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| The Enchantress of Florence | 
 enlarge | Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £18.99
Buy Used: £8.50
You Save: £10.49 (55%)
New (34) from £8.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 4385
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
Condition: Almost as new. Minimal shelf wear. An excellent copy. Quick delivery from experienced online bookseller.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Poignant and beautiful November 18, 2008
This was my first Rushdie book, and I admit I was expecting some literary look-at-me gymnastics, using fifteen words when three would do. I was delighted that instead I was blown away by Rushdie's elegant and thoughtful construction. I have read many books that with hindsight seemed to want to be 'the new Rushdie', but the man himself is orders of magnitude better than any writer I've read in months. A beautifully woven tale about an all-powerful yet constantly thoughtful king, intrigued by the stories of a colourful foreigner.
Powerful women are seemingly a recurring theme in Rushdie novels, but I didn't really get a feel for that in this book; I doubt the Enchantress of the title would have found her way so easily had she not been a princess from a powerful family who also happened to be the most beautiful woman on earth. To be fair, the women and the men in the story were all fairly unrealistic, but all colourfully drawn and never less than intriguing.
This is a beguiling tale and anyone who likes language will be delighted with it. I will look for other Rushdie books after enjoying this one.
 A flawed genius October 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Rushdie is a genius. His sentence structure is ornate. His knowledge of Eastern culture is deep in the extreme. The mental gymnastics required to weave complex story lines through and over each other is breathtaking. But is it a good read? Hardly. Having acquired the knowledge, no doubt through extensive research, he is like a schoolboy showing off a new conker. Each character has not one name but quite unnecessarily, three or four which he reels off casually with the obsession of an inveterate name dropper. It's like listening to a musician who has achieved the very pinnacle of ability in playing scales. It just isn't much fun to listen to and you wish they would play a melody instead. Despite a beautiful cover and an intriguing title, do yourself a favour, leave this book on the shelf and go and do something more interesting instead.
enchanting September 15, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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 September 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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 August 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
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