The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
Discussion Questions Available!!
Release date: 2008 / 349 pages
Synopsis (from back cover):
The Enchantress of Florence is the story of a mysterious woman, a great beauty believed to possess the powers of enchantment and sorcery, attempting to command her own destiny in a man’s world. It is the story of two cities at the height of their powers — the hedonistic Mughal capital, in which the brilliant emperor Akbar the Great wrestles daily with questions of belief, desire, and the treachery of his sons, and the equally sensual city of Florence during the High Renaissance, where Niccolo Machiavelli takes a starring role as he learns, the hard way, about the true brutality of power.
First Line: “In the day’s last light the glowing lake below the palace-city looked like a sea of molten gold.”
Review: One of my goals this year was to finally read something by Salman Rushdie. Happily, my book club agreed and we chose his latest novel because it seemed a bit more manageable than some of his earlier novels. Well, I must admit that I was very, very impressed by Rushdie’s prose, but also felt a bit adrift at times by the story.
Part I grabbed me immediately — the first line I’ve reprinted above is a beautiful example of Rushdie’s imagery and I was swept away by the story at the end of the first page. Not only did I find the emperor intriguing, I loved how Rushdie weaved questions regarding the supremacy of self, how our perception dictates our reality, whether the “faith of our fathers” is simply a man-made tradition that we can’t shake, whether or not travelling truly enriches our sense of self, etc., etc,. etc. By the end of part I, the pages were flying by and I was thoroughly hooked.
Then came part II. Ugh. I quickly became bogged down by the historical references and the multitudinous characters with their changing names. The tight plot of the first 125 pages seemed to get lost — or at least this reader did. And I did not renew my enjoyment until the last 25 pages of the final part. While this novel is a story within a story (although not quite a frame story), I couldn’t help but wonder if it should truly have been two separate stories. The rolicking pace of the first bit seemed bogged down by the weight of history — and I was not surprised to find 5 pages of bibliography at the end.
However, I am so very glad that I attempted Rushdie’s work… and may again in the future. Overall, I found reading his prose rewarding and loved how he addressed the numerous issues I mentioned earlier. Here is a sample from the scene Rushdie considers to be pivotal in the novel:
Land and sky began to feel like ancient fables. This blind floating was the universe entire. . . . He tried to tell himself stories to keep his spirits up but could only think of frightening ones, a leviathan rising from the deep to crunch a boat in its gigantic jaws, the uncoiling of deep-sea worms, the breathing of underwater dragonfire. Then after a further time all the stories faded away as well and he was left without defenses or recourse, a lonely human soul drifting vaguely into the white. This was what was left of a human individual when you took away his home, his family, his friends, his city, his country, his world: a being without context, whose past had faded, whose future was bleak, an entity stripped of name, of meaning, of the whole of life except a temporarily beating heart.
Truly exquisite! So, I do recommend this novel — but with a few reservations. If you are still willing to accept the challenge, drop me a comment and I will soon choose a winner. And, if your book club decides to tackle this novel, I do have discussion questions available, too.
I would love a chance to read this book! It looks very interesting!
Please include me in your giveaway.
Thanks
Debbie
debdesk9@verizon.net
I appreciate the chance to win in your giveaway.
Melanie
I loved this book, great review! No need to enter me in the giveaway though, I already have it.
You won, Melanie! Congratulations!!