The Golden House - Hardcover

Rushdie, Salman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0735273561 ISBN 13: 9780735273566

Publisher: Knopf Canada, 2017

Synopsis

One of the truly great writers of the century reaches beyond the very top of his game in this uncannily timely knockout of a novel. In quality and compelling scope, this is Rushdie's The Godfather meets The Great Gatsby--an unparalleled modern-day American thriller, with wonderful, moving characters and a grippingly entertaining story straight out of today's headlines, set against the panorama of American culture and politics from the inauguration of Obama to post-election Trump.

When powerful real-estate tycoon Nero Golden immigrates to the States under mysterious circumstances, he and his three adult children assume new identities, reinventing themselves as emperors living in a lavish house 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, even as Nero Golden continues to raise huge buildings carrying his name in gold letters.
     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 former model, betrayal and murder, and far away, in their abandoned homeland, some decent intelligence work that could ruin Nero Golden forever.
     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, and identity politics; Gamergate; the backlash against political correctness; the ascendancy of Superman and Batwoman and the superhero movie; and, of course, the insurgence of a ruthlessly ambitious, narcissistic villain with painted skin and coloured hair.

About this title

Review

"[A] modern masterpiece . . . telling a story full of wonder and leaving you marveling at how it ever came out of the author's head."--Associated Press

"Wildly satiric and yet piercingly real . . . If F. Scott Fitzgerald, Homer, Euripides, and Shakespeare collaborated on a contemporary fall-of-an-empire epic set in New York City, the result would be The Golden House."--Poets & Writers

"A tonic addition to American--no, world!--literature . . . a Greek tragedy with Indian roots and New York coordinates."--San Francisco Chronicle

"A recognizably Rushdie novel in its playfulness, its verbal jousting, its audacious bravado, its unapologetic erudition, and its sheer, dazzling brilliance."--The Boston Globe

"A joy to read . . . clever, intimidating, jocund, and electrifying."--Chicago Review of Books

"The Golden House . . . ranks among Rushdie's most ambitious and provocative books [and] displays the quicksilver wit and playful storytelling of Rushdie's best work."--USA Today

"From Nero to Obama, via The Godfather . . . The veteran novelist blends ancient history and myth with popular culture, crime caper and film techniques to fashion a morality tale for today."--The Guardian

"Vivid and appealing."--The Week

"A tale of identity, reinvention, truth (and lies), and terror, The Golden House captures the climate of American politics and culture from the Obama era to today."--BuzzFeed

"The Golden House is a brilliant examination of the times we are living in today. A must read!"--PopSugar

"Rushdie writes with a Dickensian exuberance, always full of humor as well as striking scornful, tragic notes."--The London Evening Standard

"Intelligent and darkly funny . . . with a raw political edge."--The Times (UK)

"Powerful. . . . The great strength of The Golden House is Rushdie's ability to balance the fairy tale tone of the story with gritty realities."--The Toronto Star

"Ambitious and rewarding."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A novel grounded in historical fact yet rife with Rushdie's signature imaginative prowess."--Library Journal (starred review)

"A ravishingly well-told, deeply knowledgeable, magnificently insightful, and righteously outraged epic which pos-es timeless questions about the human condition."--Booklist (starred review)

"A sort of Great Gatsby for our time: everyone is implicated, no one is innocent, and no one comes out unscathed."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Book Description

One of the truly great writers of the century at top of his game in this uncannily timely knockout of a novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Canada
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0735273561
• ISBN 13: 9780735273566
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400