54: The Golden House by Salman Rushdie...one of four new hardcovers I splurged on one day recently, having listened to him speak briefly of this newest novel of his on public radio. I've enjoyed his writing in the past, and I was not disappointed by this read. I really enjoyed the timeliness of this contemporary novel, presenting a story that was extremely current, right through its addressing of the recent Presidential campaigns, the election, the outcome, the response. And I enjoyed the narrative voice, which at times prompted me to hear Garrison Keillor's, commenting objectively on the state of things in a situation, a list, following that, of details and facts to support it. I further enjoyed the multiple layers of the story and its many motifs--characters' questionably ambiguous histories, tragedy and its related allusions, filmmaking, transgender/identity issues--to create a valuable complexity and intertwining of stories and their value overall. I especially appreciated the narrator making a film all the while, but also, as I saw it, being filmed, as he is as much a part of the story as he is its teller. At times, the book plodded, but some of the very best do! I think many of you will enjoy this one.