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numail4me's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this a lot. Rushdie is among the best. But I dont like when the storyteller keeps going back or diverts to tell about their knowledge of mythology, shakespeare, history, film, etc. We know you're the smartest person in the room, but just tell us a story, and keep the rest of that to a low hum. And can somebody please figure out how to end a book when it's over. It seems like every book I read lately has at least two chapters that go beyond where the book ended.I enjoyed this a lot.
andrewsutton's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bellaklimperauge's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
braxwall's review against another edition
4.0
En fantastisk historia bestående av religösa och kulturella betraktelser samt samtida kommenterar och populärkulturella referenser i denna i botten tämligen klassiska tragedi.
missmazzreads's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
_anns_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
juliwi's review against another edition
5.0
I have had a rough time with Rushdie in the past. I had heard about the controversy around The Satanic Verses but didn't know enough about it to truly register it. And then at university I was made to read Shame and as we all know, being made to read something significantly diminishes the chance you'll enjoy it. So Rushdie and I parted ways for a long time after that, until I saw The Golden House. And my interest was peaked again. Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Golden House is a truly modern book, a book that delights in the 21st century. Rushdie's characters live in the New York of now and throughout the novel he infuses the narrative with references to 21st century politics, pop culture and more. There is art, there is music, literature, the 2016 election, movies, clowns in the streets, so much makes an appearance in The Golden House that it is almost overwhelming. I personally adore social commentary in novels. I feel like it is one of literature's duties to reflect upon its own time and to draw lessons from it for readers. Think of how Les Miserables or War and Peace comment on Russia and France, and how both are obsessed with Napoleon. These novels told me more about the influence of Napoleon than my history teacher ever did. And so when I find a novel like The Golden House, which plunges itself headfirst into one of the oddest few decades to date, I can't help but love how topical and relevant is it. Will it feel dated in a decade or so? Perhaps, but it will always be a product of its time, a kind of ode to the optimism of the early years and the downward spiral of the latter years.
Rushdie really doesn't need me praising his writing style, and yet I will do so anyway. The Golden House is beautiful, how it blends together past and present, how its sentences run on and on and yet never lose their strength, how it doesn't forget itself in the middle of its social commentary. The style of this novel is flamboyant and effluent, and yet concise and meaningful at the same time. It always feel as if each of these words is supposed to be there, is necessary. Much like a Bach piece, take on word out and the whole thing may collapse. The Golden House is the kind of novel that comments upon the human condition, and that sounds more frightful than it is. With flawed yet human characters, plot lines that are too ridiculous not to be true, Rushdie poses the questions that lie at the core of our minds. What is good and evil? Can one be both at the same time? And what does that say about us?
I absolutely loved The Golden House and devoured it way quicker than I expected. This novel has something of everything and paints a truly human picture of the last few decades. Are any of the characters likeable? I couldn't really say, but their story will teach you something about yourself. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in Literary Fiction.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2017/09/review-golden-house-by-salman-rushdie.html
The Golden House is a truly modern book, a book that delights in the 21st century. Rushdie's characters live in the New York of now and throughout the novel he infuses the narrative with references to 21st century politics, pop culture and more. There is art, there is music, literature, the 2016 election, movies, clowns in the streets, so much makes an appearance in The Golden House that it is almost overwhelming. I personally adore social commentary in novels. I feel like it is one of literature's duties to reflect upon its own time and to draw lessons from it for readers. Think of how Les Miserables or War and Peace comment on Russia and France, and how both are obsessed with Napoleon. These novels told me more about the influence of Napoleon than my history teacher ever did. And so when I find a novel like The Golden House, which plunges itself headfirst into one of the oddest few decades to date, I can't help but love how topical and relevant is it. Will it feel dated in a decade or so? Perhaps, but it will always be a product of its time, a kind of ode to the optimism of the early years and the downward spiral of the latter years.
Rushdie really doesn't need me praising his writing style, and yet I will do so anyway. The Golden House is beautiful, how it blends together past and present, how its sentences run on and on and yet never lose their strength, how it doesn't forget itself in the middle of its social commentary. The style of this novel is flamboyant and effluent, and yet concise and meaningful at the same time. It always feel as if each of these words is supposed to be there, is necessary. Much like a Bach piece, take on word out and the whole thing may collapse. The Golden House is the kind of novel that comments upon the human condition, and that sounds more frightful than it is. With flawed yet human characters, plot lines that are too ridiculous not to be true, Rushdie poses the questions that lie at the core of our minds. What is good and evil? Can one be both at the same time? And what does that say about us?
I absolutely loved The Golden House and devoured it way quicker than I expected. This novel has something of everything and paints a truly human picture of the last few decades. Are any of the characters likeable? I couldn't really say, but their story will teach you something about yourself. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in Literary Fiction.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2017/09/review-golden-house-by-salman-rushdie.html
snowmaiden's review against another edition
3.0
A friend passed the book to me after he’d finished it. “I didn’t like it very much,” he said, “but see what you think.” I was entranced at first, especially by the story of young D Golden, who struggles with issues of gender and sexuality. I know several people who have transitioned, and D’s experiences sounded familiar in all the right ways. I was frankly amazed that Rushdie, an author in his seventies, had gotten things so right.
But D disappeared from the story for most of the middle of the book, and when he did reappear, his life had changed into something I didn't recognize, something stereotypical and sad. And it wasn’t just this character but the whole book that had changed in this way, as if Rushdie was suddenly overtaken by a burst of melancholy while writing.
In the end, then, I was disappointed, but I do like the way Rushdie writes, and I hope to read more of his work one day.
But D disappeared from the story for most of the middle of the book, and when he did reappear, his life had changed into something I didn't recognize, something stereotypical and sad. And it wasn’t just this character but the whole book that had changed in this way, as if Rushdie was suddenly overtaken by a burst of melancholy while writing.
In the end, then, I was disappointed, but I do like the way Rushdie writes, and I hope to read more of his work one day.
fictionfan's review against another edition
Nope! 30% and I can't bear to read any more. Plotless (so far), stuffed so full of references to art, culture, religion and mythology there's no room left for humanity or empathy. Intellect without soul, and sadly largely without wit or charm either, unlike his last book. And oh, I'm weary, weary, weary of the liberal world of high literature's current obsession with gender identity. I think this is the third major new literary book in a row I've read (or abandoned) that focuses on transgenderism - The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Days Without End, now this - 4 if you count Scott Turow as literary, which I've sometimes been known to do. Literature has become as trend-ridden and cliché-filled as pulp fiction. Does a memo go round each January telling them which subject is compulsory for the year? If so, I vote that next year it's something wider, like, let's say, life, the universe and everything - the way it used to be before one had to prove one's liberal credentials everytime one speaks or writes...