One of the only critical reviews came from The New York Post, which claimed, “The red room of pain in Fifty Shades of Grey would fit right into Trump Tower.” The review only discussed events that happen within the first few pages of the novel, such as a tenant of New York City’s Trump Tower being held against her will in an act that’s depicted as sexy BDSM but is not consensual. This clear moment of sexual assault is presented nonchalantly in the book.
Although the book depicts the graphic sex lives of those living and working in Trump Tower (such as an employee having sex on the set of “Celebrity Apprentice”), Trump’s real-life building continues to promote the book prominently in its retail areas.
Just last year, the book was featured on the top shelf of the Trump Store in the building, above all other books by Trump. As of this month, Trump Tower is advertised in a display case right next to the main floor’s Trump Bar and was one of the only books still sold at the tower’s store
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rump Tower is an incredibly sexist novel. Just about every single female character’s level of attractiveness is described, while male characters get little physical description. Bust-size is repeatedly mentioned with lines like, “She was dressed in white, with her blouse open to her navel, which did nothing to hide her small breasts.”
Even when a female character is briefly mentioned, much of the writing space is used to describe her appearance, often with a term like “plump.” That descriptor is used for three different women in the book.
The novel also spends quite a bit of time describing various Trump properties, such as Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Golf Club. The main storyline focuses on the employees and tenants of New York’s Trump Tower, but Trump himself pops up from time to time to dismiss a tenant as a crazy person, to discuss whether to fire someone, or to talk about his sex life.
The dominant arc of the novel follows the building manager as he tries to keep the tower running smoothly. The novel opens with the manager telling himself, “Donald Trump only thinks he rules Trump Tower.” The book concludes, more than 400 pages later, with the manager overcoming multiple obstacles, only to have Trump undermine his authority in the very last paragraph.