Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4987 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Review
Readers who succumb to the spell of Rushdie's convoluted, cross-continental fable may find it enchanting; those with less patience could consider it interminable.This is a very different sort of novel for Rushdie (Shalimar the Clown, 2005, etc.), partly based in Renaissance Italy and intensely researched (there are pages of entries listed in its bibliography), though themes of East and West, love and betrayal, religion and unbelief, sex and sex, are familiar from previous work. It's plain that the author worked hard on this deliriously ambitious book, and so must the reader. Despite the title, there is more than one enchantress of Florence, and other key characters have multiple names and perhaps identities as well. Some characters might even be imaginary. The plot commences with the arrival of a blonde-haired vagabond who has traveled from his native Florence to deliver a message from the Queen of England to "the emperor Abdul-Fath Jalaluddin Muhammad known since his childhood as Akbar, meaning 'the great,' and latterly, in spite of the tautology of it, as Akbar the Great, the great great one, great in his greatness, doubly great, so great that the repetition in his title was not only appropriate but necessary in order to express the gloriousness of his glory." And so on. The man from the Christian West and the emperor of the Muslim East develop a strong bond, mainly through the stories spun by the former (in which he assumes multiple names and identities) to the latter. Yet at one point, even Akbar issues "[a] curse on all storytellers," telling his visitor "You're taking too long. . .You can't draw this out forever..." Machiavelli and Medicis make their appearances, as the plot shifts to the impossibly beautiful seductress of the title, who also finds her way from Italy to the emperor, and who ultimately gives clues to her identity by explaining, "The Mirror's daughter was the mirror of her mother and of the woman whose mirror the Mirror had been."Rapturously poetic in places, very funny in others, yet the novel ultimately challenges both patience and comprehension. (Kirkus Reviews)

The Economist
`carefully wrought and often exquisite'

Guardian Review
'it is the hand of the master artist, past all explanation, that gives this book its glamour and its power, its humour and shock, its verve, its glory. It is a wonderful tale full of follies and enchantments. East meets west with a clash of cymbals and a burst of fireworks'

Customer Reviews

enchanting
It is a story in the confines of a fairytale and a language so poetic, that makes a wonderful book. I found Rushdie's style once again unmistakably elegant and unique, making him one of the best english writers of today.

Looking at some of the reviews, maybe this is not exactly the book for the common reader or the kind of book you want to read on your holidays. But I strongly recommend to anyone who really appreciates the art of writing, to give this one a try.

Totally Indulgent/unnecessary prose
This is the 3rd Salman Rushdie book I have read (Fury&Midnights Children) although I failed to finish it as I also failed with Midnights.
The reason is that he has this overly indulgent/elaborate use of phrases and prose as if to show off his command of the English Language and complexity of sentence construction.
While undoubtedely skilful in his use of flowery words it is often unenecesssary and actually becomes very tedious in the extreme suggesting some deep chip on his shoulder / insecurity. A real shame because a more secure Salman should be a genuine talent.

Opulent feast of a read
Salman Rushdie, unfortunately still seen by many as the scandal writer of "The Satanic Verses" only, has with his new book given us readers again a magnificent novel. "The Enchantress of Florence" is a beautiful and opulent reading feast. Considering that one of the books characters is Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), the main time of this novel is the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century. A novel, which skilfully plays with the idea of "1001 Nights and Scheherazade", giving the story-telling role to a young european traveller, yellow haired, calling himself the "Mogor dell'Amore" and claiming to be the child of the lost Mughal princess Qara Koz. He tells his story to the feared Emperor Mughal Akbar, of course knowing that belief or disbelief will decide his fate. Salman Rushdie has written a (sometimes rather frivolous) fable, a wonderful book about love, trust, treachery, enchantment, the art of story-telling and the story of Lady Black Eyes. A tale of many voices, all perfectly united in one whole by Salman Rushdie, who has herewith delivered what I guess is maybe his best novel to date.