The Golden House

By: Salman Rushdie

Narrated by: Vikas Adams

Brought to you by Penguin.

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 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.

In a new world order of alternative truths, Salman Rushdie has written the ultimate novel about identity, truth, terror and lies. A brilliant, heart-breaking realist novel that is not only uncannily prescient but shows one of the world's greatest storytellers working at the height of his powers.

'One of the most vivid and convincing portraits of contemporary America I've read' Observer

©2017 Salman Rushdie (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks

Not quite the book as advertised

I bought this book based on a review that described it as the first literary piece dealing with the Trump era and the Trump family. It is not that though. The Trump era is a small backdrop in the latter part of the story, although Rushdie's insights into a society deeply divided, guilty of apathy and the worst cynicism are enlightening and his worry for America and the world at large is palpable. The story is actually about a mysterious immigrant family steeling into NY society. The language is complex, Rushdie is a master of complex, flowery sentences, but I often had the feeling that he's using 100 words where 30 would suffice. Overall, not bad, but not one that I'll pick up again.

Boring, hard to follow along

I really didn't like how this book was written. Too many allusions, hard to follow. Also didn't care for the narrator