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A review by joyousreads132
The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
4.0
The day after the November 2016 election, the entire world was left grappling with the unlikely victory of the Orange One. To this day, it’s an event too painful to reminisce to some (including me). Whenever we feel a certain disappointment or heartbreak, we are known to have an automatic response – a knee jerk reaction. We’re either overcome – so much so that we can’t function, or we get up. Fight like we’ve never fought before.
For Salman Rushdie, this book was his response. Some of his critics expressed their disappointment as his 13th novel came off as a string of ramblings and rants about the state of America as we speak. To him, however, this was a novel set in a world gone insane. So everything was grandiose, over exaggerated, but wholly apropos.
The synopsis defies the entirety of the novel. In fact, I can’t begin to start giving you a little rundown if only to hook you in so you may traverse the novel the way I reluctantly did at first. For me, Rushdie is a road not travelled. I have no idea what was in store for me, so I approached this book with great trepidation. It didn’t take long until I’m in its grip, however. All I could think about while the story was unfolding was how Shakespearean or Greek-ly tragic it was. When you have all the riches in the world but the world spits you out lifeless and bloody in response.
The Golden House was a novelty to me. The writing, the structure, the characters, and the way the present America is juxtaposed to the story of this fabulously wealthy family is something I’ve never experienced before. The barebones is really all about the Golden’s. On the run from his past, Nero Golden decided to reinvent his family’s identity. Nobody is allowed to know from which country they came, or the past that acts as a darkness that was always looming in the periphery of the story.
Flushed with millions, the sons were free to do as they pleased to some extent. Regardless of the freedom that was available to them, the patriarch still has the last word. For years, life was, as it seemed – that is, until a much younger Russian beauty captured Nero’s attention and changed the dynamics of the family.
My foray into Rushdie’s writing was generally refreshing, though rocky at times. Still, I found myself completely immersed in his writing, his flawed characters, and the events unfolding before me. I think it’s time to start building my personal Rushdie library.
For Salman Rushdie, this book was his response. Some of his critics expressed their disappointment as his 13th novel came off as a string of ramblings and rants about the state of America as we speak. To him, however, this was a novel set in a world gone insane. So everything was grandiose, over exaggerated, but wholly apropos.
The synopsis defies the entirety of the novel. In fact, I can’t begin to start giving you a little rundown if only to hook you in so you may traverse the novel the way I reluctantly did at first. For me, Rushdie is a road not travelled. I have no idea what was in store for me, so I approached this book with great trepidation. It didn’t take long until I’m in its grip, however. All I could think about while the story was unfolding was how Shakespearean or Greek-ly tragic it was. When you have all the riches in the world but the world spits you out lifeless and bloody in response.
The Golden House was a novelty to me. The writing, the structure, the characters, and the way the present America is juxtaposed to the story of this fabulously wealthy family is something I’ve never experienced before. The barebones is really all about the Golden’s. On the run from his past, Nero Golden decided to reinvent his family’s identity. Nobody is allowed to know from which country they came, or the past that acts as a darkness that was always looming in the periphery of the story.
Flushed with millions, the sons were free to do as they pleased to some extent. Regardless of the freedom that was available to them, the patriarch still has the last word. For years, life was, as it seemed – that is, until a much younger Russian beauty captured Nero’s attention and changed the dynamics of the family.
My foray into Rushdie’s writing was generally refreshing, though rocky at times. Still, I found myself completely immersed in his writing, his flawed characters, and the events unfolding before me. I think it’s time to start building my personal Rushdie library.