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The Enchantress of Florence | 
 enlarge | Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Category: Book
List Price: £18.99
Buy New: £9.51
You Save: £9.48 (50%)
New (36) Used (7) Collectible (9) from £9.41
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 1606
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4
ISBN: 0224061631
EAN: 9780224061636
ASIN: 0224061631
Publication Date: April 3, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New Item. Direct Delivery from UK in 2 - 3 working days.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Opulent feast of a read August 14, 2008
Roland Freisitzer (Vienna, Austria)
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.
A novel about imagination July 30, 2008
Sonia (Delft, the Netherlands)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Imagine a king, a foreigner, a lost princess and a queen who does not really exist but has a mind of her own, and talks, makes love and has her own servants. The latest novel by Salman Rushdie, which I believe to be one of the greatest author of our time, is full of enchantment, stories, and imagination.
This is once again a complex novel by Rushdie, and I believe that I need to read it again to fully comprehend the meaning hiding between the lines. At this point I would say it is an ode to imagination. Rushdie shows that imagination helps us see beyond the borders and what is directly in front of us. It can even bring people to life, such as King Akbar's imaginary wife Jodha, and it can bring us wisdom and tolerance of other worlds. Too much imagination, however, may cause us to lose all touch with reality.
What also stands out in this novel is the issue of religion. Not so much a religion in particular, but religion in general. Rushdie seems to critique monotheism as detrimental to one's imagination, as well as polytheism as imagination run amok.
I give it a tentative 4 stars because the language was once again amazingly beautiful, but I'm not fully convinced I like this novel. It is too Arabian nights for my taste, that is to say, full of princes and kings, giants and warriors, jealous queens and princesses, enchanted pictures and omens, castles and dungeons, etc., etc. While some readers might feel that this adds value to the novel I can't help but feeling it is a bit cliché. Because even though Rushdie is an icon of magical realism, I believe his previous books have a magical quality that has evolved far beyond that of Arabian nights.
But I'm still willing to believe that if I read it again I might appreciate it better.
a must read June 19, 2008
tregatt (Portland, Oregon)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Years ago (more than I'd like to think about), one of my tutors recommended that I read Salman Rushdie's "Haroun and the Sea of Stories." I tried to finish the novel but have to confess that I didn't. I probably lacked the sophistication back then to appreciate the exquisite prose style and painstaking craftsmanship that went into creating that award winning novel. And truthfully speaking I rather thought that Salman Rushdie was going to be one of the many winning authours that would never make to my reading pile. But something about "The Enchantress of Florence" beckoned, and I decided to give it a go. And I'm truly glad that I did. What an exceptionally enthralling and compelling read "The Enchantress of Florence" turned out to be.
The Mughal Emperor, Akbar, is ready for a diversion away from the woes of family and ruling a vast nation, when a mysterious yellow-haired stranger arrives at his court in Fatepur Sikri, claiming to be an ambassador from England. The stranger has many tales to tell about the distant European city of Florence, and the enchantress from the East that enraptured the people of Florence with her beauty and grace, and soon everyone in Sikri is enthralled by the young storyteller's tales. But will these stories prove the undoing of the court, and will Akbar's growing affection for the storyteller cause even more strife amongst his family?
When I was a child, my mother used to subscribe to an Indian magazine for women that had recipes, articles, sewing tips and vignettes about Akbar and his wise advisor Birbal. Reading "The Enchantress of Florence" transported me back to those wonderful carefree days. Constructed somewhat like "The Arabian Nights," with the mysterious stranger playing the part of Scherazade, "The Enchantress of Florence" is a series of short stories that follows the supposed adventures of Qara Koz, a grandaunt of Akbar's, and that of her greatest love, the mercenary general, Argalia. Many of the stories are based on some historical fact, but are told with elements of the fantastical, so that the mood and atmosphere of the novel is really quite fairy-tale like and dazzling. Also adding to this magical tone is Rushdie's powerfully lyrical and vivid prose style and brilliantly rendered scenes. All in all, this was a very, very fascinating and beguiling read that enraptures, dazzles and seduces. Not a book to be missed -- and I think I may be finally grown-up enough to appreciate the authour's other novels
 350 pages of bewilderment June 16, 2008
J. L. Wells (Spain)
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
I came to Amazon to read other people's reviews and see what they had made of this novel, as when I started The Enchantress of Florence, I thought it was a fable and expected to find out of what later on, our modern times, perhaps. But I didn't.
I do not think the Enchantress is an ode to love or eroticism; other novels and writers would spring to mind much before this one. It isn't an ode to anything in particular, to boredom and perplexity, would be my guess. I can only explain this novel thinking that writers are like all of us; they have good and bad moments and would class this one with Fury, in the not-so-good Rushdie category. I will still buy his next novel the minute I hear it is out; some loves are helpless and irremediable.
Salman Rushdie - Sorcerer for The Enchantress of Florence June 2, 2008
V. Oscarsson (Vienna, Austria)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Who breathes life into whom in Salmon Rushdie's latest book, The Enchantress of Florence, the women or the men?
Who believes whom regarding passion, incest, protocol, deceit and corruptionin the sixteenth century?
The Indian princess known as Qara Kos is a descendent of Ghengis Kahn, Timor the Lame and then a few generations later is aunt to Akbar, great military emperor of peace. Her companion is known as the Mirror and both are called Angelica. Through travels and men in the late 1500's, they bring together two far away cities, Florence and Akbar's creation of Fathepur Sikri, capital of India , an hour from Agra, both sharing debauchery, controversial power, philosophy, consciousness of reason, loss, secrets embracing a world of courtesans, wives or fictitious lovers.
Rushdie casts a spell with highly inventive fiction based on carefully documented historical data to combine fact and fable. This reader wonders if he might have been inspired by the tradition of ancient Persian tales such as Alladin's Lamp from Tales of One Thousand Nights - such storytelling perhaps part of Rushdie's heritage to make him a sorcerer like some of his characters.
Florence is the backdrop for the youthful relationship of three male friends each who embark on different lives, which leads to the arrival of Qara Kos in Florence and later supposed offspring who then seeks out his relationship with his distant relative, Akbar, Shelter of the World, Elephant King. Fatehpur Sikri comes alive during its short fifteen-year existence. Time plays a curious role in the unfolding of events.
Where lies the mystery, magic and witchcraft when Akbar, a leader without knowledge to read, searches for answers by bringing to his court some of the greatest minds around the world? Water was crucial to the existence of Sikri fortress in the desert. Sophisticated systems for reservoirs and canals were devised -even today incomprehensible, how. Then the plug was pulled, water gone and the kingdom fell to its ruin. Akbar felt deceived though was it his visitor/distant relation whom he had deceived that broke him?
Unlike Rushdie's controversial Satanic Verses - a dense labyrinth of intellectualized ideas, not so easy to follow though an example a great mind at work - this narrative feels more resolved. Sensitivity and curiosity makes one think that the writer's own fascination with the story has conjured the magic of telling it.
Renaissance Florence is around every corner, all walks of life through much political unrest. For those that have visited the magnificent ruins of Fathepur Sikri or have not, the trials of Akbar's vision for tolerance and love soar beyond conventional barriers of poetic prose, one of Rushdie's signature feats.
Not without challenge to keep wanderings of the tale centered, a full circle intrigue of dynasties unfold with a terrific pace until the final sentence....... maintaining Rushdie as among the highly respected, multi-cultural writers of our time.
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