The Golden House

Salman Rushdie “The high life of Manhattan, of art and fashion, a sibling quarrel, an unexpected metamorphosis, the arrival of a beautiful woman, betrayal and murder.” Such are the events promised to us in Salman Rushdie’s latest work, The Golden House – a searing examination of modern America and the world around it since 2008.

The story is told through the eyes of an aspiring film-maker named Rene: Rushdie’s answer to Jay Gatsby’s Nick Carraway. But through the density of his intermingling literary references, puzzles and (deliberately) fanciful plot, comes Rushdie’s true success: his great ability to capture the devilish mood of post-crash greed, political upheaval, and the rejection of the cosmopolitan, liberal west. 8/10