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A review by ginnykaczmarek
The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
3.0
I'm a Rushdie fan, but this book didn't speak to me as his others have. To be fair, I'm not crazy about the Great Gatsby, either, to which this novel is continually compared. Philosophical droning from pretentious rich boys about the damaged ultra-rich in their midst doesn't resonate with me, even as I recognize moments of brilliance.
In this book, I felt there was just too much of the philosophizing, too much (dare I say it) whining over the narrator's poor decisions. I found the narrator unlikable, and though I understand that unlikability in a main character is often the intent, in this case, I felt annoyed rather than enlightened by the flaws of a fellow human being.
Rushdie is, of course, a master storyteller, so there was enough mystery and intrigue (not to mention hilarious moments imagining Trump as the Joker) to keep me reading. But the final third of the book, in which All Is Revealed, felt like a giant information dump, with so much detail about shady business practices in Bombay that I was, well, bored. Even though it was about mobsters and murder.
Maybe if I hadn't had such high hopes, I would've enjoyed this novel more, but I was disappointed rather than transported.
In this book, I felt there was just too much of the philosophizing, too much (dare I say it) whining over the narrator's poor decisions. I found the narrator unlikable, and though I understand that unlikability in a main character is often the intent, in this case, I felt annoyed rather than enlightened by the flaws of a fellow human being.
Rushdie is, of course, a master storyteller, so there was enough mystery and intrigue (not to mention hilarious moments imagining Trump as the Joker) to keep me reading. But the final third of the book, in which All Is Revealed, felt like a giant information dump, with so much detail about shady business practices in Bombay that I was, well, bored. Even though it was about mobsters and murder.
Maybe if I hadn't had such high hopes, I would've enjoyed this novel more, but I was disappointed rather than transported.