The Golden House

In The Golden House, British Indian author Salman Rushdie presents an immigrant family's story, set against the backdrop of changing landscapes in American politics and culture. Patriarch Nero Golden and his children Petya, Apu, and D are the Golden family of the novel's title, and their experiences—in New York City and in Mumbai, India—unfold from the perspective of their neighbor, an aspiring filmmaker named René. The Golden House, first published by Random House in 2017, ranked among the best books of the year by several top publications, including Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, and The Times of India.

The novel opens on Barack Obama's inauguration day. This America is a different America than the one the Goldens' story will close on. There is a sense of hope across the nation and within the Golden household as elderly Nero and his sons settle into their new home in Greenwich Village. Each of the Golden children shoulders a substantial and largely silent burden. Petya is the oldest, and in addition to having a brilliant mind and fiery intellect, he is an alcoholic whose anxiety prevents him from leaving the safety of the house. The second oldest, Apu, rails against conformity, living with a fierce creativity and bohemian sensibility. The youngest child, D, has gender identity struggles, as well as issues stemming from the fact that they have a different mother than their brothers do.

One day, the Goldens' neighbor, René, comes over to introduce himself. As he gets to know the family, he decides he wants to make a movie about them and their unique perspective on American life.



Soon, the burdens of the Golden children grow even more pronounced. A woman named Ubah comes between Petya and Apu, erecting a barrier between the two brothers. D finds themselves falling for a woman named Riya and worries about how their gender identity issues might influence that relationship. Nero, too, finds love, with Vasilia Arsenyeva, a much-younger Russian expatriate desperate for an heir—and for Nero's money.

After Nero and Vasilia marry, D thinks more seriously about transitioning from male to female. Around this same time, René's parents die in a car accident. Nero invites René to come live with them, and the grieving young man accepts the generous offer. René begins putting his life back together with the help of his new girlfriend, Suchitra.

Meanwhile, Vasilia has trouble conceiving a child with the aged Nero. Frantic for an heir and an opportunity to get her hands more solidly on Nero's money, Vasilia secretly seduces René. She convinces him to father her child, which she will pass off as Nero's. René, reluctantly, agrees, deceiving the two people he loves most in the world: his surrogate father Nero and the love of his life, Suchitra.



Petya begins to get over his agoraphobia after learning that Apu and Ubah slept together. He vows revenge on Apu, who goes back to Mumbai to visit his childhood home. But the trip is an ill-fated one. While in Mumbai, Apu is killed. This tragedy reveals a little-known fact about Nero's past: At one time, he was a member of the mafia, and he crossed the wrong people; now, they have forced him to sacrifice his middle son to atone for his own sins.

Nevertheless, there is good news, too—on the surface, at least. Vasilia announces she is pregnant. Nero is happy, though he has no way of knowing that René is the baby's real father.

D's journey continues. She transitions to living as a woman full time, but the trauma of her experience, her past, and her current family situation is too much to bear. Feeling no other way out of her pain, D commits suicide.



Vasilia has a son, whom she names Vespasian. René feels trapped by the elaborate charade Vasilia has ensnared them all in. He laments to himself the complexity of his predicament, of Vasilia's cunning, of his own failings, and of his outsized anger over the name Vespasian.

Nero is still grappling with his grief over the deaths of Apu and D. In unburdening himself, Nero reveals his past as a member of the mafia and the role he played in the death of his first wife; this led, years later, to Apu's death, and now Nero faces the towering guilt of his own culpability in both deaths. Moved by Nero's confession, René offers his own admission: He slept with Vasilia and is the likely father of Vespasian. Devastated, Suchitra leaves René.

Time passes, and René does not get over Suchitra. Recognizing his own failings, he sets out to win her back, and, eventually, he does. Shortly after they get back together, the Greenwich Village house catches fire and burns down, claiming the lives of both Nero and Vasilia. Vespasian survives, and René and Suchitra raise him together.