Gold Rush is a novel on celebrity culture and consent, very much inspired by #MeToo. Rose works in celebrity PR and we’re immediately thrust into that world of wild parties and gossip. Everyone is talking about Milo Jax, world-famous musician. Specifically, they are talking about how much they would love to sleep with him. But when this seemingly globally-shared wish comes true for Rose, it’s not the experience everyone said it would be. The night they spend together is hazy and confusing, and afterwards Rose begins to spiral with anxiety.
This story is a well-grounded look at what it means to have your consent violated and how experiences of rape and domestic abuse turn over in a person’s psyche. There were moments in this novel that felt incredibly raw and real but, whilst I thought those pieces were handled with care and precision, this felt lacking for the rest of the book. It seemed slow in places with some characters feeling underdeveloped and there was a disjointed chapter near the end where the perspective changed. The ending also felt abrupt to me and, for these reasons, I found it hard to fully connect. For such hard-hitting subject matter, my expectations were high and I’m afraid that, in my opinion, it was a surface-level exploration when considering the novel as a whole.
Review by Abi.
Gold Rush was published on 18/07/24 by 4th Estate
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