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A review by steph_demel
The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
3.0
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.