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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
I find it fascinating to read through an author's lesser works. It's more approachable than tackling their masterpieces.
Rushdie tries to be relevant by referencing Trump in an extended allegory that he either should have left as a one-off comment, or fleshed out more. The backdrop of the political didn't feel quite connected to the main storyline, and ended up feeling like a distraction.
He also tries to criticize the LGBTQ movement's approach to gender identity, but it feels intellectually lazy and just off-base. I was most annoyed with how he put in more work illustrating a cis character's reaction to these concepts rather than the trans character's. Leave it to trans people like Natalie Wynn (ContraPoints) who have explored these topics in greater detail, and have both more intellectual heft and personal experience. (Yes, I just claimed a YouTuber has more intellectual heft than a Booker Prize winner, sorry not sorry)
I was much more interested in the family drama and interrogation of Indian society, but it was hard to focus on with all of Rushdie's obvious disdain for women. When a character cheats on his girlfriend, he blames his affair partner and consistently dodges his own culpability. I also haven't even touched on his portrayal of high-functioning autism... It's not pretty.
There's a lot that's good and interesting here, but in the end I'd rather take a crack at his old works (which seem less intimidating now) than bother trying to keep up with the new.
Rushdie tries to be relevant by referencing Trump in an extended allegory that he either should have left as a one-off comment, or fleshed out more. The backdrop of the political didn't feel quite connected to the main storyline, and ended up feeling like a distraction.
He also tries to criticize the LGBTQ movement's approach to gender identity, but it feels intellectually lazy and just off-base. I was most annoyed with how he put in more work illustrating a cis character's reaction to these concepts rather than the trans character's. Leave it to trans people like Natalie Wynn (ContraPoints) who have explored these topics in greater detail, and have both more intellectual heft and personal experience. (Yes, I just claimed a YouTuber has more intellectual heft than a Booker Prize winner, sorry not sorry)
I was much more interested in the family drama and interrogation of Indian society, but it was hard to focus on with all of Rushdie's obvious disdain for women. When a character cheats on his girlfriend, he blames his affair partner and consistently dodges his own culpability. I also haven't even touched on his portrayal of high-functioning autism... It's not pretty.
There's a lot that's good and interesting here, but in the end I'd rather take a crack at his old works (which seem less intimidating now) than bother trying to keep up with the new.
Questo libro non è di per se brutto. La trama è davvero avvincente, e Rushdie è un ottimo scrittore. Credo che il problema principale, come molti hanno già affermato, sia il fatto che almeno il 50% del libro sia costituito da riferimenti e citazioni "erudite". In parole spicce, mi è sembrato di leggere un libro di scuola travestito da romanzo.
"La caduta dei Golden" è un romanzo di 450 pagine circa. Sotto alcuni punti di vista, è simile a "I figli della mezzanotte", l'altro romanzo di Rushdie che ho letto (e che, per la cronaca, è costituito da più di 600 pagine). Sono entrambi romanzi che hanno a che fare con una famiglia, la cui storia è in un certo senso centrale per la trama, ma che viene sviluppata in maniera diversa.
E questa è la maggiore conseguenza del problema fondamentale: con 150 pagine in meno e una storia che potrebbe essere sviluppata con la profondità de "I figli della mezzanotte" e risultare altrettanto interessante, questa viene messa quasi in secondo piano. Sembra un'affermazione stupida, considerando il fatto che il narratore sta praticamente descrivendo il processo di stesura di una sceneggiatura basata sulla vita dei Golden stessi, però ho trovato che questa non sia stata una scelta vincente. Invece di presentarci il quadro completo e approfondito, il lettore può soffermarsi solo sugli aspetti interessanti per il René. E il fatto che gran parte del libro sia sacrificato a favore di citazioni che non hanno alcun valore aggiuntivo per la trama aggrava il problema.
"La caduta dei Golden" è un romanzo di 450 pagine circa. Sotto alcuni punti di vista, è simile a "I figli della mezzanotte", l'altro romanzo di Rushdie che ho letto (e che, per la cronaca, è costituito da più di 600 pagine). Sono entrambi romanzi che hanno a che fare con una famiglia, la cui storia è in un certo senso centrale per la trama, ma che viene sviluppata in maniera diversa.
E questa è la maggiore conseguenza del problema fondamentale: con 150 pagine in meno e una storia che potrebbe essere sviluppata con la profondità de "I figli della mezzanotte" e risultare altrettanto interessante, questa viene messa quasi in secondo piano. Sembra un'affermazione stupida, considerando il fatto che il narratore sta praticamente descrivendo il processo di stesura di una sceneggiatura basata sulla vita dei Golden stessi, però ho trovato che questa non sia stata una scelta vincente. Invece di presentarci il quadro completo e approfondito, il lettore può soffermarsi solo sugli aspetti interessanti per il René. E il fatto che gran parte del libro sia sacrificato a favore di citazioni che non hanno alcun valore aggiuntivo per la trama aggrava il problema.
This is the first book I've read by Rushdie. I didn't like it initially. It seemed to think far too much of itself; the word haughty kept coming to mind. It did pull me in deeper and deeper though, and I began to find it rather compelling. Ultimately, I thought it was a discerning rumination of today's society.
I enjoyed Rushdie’s masterful prose and structure in this book but found his attempt to be topical and relevant rather hit and miss. His grasping at the politics of gender and trans gender seemed too academic and not very well put together. Where it fell especially flat was his rather glib and ableist portrayal of autism. He repeatedly used tragic language and really rammed the tragedy model of disability down the reader’s gullet. Weather it was the character speaking or a general reflection of the mainstream social attitudes he was trying to reflect it came across to me as heavy handed and clichéd as if they were strait out of the 50s playbook. The autistic character was essentially a pariah with a “broken mind” who had very little value in the story. The reader is subjected to long detailed passages of how much of a burden he is to society and how his family is always having to bail him out.
I enjoyed the elements of magical realism however but not enough to get over my disappointment.
I enjoyed the elements of magical realism however but not enough to get over my disappointment.
Would not recommend. Was desperately hoping this book would become interesting and enjoyable. It didn’t. Was incredibly disappointed.
I received a copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is the first of Salman Rushdie's novels I have read, and I'm very glad I did.
The story starts a little slow, as the characters and setting are described. However, the more we get to know about the characters, the more intriguing they become. the families story of who they are and why they have ended up in America is slowly unraveled throughout the book, there are a vast number of issues dealt with.
This isn't a book you can skim through, or let your mind wander with, it's a complex book which draws you in.
This is the first of Salman Rushdie's novels I have read, and I'm very glad I did.
The story starts a little slow, as the characters and setting are described. However, the more we get to know about the characters, the more intriguing they become. the families story of who they are and why they have ended up in America is slowly unraveled throughout the book, there are a vast number of issues dealt with.
This isn't a book you can skim through, or let your mind wander with, it's a complex book which draws you in.
2.5 stars
*received this book in exchange for a review*
I found this book very interesting at times and then pretty boring at others. I put it down and picked it up a few times. Ultimately, I could not force myself to read the whole thing. If you like the Great Gatsby I think this book has the potential to be something you may truly enjoy.
*received this book in exchange for a review*
I found this book very interesting at times and then pretty boring at others. I put it down and picked it up a few times. Ultimately, I could not force myself to read the whole thing. If you like the Great Gatsby I think this book has the potential to be something you may truly enjoy.
The Golden House, the thirteenth novel by Sir Salman Rushdie, is yet another fable of dark, twisting realities, profuse with tales of love and loss sprinkled with a bit of the zeitgeist of present day America. It is a plethora of film noir, of Greek mythology, of crime capers and of mad Roman rulers. Rushdie delivers wonderfully as is expected from him by now – poetical prose, peppered with quirkiness and just a bit of black humor.
The plot follows closely the lives of the Goldens through the eyes of their resident spy / neighbor / filmmaker René. Set against the backdrop of the Obama era years, from his first inauguration up to the election that brought Trump to power, we see their lives transmogrify, from glory to defeat, from identity crisis to death, from omnipotence to feebleness and from naivety to realizing the immorality within.
The novel begins with the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States and the arrival of the Goldens in Gardens, a secluded Eden in Manhattan. Nero Golden, his three sons, Petronius, or Petya, Lucius Apuleius, or Apu and Dionysius, or D. These were the names they picked for themselves when fleeing a personal tragedy from a country that could not be named (but could be guessed, easily). The names itself are haughty and powerful and speak of richness and authority . The Goldens in their golden house – honest to the point of vulgarity. Everything is grand and glittery. (Almost) Everyone is larger than life. The parties are the classiest, the people are the crème de la crème; even the ladies of the night are classy in their own way. It echoes slightly of The Great Gatsby, though there’s no Daisy and no Nick Carraway. (We do have René, but he’s no Nick).
The sons aren’t content with just changing their names, however. Petya struggles with overcoming agoraphobia and invents immensely successful computer games; Apu finds his artistic side and turns out to be really good at what he does; and D goes on a journey of gender identity and self-realization. To add a sense of fatality, in walks a scheming Russian beauty, making the cast complete. And we have René, our young, innocent, sheltered dreamer who despite the best of his intentions gets irrevocably tangled up in his subject matter. The method of his entanglement was the one thing that I found sorely disappointing. It was as cliche as it gets, something so mundane and common that to find it within the pages of The Golden House was absurd.
There’s a mystery about the departure of the Goldens which even though was supposed to be a huge plot reveal, didn’t feel like so because of the constant foreshadowing. But it isn’t the plot here that is the hero, though it does have its sublime moments. Just as well because magicians like Rushdie aren’t known for their plots, but for their way with words. Its the words that delight us, “intelligently amuse” us, and even when the world within the Gardens erupts, and plunges us into despair – its the words that are our savior. The suicide letter of one tormented character, the resignation letter of another have the capability of moving us much more than hundreds of other novels.
“I need to think and the city is full of noise.”
I cannot think of a more perfect quote that reduces our lives to nothing but a quest for inner peace. Its amazing how Rushdie lets his words flow so smoothly from the lyrical to the practical, throughout these 380 pages.
Some of the best passages in the book, however, are not about the Goldens or René . They are about the city that can not be named, with its imposing hotel that cannot be named, within which thrive the beautiful unknown people that somehow seem more real than other characters in the novel. They are about the Joker (real name Gary “Green” Gwynplaine, based on Donald Trump) in the White House, the one whose very presence in the power seat of America shows us the truth of this country. They are about a country being torn apart by its own treachery.
“America’s secret identity wasn’t a superhero. Turns out it was a super villain.”
Never have truer words been written before.
Think of this not as a novel but as a journey with a nihilistic destination.
*Disclaimer: I got this book as part of Flipkart Blogger Review Program. All opinions expressed are my own.
The plot follows closely the lives of the Goldens through the eyes of their resident spy / neighbor / filmmaker René. Set against the backdrop of the Obama era years, from his first inauguration up to the election that brought Trump to power, we see their lives transmogrify, from glory to defeat, from identity crisis to death, from omnipotence to feebleness and from naivety to realizing the immorality within.
The novel begins with the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States and the arrival of the Goldens in Gardens, a secluded Eden in Manhattan. Nero Golden, his three sons, Petronius, or Petya, Lucius Apuleius, or Apu and Dionysius, or D. These were the names they picked for themselves when fleeing a personal tragedy from a country that could not be named (but could be guessed, easily). The names itself are haughty and powerful and speak of richness and authority . The Goldens in their golden house – honest to the point of vulgarity. Everything is grand and glittery. (Almost) Everyone is larger than life. The parties are the classiest, the people are the crème de la crème; even the ladies of the night are classy in their own way. It echoes slightly of The Great Gatsby, though there’s no Daisy and no Nick Carraway. (We do have René, but he’s no Nick).
The sons aren’t content with just changing their names, however. Petya struggles with overcoming agoraphobia and invents immensely successful computer games; Apu finds his artistic side and turns out to be really good at what he does; and D goes on a journey of gender identity and self-realization. To add a sense of fatality, in walks a scheming Russian beauty, making the cast complete. And we have René, our young, innocent, sheltered dreamer who despite the best of his intentions gets irrevocably tangled up in his subject matter. The method of his entanglement was the one thing that I found sorely disappointing. It was as cliche as it gets, something so mundane and common that to find it within the pages of The Golden House was absurd.
There’s a mystery about the departure of the Goldens which even though was supposed to be a huge plot reveal, didn’t feel like so because of the constant foreshadowing. But it isn’t the plot here that is the hero, though it does have its sublime moments. Just as well because magicians like Rushdie aren’t known for their plots, but for their way with words. Its the words that delight us, “intelligently amuse” us, and even when the world within the Gardens erupts, and plunges us into despair – its the words that are our savior. The suicide letter of one tormented character, the resignation letter of another have the capability of moving us much more than hundreds of other novels.
“I need to think and the city is full of noise.”
I cannot think of a more perfect quote that reduces our lives to nothing but a quest for inner peace. Its amazing how Rushdie lets his words flow so smoothly from the lyrical to the practical, throughout these 380 pages.
Some of the best passages in the book, however, are not about the Goldens or René . They are about the city that can not be named, with its imposing hotel that cannot be named, within which thrive the beautiful unknown people that somehow seem more real than other characters in the novel. They are about the Joker (real name Gary “Green” Gwynplaine, based on Donald Trump) in the White House, the one whose very presence in the power seat of America shows us the truth of this country. They are about a country being torn apart by its own treachery.
“America’s secret identity wasn’t a superhero. Turns out it was a super villain.”
Never have truer words been written before.
Think of this not as a novel but as a journey with a nihilistic destination.
*Disclaimer: I got this book as part of Flipkart Blogger Review Program. All opinions expressed are my own.
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Got a little bored/confused with some of the more obscure film references, but the way he talked about the current political and societal climate meant a 4-star rating was necessary, and the story itself had me holding my breath at several moments.