The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel |
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List Price: $26.00
Our Price: $17.16
Your Save: $ 8.84 ( 34% )
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Manufacturer: Random House
Average Customer Rating:   
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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780375504334
ISBN: 0375504338
Label: Random House
Manufacturer: Random House
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: 2008-05-27
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: 2008-05-27
Studio: Random House
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Editorial Reviews:
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A tall, yellow-haired, young European traveler calling himself “Mogor dell’Amore,” the Mughal of Love, arrives at the court of the Emperor Akbar, lord of the great Mughal empire, with a tale to tell that begins to obsess the imperial capital, a tale about a mysterious woman, a great beauty believed to possess powers of enchantment and sorcery, and her impossible journey to the far-off city of Florence.
The Enchantress of Florence is the story of a woman attempting to command her own destiny in a man’s world. It is the story of two cities, unknown to each other, at the height of their powers–the hedonistic Mughal capital, in which the brilliant 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 Niccolò Machiavelli takes a starring role as he learns, the hard way, about the true brutality of power.
Vivid, gripping, irreverent, bawdy, profoundly moving, and completely absorbing, The Enchantress of Florence is a dazzling book full of wonders by one of the world’s most important living writers.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Overdone
Comment: This book is just too complicated and confusing with its imaginary characters mixed with historical ones and many plots. As a result this is neither a good historical fiction nor a fantasy. It leaves the reader dissapointed, and simply fails to deliver. The first part of the book (it is composed of three) is the most interesting one, reading the last two is simply a waist of time.
In addition, the author depicts women as creatures whose strength and significance is only as great as the men's desire to posses them. The female characters described in the book are nothing more than tools which men use to entertain themselves. As soon as the men's attraction towards a women disapears, she disapears herself (Jodha). In this book the author does not depict the strength and power of women. If anything, he depicts the weakness and helplesness of men towards their own desires.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enchantress doesn't enchant
Comment: The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel
While the lyrical language in Salman Rushdie's latest novel is erudite and beautiful, the story line is incredibly hard to follow. Character's names change, as do the plot locations. Terminology from multiple languages are included. Sentences go on for a quarter page. In short, the reader can easily get lost in a sea of beautiful language.
I read this book for my long-running book club -- a group of people who are normally very conscientious about completing the books we select. None of us finished this one because we just couldn't slog through it. Too bad, because it's pretty to read -- just incomprehensible.
Customer Rating:
Summary: India and Italy in the 16th Century
Comment: Finally a book from Salman Rushdie that I could read and enjoy! I had tried a couple of his earlier works including the 'Midnight's Children' but found them too confusing and complex.
This is a wonderful story based in 16th century India during the time of Akbar the Great, the most well known Mughal emperor. The visitor from Florence, Italy comes to the Mughal court with a secret to tell to the emperor and the story keeps the reader enthralled throughout. The contrasting lifestyles and philosophies of the western and eastern world is beautifully brought out by the author. Mr.Rushdie's in depth understanding of history, religion, culture and philosophy is obvious and his ability to mesh them all together to bring out a great book is outstanding. Every line contains so much information that I am astounded on how much research that must have gone into this book.
This one deserves many prizes!! (maybe a Nobel?)
The history of the Mughals from Babar to Akbar is brought out well and Akbar's reign is covered in detail. The construction of the city Fatehpur Sikri and its final desertion is built into the story of this book. Akbar's famous courtiers such as Birbal and Abul Fazl makes the story even more appealing to Indian readers. Since I had visited Fatehpur Sikri recently, I found the references to this city (which is well preserved even now) even more interesting.
Some pictures from Fatehpur Sikri are in my blog samsanthosh.blogspot.com
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Enchantress of Florence
Comment: I kept thinking I must be missing something. It was so hard to follow all of the differenct stories within the same book. I did't experience suspense, joy, or any of the other feelings descriped in the forward. I could not reccommend this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Decameron & Arabian Tales rolled into one
Comment: Western tales with Eastern characters (Qara Köz - "Kara Göz" in Turkish spelling, "Lady Black Eyes") meet Eastern tales of Western characters (the yellow haired European traveller -- a la Marco Polo). The plot follows Silk Road, and sometimes goes as slow as a camel. The language is pretty impressive though.
If you liked Eco's The Island of the Day Before and Pamuk's My Name Is Red, you will also like this book.
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