The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

352 pages (Fiction)

The story begins with a European character on his way to the Emperor Akbar’s palace in Fatehpur Sikri, the newly built victory capital, to tell a story that can only be heard by the emperor. He tells those who impede him that it would mean death for anyone that hears it besides Akbar. The character’s name changes numerous times in the story depending on who he is with and what he is attempting at the time. After some effort he is allowed into Akbar’s presence and begins his tale. From here the book diverges into a myriad of fantasy and fact.

Rushdie has made the story exist in our history, but adds magic to every part of the tale explaining it this way: "such occurrences being normal at that time, before the real and the unreal were segregated forever and doomed to live apart under different monarchs and separate legal systems". All of Rushdie’s novels I have read have a touch of the magical. In this book he takes it to the extreme. The charecters are famous people from history such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Genghis Khan, and Vlad the Impaler. Other historical charecters appear as well. Akbar the Great, a Mughal emperor, is a main character that becomes facinated with the story of the traveler that we eventually come to know as Vespucci. He claims, despite not looking close to old enough, that he is the uncle of the Emperor. The tale weaves between two worlds. The time of the Medici’s in Florence and the “current” time in Sikri. Witches and Spells, Enchantresses and Oils, Harems and Wives, Mirrors and Reflections, Magic and Reality all tumbled together bouncing between these two entertwined tales. The “reality” of the story gets so mixed with the fact that from my point of view (someone that knows virutally none of the real history) it all seems to be a fantasy.

One of the characters becomes so in love with the idea of the perfect wife that she appears and satisfies him in everyway, so much so that his bevy of real wives are ignored. A whore known as the Skeleton, when paid two gold coins, anoints a traveler with oils. These oils enchant each person he meets wearing off in time to allow the underlying scent to bewitch the next one. A woman whose power of magic and beauty make all that see her fall under her spell. A city stays quiet by Kingly decree, but music and parties abound in his absense. A pair of women so beautiful that the one could only be considered unperfect when compared to the other. A righteous king is basically a sex starved pervert. A common whore has the key to saving a city. These and many other expeirences like it is what makes this book great. As the two stories unfold they reveal smaller short stories within them..This is obviously an homage to A 1,001 Arabian Nights. Rushdie adds little details to show you this is true. It is interesting that this book isn’t completly original. As you read the book you find yourself recognising different parts of other stories you have heard. Some might see this as a detraction from the book. I find the writing style and the integration of these stories is what make this “detraction” a bonus.

I found the book to be engrossing. It wasn’t that I wanted to turn each page to find out what happened next, but was pleased to be invited to live in this magical world of fairy tales. It is difficult to describe the plot of the book. It is a story about stories. What you dreamed was possible and the fantastic was waiting around the corner. The mixture of realism and magic drew me like a child into my first fairy tale. This book is much more about the journey than the destination.

Of course Rushdie’s writing style was superb. His way with words is always a constant joy. Every other page you can find an engaging similie or a exciting comparison. This is always something I have enjoyed about his writing and I am not disapointed with this addition. His ability to take your conventional view of something and twist it so you look at it a different way is wonderful.

5 Emotional: The book’s ability to draw you in and allow an adult to be a child is magnificant. This is a perfect fit for me. The ability to engage and tantalize is perfect.

4: Intellectual: The intermixing of our history with the fantasy pleases in ways that few books do. I should note the Rushdie does use some words that are far from common use. A handy dictionary will help you out.

4: Long Term Impact: Arabian Nights for the modern age is a way this book will surley be looked at. I don’t know that it could have the staying power of that, but I think it could be just as relevent in 100 years. Then it would be a vision into our past as well as the times it was written in.

A 13 out of 13. A perfect score. I think this books is one of the best I have read. It is one of the best books by one of my favorite authors and I think anyone that isn’t turned off by fantasy should read it. I should add that the book can be a somewhat difficult read. I consider myself well read and I found a number of words I didn’t know. Most things could be understood by