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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
unsure if i'm just used to oversimplification in YA books or if this narration was just needlessly complex. will form stronger thoughts and get back to this review.
As usual with a Rushdie novel, It was a slow read because I savored and sighed over every sentence. I also love his storytelling flair and ability to Pied Piper readers through the Rushdie world that mixes reality, myth and folktales, both old (Baba Yaga) and new (Batman). It feels like his own style of magical realism, where we simultaneously inhabit the multiple worlds of New York City, Gotham and Metropolis.
‘Golden’ is the operative word for me with this book - his extreme empathy for his characters casts a golden glow over the story, especially his main characters - Rene, the Nick Carraway style narrator/observer, Petya the high functioning autistic brother (“A mind imprisoned by itself, serving a life sentence”), Apu the playboy artist (“he ran voraciously through the city, embracing it all like a young Whitman”), and gender confused D (“running from the thing he knew he was moving toward”). Even Nero, the aging gangster tycoon gets a Lear-like sympathy. I think Rushdie falters though, when it comes to female characters. They’re all beautiful, extraordinarily talented - and one dimensional. The exception is Vasilisa, although he’s still suckered by a pretty face - the only way he can attribute evil to her is through a Baba Yaga metaphor.
Golden House is stuffed full of references and allusions to everything high low or medium brow, from ancient Greek tragedy to Mr. Bean. In anyone else’s hands this could be pedantic, but for me it’s a pleasure to follow a mind so in love with ideas. This intellectualism, combined with a story set in a small, highly privileged corner of Manhattan, (in his own words, “cocooned in liberal downtown silk”) leaves this novel open to criticisms of elitism - which Rushdie acknowledges - with a quote from Adorno ;)
In addition to all the above, Golden House is, last but hardly least, a full-on assault on Trumpism, especially it’s anti-intellectual posturing. In contrast to the golden glow he casts on his fictional characters, Rushdie can’t even bring himself to make (the unnamed) Trump a human, and depicts him as The Joker run amuck in Batman’s Gotham City. These sections feel like they were written just yesterday - in fact, I had the the tragically uncanny experience of reading a scene that mentioned a Manhattan bike path on the very day that it was hit by a terrorist attack, killing 8 and injuring 11.
‘Golden’ is the operative word for me with this book - his extreme empathy for his characters casts a golden glow over the story, especially his main characters - Rene, the Nick Carraway style narrator/observer, Petya the high functioning autistic brother (“A mind imprisoned by itself, serving a life sentence”), Apu the playboy artist (“he ran voraciously through the city, embracing it all like a young Whitman”), and gender confused D (“running from the thing he knew he was moving toward”). Even Nero, the aging gangster tycoon gets a Lear-like sympathy. I think Rushdie falters though, when it comes to female characters. They’re all beautiful, extraordinarily talented - and one dimensional. The exception is Vasilisa, although he’s still suckered by a pretty face - the only way he can attribute evil to her is through a Baba Yaga metaphor.
Golden House is stuffed full of references and allusions to everything high low or medium brow, from ancient Greek tragedy to Mr. Bean. In anyone else’s hands this could be pedantic, but for me it’s a pleasure to follow a mind so in love with ideas. This intellectualism, combined with a story set in a small, highly privileged corner of Manhattan, (in his own words, “cocooned in liberal downtown silk”) leaves this novel open to criticisms of elitism - which Rushdie acknowledges - with a quote from Adorno ;)
In addition to all the above, Golden House is, last but hardly least, a full-on assault on Trumpism, especially it’s anti-intellectual posturing. In contrast to the golden glow he casts on his fictional characters, Rushdie can’t even bring himself to make (the unnamed) Trump a human, and depicts him as The Joker run amuck in Batman’s Gotham City. These sections feel like they were written just yesterday - in fact, I had the the tragically uncanny experience of reading a scene that mentioned a Manhattan bike path on the very day that it was hit by a terrorist attack, killing 8 and injuring 11.
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this might be my favorite Rushdie novel. I found his writing light, and have previously categorized him as a heavy, serious writer with moments of absurd levity. Not to say that the whole novel was light; rather the contrary, in many aspects. I gleefully read his not-quite-veiled references to current politics, giggling (while tears rolled down my face, am I right?) about the Joker and Batwoman, admiring his deft words and commentary. As for the characters, I can picture Nero Golden clearly in my mind, and Apu, too... but the other sons are vague and ill-defined. That's okay, I think Nero was intended to be the focus, but I wanted more about Petya and D. However, truthfully, I wouldn't change much about this novel and I am inspired to revisit his other novels... reread The Ground Beneath Her Feet and perhaps finish (finally) Midnight's Children.
I received a review copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
I received a review copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The publisher writes that this book is the first fictional book of the Trump administration seemingly taking it on. The book starts with the introduction of Nero Golden and his three sons coming to America at the beginning of the 44th Presidents term, as described when ISIS was an Egyptian Goddess.
Rushdie spends the first half of the book describing the Golden's, Nero, his three sons and how they came to New York. The eve of Obama winning his first term and the feelings expressed by the narrator are the feelings many young people can relate to. While my look was a little more optimistic the hope was there for change. We did get change and now are in a place of uncertainty with Orange 45.
Through the book we are given almost too much information about each character. It leads to a descriptive narrative about a influential family who are more or less outsiders. While I can appreciate the writing and the description of the characters I was not crazy about the book and felt many parts dragged on and I found myself pushing myself to continue. I must finish was the mantra instead of I want more. I also became tired of the "movie" writing. "Here we have" "Now we can introduce" etc and stage directions. I felt like it read not like a film but as a choppy novel.
Rushdie spends the first half of the book describing the Golden's, Nero, his three sons and how they came to New York. The eve of Obama winning his first term and the feelings expressed by the narrator are the feelings many young people can relate to. While my look was a little more optimistic the hope was there for change. We did get change and now are in a place of uncertainty with Orange 45.
Through the book we are given almost too much information about each character. It leads to a descriptive narrative about a influential family who are more or less outsiders. While I can appreciate the writing and the description of the characters I was not crazy about the book and felt many parts dragged on and I found myself pushing myself to continue. I must finish was the mantra instead of I want more. I also became tired of the "movie" writing. "Here we have" "Now we can introduce" etc and stage directions. I felt like it read not like a film but as a choppy novel.
I get the feeling that Rushdie thinks he's more clever than he actually is here. That he's got a lot of revelations that already dawned on a lot of people a while ago. It's entertaining, I enjoyed the characters... I thinking Rushdie is a good writer, I just wish he would actually write a book instead of a pitch for an "I Love the 2010s" retrospective.
And I hate to be the person who comes down on a book, especially one that's definitely operating on a heightened sort of logic, for being "unrealistic", but since he makes it out to be such a big deal I might as well too. His portrayal of the process of gender transition rings false. It feels like he read a few tabloid pieces about kids who transitioned and regretted it and assumed all the shrinks were rushing patients to decide whether to pursue HRT with a gun to their head. I'm not accusing Rushdie of being prejudiced himself, but I think in trying to criticize the dangers of relying too much on identifying labels he too easily dipped into the waters of moral panic.
Maybe this book just wasn't made for transgender people, who, shocker of all shockers, are very much aware that our identity is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that often rejects all attempts to name it.
And I hate to be the person who comes down on a book, especially one that's definitely operating on a heightened sort of logic, for being "unrealistic", but since he makes it out to be such a big deal I might as well too. His portrayal of the process of gender transition rings false. It feels like he read a few tabloid pieces about kids who transitioned and regretted it and assumed all the shrinks were rushing patients to decide whether to pursue HRT with a gun to their head. I'm not accusing Rushdie of being prejudiced himself, but I think in trying to criticize the dangers of relying too much on identifying labels he too easily dipped into the waters of moral panic.
Maybe this book just wasn't made for transgender people, who, shocker of all shockers, are very much aware that our identity is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that often rejects all attempts to name it.
There's a new wealthy family at "The Gardens," a gated New York community - the Golden family. Not only do they all have strange names (straight out of ancient Roman and Greek history and mythology), but they themselves seem a bit odd. René is a fellow resident, with ambitions in filmmaking, including a project to document the Golden family, but René hasn't decided if he can tell their true story or make up something fictional based on the Goldens; either way, René can't stay away from the Golden House. You can read more about this new Salman Rushdie novel here.
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/08/12/glitter-and-tarnish/
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/08/12/glitter-and-tarnish/
While this isn't Rushdie's finest work, his writing here is as praiseworthy as I've come to expect from this outstanding novelist. "The Golden House" is rich in character and detail, and represents a slightly different take on magical realism compared to some of his earlier work. Here, the "magic" lies in his characters' arrogant self-mythologisation: consciously or unconsciously, they select for themselves identities which inevitably shape their narrative journeys, in a curious and intriguing blend of the mythological and the real.
While Rushdie doesn't often seem interested in giving his readers sympathetic characters they can root for - his protagonists are often deeply flawed, and grappling with their own identities or place in the world - I found the camera-wielding narrator of the "The Golden House" particularly unlikeable and, consequently, disliked the way in which Rushdie chooses to end this novel. I also found some of the political discourse slightly forced and tangential to the story.
Apart from these caveats, however, I really enjoyed this novel, and I am glad to see that Rushdie's wit, skill and imagination remains undiminished.
While Rushdie doesn't often seem interested in giving his readers sympathetic characters they can root for - his protagonists are often deeply flawed, and grappling with their own identities or place in the world - I found the camera-wielding narrator of the "The Golden House" particularly unlikeable and, consequently, disliked the way in which Rushdie chooses to end this novel. I also found some of the political discourse slightly forced and tangential to the story.
Apart from these caveats, however, I really enjoyed this novel, and I am glad to see that Rushdie's wit, skill and imagination remains undiminished.
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.