Goldin: A Tale

When a man meets the gods, nothing remains the same. Goldin is a rich novel in which myth and fairytale are drawn into conversation with urgent ecological and spiritual concerns. In a literary feast of tales within tales, one man's crisis blurs into the fate of the world. A goldsmith called Alan Goldin is selected by the gods to help them decide how they should respond to the world's predicament. Should they intervene? Should they do nothing?

To be an impartial adviser, Goldin must sacrifice that which he loves most. The spiritual crisis that this provokes brings him into contact with Mataji, an ancient woman who has incarnated the goddess many times. Mataji's story, a narrative of yearning, desire, sex and bliss which spans 150 years, reveals that she and Goldin are caught up in the same problem. Her gods are Indian, rather than Greco-Roman, but they are equally disturbed by the impact of modernity.

Goldin repeatedly explores the granting and choosing of wishes and desires. As one character puts it, "mortals have built a wish-granting machine of fabulous power, and can force the poor world to yield up whatever they like. But they have not wished well."