House of Gold and other October Reads

I finished 9 books in October:

Turpentine by Spring Warren
House of Gold by Natasha Solomons (ARC)
Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder (audiobook)
Seconds by David Ely
The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan (reread)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware (audiobook)
Finders Keepers by Stephen King

I received a copy of House of Gold by Natasha Solomons through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. House of Gold was released on October 23, 2018.

House of Gold is the story of the Goldbaum family, a Jewish European family, before and through, World War I. The family is a financial icon, running banks across Europe that influence politics, industry, and the daily lives of people throughout Europe. To maintain the strength of the family, and tie the various houses together, marriages are often arranged between cousins. This is where Greta finds herself, planned to marry her cousin Albert, and leave her family in Austria to live with him in England. Neither Greta nor Albert are thrilled with the arrangement, but they do what is expected. Just as Greta starts to make sense of her new life, and find happiness in her new home, the War strikes. This war divides the Goldbaum family, with members fighting for both sides, and the ties that held their houses and financial power torn asunder.

While this is a novel, and is definitely fiction (not based on real people as far as I know), the story is rich with the history of the time. Discussions about whether or not to have electrical lights in the new house, whether women can wear pants while gardening (or remove their corsets), and struggles with childbirth and reproductive rights place the reader in the historical context. This story is definitely focused on Greta and her personal journey within this family and this time period. But the larger story, the question of the survival of the family as a whole and the world as a whole, loomed large. We spent a lot of time away from Greta, seeing the big picture from other points of view. In the end, I wanted more connection between Greta's story and the larger one. Even a moment where she saw her place in the big picture would have helped me here.

Throughout the story, the characters were consistent, and seemed to be accurate representations of the mindsets of the time. Again, I would have like more reflection. There are high stakes in this novel; characters lives are threatened, characters die, and I found myself not feeling the events. I realized this may have been because I had few moments to see the characters feel the events, and respond to them. I felt a bit distant from the characters and what they were experiencing.

I also struggled to keep track of the when and where throughout the story. This is not the author's fault. Headings throughout the novel included locations, months, and years. I just had difficulty tracking through a part of the world that is unfamiliar to me, and keeping dates in my head. I almost always struggle with this in novels with such a large scope, and have no idea what an author could do to make it easier to follow.

Overall, House of Gold was a good read. It was not my favorite historical novel, but it was an interesting historical look at a specific group of people during a significant moment in history.