushdie novel and clearly will not be the last. So many aspects of the modern life - be it political, personal, questions of identity, social are a part of the narrative and seamlessly done. Initially, it took me some time to get into it as the story telling is a little slanting, nothing is hit directly, but, once I got into it, I found it hard to put down.
I would definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in family relationships and their dynamics.
I usually don't mind Rushdie, but for some reason I just couldn't get on with this book. I thought it might have something to do with the narrator or the source material (although I have started reading the Brothers Karamazov and much prefer it), but I thought it was a fine example of the kind of lit fic that went out of fashion due to alienating readers by being overblown and pretentiously intellectual. To me, modern litfic is accessible to readers who don't have a comprehensive knowledge of obscure lit, cinema and culture. I also didn't appreciate what I saw as the token autistic video games programmer and the miserable gender fluid person. If you are going to introduce these characters, for the sake of all that is decenct explore them in a meaningful, fresh way. Two stars is a harsh rating from me, but it ends up reserved for books that waste their potential, because that is what makes me angry, when underneath all the intellectual posturing and failing characters is a better book waiting to emerge.
DNF @ 33% I think I was too ambitious to dive into this lofty, and dare I say, pretentious novel with 3 small children demanding every minute of my time. I'll have to stick to thrillers and YA for the next few years. Your time will come Mr. Rushdie.
