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lesleynr's review against another edition
2.0
Was really into this for the first 120 pages or so... but now I have lost interest... Also, it's pretty bad when you can't tell if something is a place or a person... On to something new.
sloatsj's review against another edition
2.0
A story for sensualists, with very intricate storytelling that failed to grab me. I understand its appeal, especially to men, but I found it tedious. I tried to keep going, but gave up before the end. So much of the magical realism I've tried recently has been a total let-down. Is this a good example of Rushdie's work? If yes, he's off my list permanently.
sweetpavement's review against another edition
I lost interest in this book two chapters in. It was dry, slow to get started, and boring.
jelundberg's review against another edition
5.0
A convergence of West and East as a silver-tongued storyteller from Florence enters the realm of Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great and spins a fantastical tale involving the Medicis, the Vespuccis, and an exiled princess. Intrigue, adventure, the power of imagination, and an appearance by Dracula, all contributing to the intricate tapestry that Niccolo Vespucci (aka Mogor dell'Amore, aka The Mughal of Love) weaves with his words. One of Rushdie's best.
dave_daines's review against another edition
3.0
My first Rushdie novel - I liked it overall, but am interested in reading one of his classics to see how it compares.
I waffled back and forth between being really interested in this one and getting frustrated with his storytelling techniques.
I waffled back and forth between being really interested in this one and getting frustrated with his storytelling techniques.
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
2.0
I made it to halfway through disc 8 (of 12 of this) before giving up. I've enjoyed a couple other books from Rushdie but this one just lost me. It kept jumping from character to character and I couldn't keep all the foreign names straight. There was obviously some interesting stuff going on and some of the characters sounded interesting too but after I was more than halfway through the book and not sure what was going on I decided to move on. This may be a bad book to do on audio because maybe if I could see the scene breaks it would have made more sense.
My fiance had the same reaction and she drives almost an hour to work so it wasn't a matter of only listening to it 5 minutes here and there (which I do often).
My fiance had the same reaction and she drives almost an hour to work so it wasn't a matter of only listening to it 5 minutes here and there (which I do often).
emilybryk's review against another edition
2.0
what I've really loved about a lot of his books is the pageantry, and how damn alive his cities are. this book was just . . . lacking.
buffyb's review against another edition
1.0
This book was incredibly dull. I actually didn't read the last 40 pages of it because I just didn't care any more. I'm not even sure why I read as many pages as I did.
There was not a single character that I cared about. The character whom the title describes is not at all interesting. The greatest thing about her is that she's beautiful. Apparently she was so beautiful that all the men who saw her fell hopelessly in love with her. She was so beautiful that none of the wives of these men are jealous of her. Basically, she was pretty. Blah blah blah...
I think that it's pretty obvious when an author is a misogynist. It definitely shows in the writing. All of the women are just there for the pleasure of the men or to provide them with babies. While it could be argued that that may have been the case throughout history, I don't believe that women of earlier time periods were so completely devoid of personality.
And the men...ye gods, the men. All that men do is visit brothels apparently.
I think that I kept reading in the hopes that I would encounter some of the lush and evocative writing that others talked about when reviewing this book, but I must confess that I didn't see it. I'm certainly not prudish, but I have to say that I thought that this book was filthy.
I shan't read any of his others.
There was not a single character that I cared about. The character whom the title describes is not at all interesting. The greatest thing about her is that she's beautiful. Apparently she was so beautiful that all the men who saw her fell hopelessly in love with her. She was so beautiful that none of the wives of these men are jealous of her. Basically, she was pretty. Blah blah blah...
I think that it's pretty obvious when an author is a misogynist. It definitely shows in the writing. All of the women are just there for the pleasure of the men or to provide them with babies. While it could be argued that that may have been the case throughout history, I don't believe that women of earlier time periods were so completely devoid of personality.
And the men...ye gods, the men. All that men do is visit brothels apparently.
I think that I kept reading in the hopes that I would encounter some of the lush and evocative writing that others talked about when reviewing this book, but I must confess that I didn't see it. I'm certainly not prudish, but I have to say that I thought that this book was filthy.
I shan't read any of his others.
christar_123's review against another edition
5.0
Less obviously political than the other books I've read by Rushdie, but the story was great and multi-layered. I like his writing style and the way he presents fantastical situations in a straightforward way.
***
Re-read! I read this the first time in undergrad and picked it up again just now, over the summer....I liked it better during the second reading. It reminds me of an old-fashioned fairy tale laced through with Rushdie's wit and sarcasm. I also love reading about places I've been and Florence is high on my list for strange and wonderful sites and historical anecdotes. There was a lot of history involved in the fiction and reading Rushdie's take on the events added depth to the fable.
***
Re-read! I read this the first time in undergrad and picked it up again just now, over the summer....I liked it better during the second reading. It reminds me of an old-fashioned fairy tale laced through with Rushdie's wit and sarcasm. I also love reading about places I've been and Florence is high on my list for strange and wonderful sites and historical anecdotes. There was a lot of history involved in the fiction and reading Rushdie's take on the events added depth to the fable.