THE GOLDEN HOUSE

u003cbu003eu003ciu003eNEW YORK TIMESu003c/iu003e BESTSELLER - A modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture--a hurtling, page-turning mystery that is equal parts u003ciu003eThe Great Gatsbyu003c/iu003e and u003ciu003eThe Bonfire of the Vanitiesu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003e u003cpu003eu003cbu003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR - PBS - u003ciu003eHARPER'S BAZAARu003c/iu003e -u003ciu003e ESQUIREu003c/iu003e - u003ciu003eFINANCIAL TIMESu003c/iu003e - u003ciu003eTHE TIMES OF INDIAu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003e u003cpu003e On the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, an enigmatic billionaire from foreign shores takes up residence in the architectural jewel of "the Gardens," a cloistered community in New York's Greenwich Village. The neighborhood is a bubble within a bubble, and the residents are immediately intrigued by the eccentric newcomer and his family. Along with his improbable name, untraceable accent, and unmistakable whiff of danger, Nero Golden has brought along his three adult sons: agoraphobic, alcoholic Petya, a brilliant recluse with a tortured mind; Apu, the flamboyant artist, sexually and spiritually omnivorous, famous on twenty blocks; and D, at twenty-two the baby of the family, harboring an explosive secret even from himself. There is no mother, no wife; at least not until Vasilisa, a sleek Russian expat, snags the septuagenarian Nero, becoming the queen to his king--a queen in want of an heir. u003cpu003e Our guide to the Goldens' world is their neighbor René, an ambitious young filmmaker. Researching a movie about the Goldens, he ingratiates himself into their household. Seduced by their mystique, he is inevitably implicated in their quarrels, their infidelities, and, indeed, their crimes. Meanwhile, like a bad joke, a certain comic-book villain embarks upon a crass presidential run that turns New York upside-down. u003cpu003e Set against the strange and exuberant backdrop of current American culture and politics, u003ciu003eThe Golden Houseu003c/iu003e also marks Salman Rushdie's triumphant and exciting return to realism. The result is a modern epic of love and terrorism, loss and reinvention--a powerful, timely story told with the daring and panache that make Salman Rushdie a force of light in our dark new age. u003cpu003eu003cbu003ePraise for u003ciu003eThe Golden Houseu003cbru003eu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e"[A] modern masterpiece . . . telling a story full of wonder and leaving you marveling at how it ever came out of the author's head."u003cbu003e--Associated Pressu003c/bu003e u003cpu003e "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 u003ciu003eThe Golden Houseu003c/iu003e."u003cbu003eu003ciu003e--Poets & Writersu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003e u003cpu003e "A tonic addition to American--no, world!--literature . . . a Greek tragedy with Indian roots and New York coordinates."u003cbu003e--u003ciu003eSan Francisco Chronicleu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003e