Saturday 9 September 2017

#BookReview ; The Golden House by Salman Rushdie



When powerful real-estate tycoon Nero Golden immigrates to the States under mysterious circumstances, he and his three adult children assume new identities, taking 'Roman' names, and move into a grand mansion in downtown Manhattan. Arriving shortly after the inauguration of Barack Obama, he and his sons, each extraordinary in his own right, quickly establish themselves at the apex of New York society.
The story of the powerful Golden family is told from the point of view of their Manhattanite neighbour and confidant, René, an aspiring filmmaker who finds in the Goldens the perfect subject. René chronicles the undoing of the house of Golden: the high life of money, of art and fashion, a sibling quarrel, an unexpected metamorphosis, the arrival of a beautiful woman, betrayal and murder, and far away, in their abandoned homeland, some decent intelligence work.
Invoking literature, pop culture, and the cinema, Rushdie spins the story of the American zeitgeist over the last eight years, hitting every beat: the rise of the birther movement, the Tea Party, Gamergate and identity politics; the backlash against political correctness; the ascendency of the superhero movie, and, of course, the insurgence of a ruthlessly ambitious, narcissistic, media-savvy villain wearing make-up and with coloured hair.
In a new world order of alternative truths, Salman Rushdie has written the ultimate novel about identity, truth, terror and lies. A brilliant, heartbreaking realist novel that is not only uncannily prescient but shows one of the world’s greatest storytellers working at the height of his powers.

The Golden House is the thirteenth newly published novel of Salman Rushdie published by Penguin Random House. Salman Rushdie is the multi-award winning author of 12 previous novels including Midnight’s Children which won the Booker Prize (1981) and the Best of the Booker’s Prize (2008). He has also published a memoir, a collection of short stories and 3 works of non-fiction. His books have been translated into over 40 languages. He is a former president of American PEN.

The Golden House is a story about the mysterious Nero Golden & his 3 sons who’ve come to live in New York, America from Bombay, India with deep secrets & cloaked identities. They occupied a lavish mansion which they renamed to the “Golden House”.  The narrator is Rene who’s gonna be a filmmaker & plans to make a movie on the Golden family. Their arrival is in sync with the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama & their story is in harmony with his tenure as well as the rising “Joker” of the next election. But can someone really leave the past behind? Will the Golden family just have a happy ever after? Read the book to know.

First a confession, this is my first Salman Rushdie that I have actually read. I’ve always wanted to read Midnight’s Children but never got to buy one, because of this I had no clue what to expect from it & honestly I like that. But I do remember a famous Indian author saying that no one understands a Rushdie book but pretend to do so & just as expected he is definitely wrong. The Golden House is a collection of real life events mixed with references to myths, tragedies, ancient history, etc. The author has beautifully incorporated all these aspects into a really fascinating story which will just blow you away. The narrator is a breath of fresh air & the fact that story has a clever political statement about America makes it even more interesting. Surely a must read. PS special thanks to Penguin Random House for the review copy.



No comments:

Post a Comment