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A review by colourmeread
The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
2.0
I don’t read a lot of realistic fiction but when a book is set around the time the 45th president of the United States is elected, you get a little curious.
What I loved most about this book was the underlying tones of Rushdie’s wry social commentary. There’s an obvious parallel between the rise and fall of the Goldens and the state of America leading up to the election of the current president (referred to as The Joker). It’s a satirical novel that picks apart societal issues with hard-hitting passages, this one being my favourite:
Unfortunately, my love for this book ends there. First, The Golden House was quite hard to get into because nothing happens through the first third of the book. I also didn’t particularly care about the characters so when the book played out like a tragic family drama, I couldn’t care less. The last section of the book was my favourite, mainly because Rushdie starts questioning politics, gender, race, etc.
In a nutshell, the book was a long-winded story that had brilliant moments in the midst of family drama. Personally, I feel like it tried to achieve too much and I would have preferred reading an essay of Rushdie’s opinions on current society and “The Joker” instead.
What I loved most about this book was the underlying tones of Rushdie’s wry social commentary. There’s an obvious parallel between the rise and fall of the Goldens and the state of America leading up to the election of the current president (referred to as The Joker). It’s a satirical novel that picks apart societal issues with hard-hitting passages, this one being my favourite:
"In that bubble, razor-tipped playing cards were funny, and lapel flowers that sprayed acid into people's faces were funny, and wishing you could have sex with your daughter was funny, and sarcasm was funny even when what was called sarcasm was not sarcastic, and lying was funny, and hatred was funny, and bigotry was funny, and bullying was funny, and the date was, or almost was, or might soon be, if the jokes worked out as they should, nineteen eighty-four."
Unfortunately, my love for this book ends there. First, The Golden House was quite hard to get into because nothing happens through the first third of the book. I also didn’t particularly care about the characters so when the book played out like a tragic family drama, I couldn’t care less. The last section of the book was my favourite, mainly because Rushdie starts questioning politics, gender, race, etc.
In a nutshell, the book was a long-winded story that had brilliant moments in the midst of family drama. Personally, I feel like it tried to achieve too much and I would have preferred reading an essay of Rushdie’s opinions on current society and “The Joker” instead.