"A master of dark, cutting humor, restless and allusive, Goldberg turns the Chteau, its Lexus-driving Russians, and a nearly 90-year-old American WWII veteran who drunkenly shoots at the ocean with his machine gun every night into a mad metaphor for Trump''s America. Following up his acclaimed debut, The Yid (2016), Goldberg confirms his status as one of Jewish fiction''s liveliest new voices, walking in the shoes of such deadpan provocateurs as Mordecai Richler and Stanley Elkin." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "A salty, witty, tragic comedy [about] Russian Jewish immigrants, Florida retirees, condo living, "Donal''d Trump," elderly sex, old folks who can scam the early bird dinner speicals, and more.This satire provides sharp commentary on American society as well as an affecting story of old people with nowhere to go and no way to get there." --Publishers Weekly "Goldberg follows his delirious Stalin-era satire, The Yid (2016), with an qually caustic send-up of today''s brand of authoritarianism.With allusions to Gogol.impishly comedic Goldberg -- peer to Tom Wolfe, Leslie Epstein, and Stanley Elkin -- cannily burlesques the toxicity of human folly uynder Trump and Putin." --Donna Seaman, Booklist " The Chteau is rich enough to read more than once.
" -- Stephanie Shapiro, The Buffalo News "The sign of a great literary noir is one that cannot decide whether it is about crime or about an existential crisis. This is the story of Paul Goldberg''s novel The Ch teau , a detective story that is as humorous as it is sinister. The book treats the idea of a detective story with total irony, toppling it over onto itself--which is perhaps the greatest homage a writer can make these days to a particular form. The hallmarks of mystery fiction are teased out faithfully and yet so irreverently that the novel becomes a sort of anti-noir. Goldberg''s Florida is as surreal and full of danger, comedy, characters, and absurd detours as the Coen Brothers'' Los Angeles. And as is the case with The Big Lebowski , a macro look at some of the genre''s greatest works shows just how much The Ch teau belongs to it." -- Alexander Aciman, Tablet "Melsor and the residents of his condo feel wholly original, fleshed-out, and grounded in something real, in turn allowing Bill''s characterization to rise above what we might expect. Bill and Melsor''s relationship, the wonky, beating heart of The Chteau , feels so well-worn and lived-in that its volatile pushes-and-pulls contain some genuinely touching moments.
Goldberg''s book is clearly the culmination of some serious thought about what the alarming rise of MAGA-ness means, skillfully deployed in a glib, almost theatrical fictional setting with an undeniably intimate touch ." --Deborah Krieger, Popmatters.com "Paul Goldberg''s The Chteau is a timely, hilarious exploration of Floridian life in Donald Trump''s America and is one of the most enjoyable romps we''ve experienced so far in 2018." --Chelsea Hassler, PopSugar.com "The 20 Best New Books to Read in February" " The Chteau is one of the best settings in recent fiction, a Hotel California transplanted to swampy Florida, or maybe the apartment building from Rosemary''s Baby, full of cryptically satanic retirees eagerly awaiting the birth of the new presidency . Melsor''s fellow inhabitants are lively and fun, even when we find ourselves wishing that they had died prior to voting for Donal''d Tramp the previous November. Amid often zany comedy, Goldberg never loses sight of the deep tragedy of old Florida Jews supporting a man whose election has ushered in the resurgence of Nazism as a major political force and whose policies threaten to sink Florida into the sea. In a novel concerned with Russianness and Trump''s inauguration, it is not surprising that the question of Russia''s impact on the 2016 American election occasionally arises.
Happily, the novel is less concerned with collusion, a shallow question of logistics, than it is with convergence. Let us hope that Goldberg continues to write dark, entertaining, serious, playful novels long after Donal''d Tramp has left the White House ." --David Burr Gerrard, The Brooklyn Rail "A lively tale in a microcosm of Trump''s (or Donal''d Tramp, as the Russian residents call him) America. The story all takes place in the week leading up to Trump''s (or Tramp''s) inauguration. "Make Chteau Great Again!" proclaims a leaflet in the building''s elevator. It''s littered with witticisms and observations of the perhaps irony that a building of immigrants would be so enthusiastic about Trump . But again, as the narrator -- who sometimes breaks the fourth wall -- points out, this is Florida. The writing is lively, the characters eccentric, the plotline captivating .
[ The Chteau is] creative and darkly funny at the right moments, and showcases Goldberg''s prowess for language." --Marissa Stern, Jewish Exponent "This is a farce for the modern age. A hilarious romp that''s well worth your time." --Charles Trapunski, BriefTake.com "Most Anticipated Books of February 2018" "Goldberg.deftly grafts the language and ideas of Trump''s presidential campaign, and now the first year of his presidency, onto his second fictional work. The effect is a reading experience that''s unmistakably set in Trump''s America, which could make you want to stop reading, but you shouldn''t. The Chteau isn''t toxic.
You won''t choke. In the growing category of Trump novels, which includes Salman Rushdie''s The Golden House , this entry will make you laugh . The novel is nearly 400 pages, but its pacing feels more like cable news. You''re always on to the next thing in the plot, which includes everything from wiretapping Melsor''s election opponent to the book''s characters finding echoes between events in their story and Gogol''s The Government Inspector . Along the way, Goldberg references directly or indirectly all of your favourites: Putin, (fear of) immigration, climate change, Russia, prostitutes, kompromat, Russia, fake news, conspiracy, Russia, health insurance, blackmail, Russia, ISIS, feminism, wiretapping, and on it goes." --Michael Czobit, The Globe and Mail " A scathing satire of Trump''s America . Goldberg''s mordant satire - invoking and channeling a distinguished Russian literary tradition extending back to Gogol - hits home and bites hard. Set during the week before Trump''s inauguration, Goldberg''s novel unfolds within the Chteau Sedan Neuve, a crumbling high-rise condominium in Hollywood, Fla.
Governed by a corrupt board - rigging bids with contractors doing shoddy work while longtime residents get evicted - it''s a metaphor for America itself." --Mike Fischer, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel "Clever, irreverent wordsmithing, a feature of Goldberg''s The Yid , returns in The Chteau , another madcap romp among Russians. But these Russians live in Chteau Sedan Neuve, a once elegant, now decaying south Florida high-rise condominium. Goldberg makes this the setting for vodka-saturated mayhem, where some of the craziest characters turn out to be the sanest, the crooked are called fascists, and many residents are linguistically challenged caricatures -- boorish immigrants going figuratively to pot and literally to potbellies. Goldberg captures speech delightfully, and perfectly expresses feelings of longtime journalists -- and there are plenty of them -- pushed out of newsrooms for the sin of failing to stay young." --Neal Gendler, Amerian Jewish World "[An] outrageous comic romp." --Tom Beer, Newsday "Goldberg''s absurd novel smartly evokes America in the age of Trump." -- The National Book Review "A powerful and dark comedy that unfolds in the two weeks leading up to the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
It is also a briskly paced crime novel festooned with pithy observations. Goldberg skillfully depicts the fiery, no-holds-barred condo board battles with everything from slapstick routines to clever repartee. His ruthless, razor sharp satire of Russian immigrant behavior may remind some readers of Gary Shteyngart. Underneath the humor, however, there is a serious vein of introspection that provides the gravitas required to make this a very worthwhile read." --Tommy Schnurmacher, Jewish Book Council Paper Brigade PRAISE FOR THE YID "A dazzling tragicomic debut." --Jane Ciabattari, NPR.ORG "[A] singular debut novel. An ambitious historical fantasy.
The Yid is a screwball farce about atrocity.Paul Goldberg''s animating intelligence gives all this madness a stunning coherence that, these days, we all too rarely get from either art or life." --Maureen Corrigan, NPR''s Fresh Air " The Yid is darkly playful and generous with quick insights into the vast weirdness of its landscape." --Glen David Gold, The Washington Post.