Scan barcode
greeniezona's review against another edition
4.0
I don't remember precisely where or when, but this ook was another impulse buy when I was bored in a bookstore. I'm always willing to take a chance on Salman Rushdie -- even his books that I wasn't entirely crazy about were usually enjoyable or interesting enough in some way that made them feel worth my time and investment as a reader. Also, I confess that I was drawn in by the good cover design -- the rich colors and antiqued gold look. So I bought it.
With my crazy life, it's difficult to ever give a book my undivided attention, and that was definitely a detraction in this case. For Enchantress sprawls across continents and generations, with unfamiliar names that sometimes seem to blend together. I often found myself having to flip back to remind myself which character was which.
On the other hand, there were portions of this book that were absolutely entrancing, when the story called to me every time I had to put the book down, and these sections flowed beautifully with Rushdie's magical lyricism.
But there was so much in this book that it was occasionally weighed down by its riches. Transitions from story to story, place to place and time to time sometimes seemed abrupt. Some details never seemed to connect to the tapestry and left me wondering why they'd been included at all. Then there was that ending -- strange, troubling and lacking in poetry.
In balance, I'd say that the strengths of those delightful passages were enough to earn The Enchantress high marks in my book. Had the rest of the novel lived up to these moments, it could have been near perfection.
With my crazy life, it's difficult to ever give a book my undivided attention, and that was definitely a detraction in this case. For Enchantress sprawls across continents and generations, with unfamiliar names that sometimes seem to blend together. I often found myself having to flip back to remind myself which character was which.
On the other hand, there were portions of this book that were absolutely entrancing, when the story called to me every time I had to put the book down, and these sections flowed beautifully with Rushdie's magical lyricism.
But there was so much in this book that it was occasionally weighed down by its riches. Transitions from story to story, place to place and time to time sometimes seemed abrupt. Some details never seemed to connect to the tapestry and left me wondering why they'd been included at all. Then there was that ending -- strange, troubling and lacking in poetry.
In balance, I'd say that the strengths of those delightful passages were enough to earn The Enchantress high marks in my book. Had the rest of the novel lived up to these moments, it could have been near perfection.
pnwskeptic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
danhub's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
theplantperson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
miramanga's review against another edition
3.0
Reminded me of The 1001 Nights. Evocative writing. I especially liked the section about the magic of Skeleton's perfumes
hmcgee's review against another edition
2.0
I love Rushdie’s writing; his words are rich and his worlds are incredibly compelling. When I read his books, I find that I disappear in the language and within the characters. So I was filled with disbelief when I first started reading this book and discovered that it just did not enthrall me. I kept waiting for the magic to start working and I’m afraid it simply never did. There were of course moments of poetry and beauty, but the overall sensation of the story was missing. I also found the characters to be dull and unmemorable; the Sultan was at least interesting (at least in the first fifty pages, then we unfortunately lose the thread of his thoughts as the story shifts) but Qara Koz couldn’t have been emptier. In the end, definitely not a Rushdie that I would recommend.
sophseif's review against another edition
4.0
This book is Rushdie magical realism on two stages: Medici Florence and the Mughal empire. This mix makes for something that is almost a fantasy novel, except that the historical stuff is so well researched (the book has a bibliography) and the magical stuff is so nonchalantly supernatural, that fantasy seems to undercut what this is really about. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Love Rushdie.
adamjcalhoun's review against another edition
3.0
A good book, though not on the level of Midnight's Children or The Satanic Verses. The plot revolves around a story of a story, attempting to capture the multicultural and polyglot lands of Mughal India and Europe. It contains typical postmodern questions concerning truth in storytelling; that's not necessarily a bad thing, but not a new thing either. A lot of it is very reminiscent of Pamuk's My Name is Red. Overall worth reading, and contains enough evocative turns of phrase to give some thrills to any reader that appreciates good writing.
thesassybookworm's review against another edition
2.0
A beautifully written book, but I found it incredibly dull and a struggle to get through...