Salman Rushdie's mesmerising new novel is a modern-day thriller set against the panorama of American culture and politics since the inauguration of Barack Obama. Invoking literature, pop culture and cinema, The Golden House presents a host of memorable characters, including a young American film-maker whose involvement with a secretive, tragedy-haunted family teaches him how to become a man. Rushdie weaves together a gripping story of life over the last eight years: the rise of the Tea Party, Gamergate and identity politics; the backlash against political correctness; and the insurgence of a ruthlessly ambitious, narcissistic, media-savvy villain sporting make-up and coloured hair.