House of Gold

House of Gold is about The Goldbaum dynasty, loosely based on the real-world Rothschild family, depicts what life was like for the privileged family during pre-WW1. Both male heirs and female family members have pre-destined lives. The men are expected to be bankers, and women must marry suitable men, sometimes marrying first cousins to keep everything within the family.  Other than arranged marriages, the women are expected to produce heirs to carry on the family name.

The main character, Greta begrudgingly marries her cousin, Albert. At first I felt sorry for her, but then came to realize Albert wasn’t so keen on marrying her either. Somehow, they grow to tolerate each other, and eventually a tender love begins to emerge. I was beginning to like this book at this point.

I adored the secondary character, Greta’s brother, Otto. His dedication and love for his sister is lovely. My heart broke when he went to war. I also grew to love Albert, and actually started to dislike Greta for the way she treated him. Later in the story, she redeems herself (in my eyes) by helping less fortunate woman, and showing more of her innermost thoughts with her husband.

Then I started considering not finishing the book, but wanted to give it a chance ... I continued. 

I was bored: The Goldbaum men deal with anti-Semitism, and all the banking issues involved with the brewing war. This part of the book dragged on for me. I felt there was way too much info-dumping. I really didn’t anticipate a history lesson, and found myself skimming through these dull parts. There was simply way too much telling and not enough showing in this aspect of the story. 

Then I felt cheated: At times this story line jumped ahead and yanked me out of the story, and left me wondering if I missed something. (I did skim over boring financial discussions after all.) 

But after turning back the pages, I realized I didn’t miss anything to do with Greta’s self-growth. The story simply skipped an integral part of her life.  Did her ambivalence simply evaporate? When did they consummate the marriage? When was this child born? How did she feel about being pregnant? How did they reach that point in their relationship? Suddenly she was a loving mother and wife, without an inkling that she was pregnant. When did this take place? 

As I mentioned above, I wanted to like this book, but I feel cheated. I am left with many questions and a slew of disappointment. It was if a chapter or two was omitted. The character growth was suddenly plopped in my lap. My interest began to wane… and it never sparked again. Sadly, it affects my opinion of this book.

2 stars

Copy of book compliments of NetGalley. All opinions are my own.