Well, in The Golden House, he certainly is the latter two things, but it didn't stop me enjoying the book immensely. He throws literary, historical, cinematic and mythological references into nearly every sentence, many of which I hadn't heard! He is certainly a well-educated man, and the book a huge literary feast. The utmost care has been taken over every sentence - no noun or adjective has been misused. Sure, I might've glazed over on some paragraphs because the descriptions were just too much for my brain to cope with on one go, but overall it is a beauty of a book.
Nero Golden arrives in America with his three sons during the period of the inauguration of Obama. They all refuse to say where they have come from and the reason they left. But they bring with them power, money and danger. The story of their downfall is told by one of their neighbours, Rene Unterlinden, who is trying to find an idea for a film - and he finds it in the Goldens. This is an epic tale of Indian and American history and politics - the appearance of presidential wannabes the Joker and Bat Girl will have you grinning and wincing at the same time.
It may be over 400 pages long, but this book will drag you in and under, and you won't come up for air until the last page.
A couple of light hearted facts for you - did you know that in his early career Salman Rushdie was a copywriter for an advertising agency, and he was the one who came up with 'irresistibubble' for Aero, 'naughty but nice' for cream cakes, and 'that'll do nicely' for American Express?
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