Tag: the enchantress of florence (last 300)
It must be the polenta
(Guardian) I can’t think of any reason to leave ‘Enchantress’ off the shortlist except perhaps a spiteful delight in cutting a literary titan down to size, or anxiety about entangling the Booker in Islam. No, it must be the polenta. (ht: Sapna)
Retweet
Reddit thisRushdie snubbed by Booker judges
(Guardian) ‘The Enchantress of Florence’ was not chosen as a Booker finalist, prompting some to question the judges. ‘We’re braced for it... We didn’t have a huge debate about it.’ New bookie favorite: Sebastian Barry.
Booker shortlist leaks early
O’Neill leads Booker odds
(Guardian) ‘Netherland’ and ‘Enchantress’ are odds-on favorites for the Booker shortlist, due in 1.5 hours. Amazon buyer likes ‘White Tiger,’ because it’s like ‘Life of Pi — that’s a book which was really transformed by the fact it won the prize.’
‘Enchantress’ and pasta sauce
(Complete Review) If ‘The Enchantress of Florence doesn’t win this year’s Man Booker I’ll curry my proof copy and eat it.’ — John Sutherland, Financial Times
Booker buzz must peak on schedule
(Nzherald) The quarrels over Rushdie’s panache-laden ‘Enchantress’ only get going at this stage. Off-the-scale rave reviews helped ‘Netherland’, but it peaked too soon and there may be a backlash.
Softcore lit pr0n
(Telegraph) I stopped by a bookstore in Spain. A man was reading ‘The Enchantress of Florence,’ saw me looking at him and smiled broadly. My sunglasses hid my sudden shyness. ‘Are you a fan of Rushdie?’ he asked, in lightly accented English.
‘Enchantress’ on NPR
Rushdie at B&N Union Square
Michiko finds Enchantress limn-p
(NYT) Salman Rushdie’s new novel, ‘The Enchantress of Florence,’ reads less like a novel by the author of such magical works as ‘Midnight’s Children’ and ‘The Moor’s Last Sigh’ than a weary, predictable parody of something by John Barth.
‘Enchantress’ based on ‘Orlando Furioso’
(Digitaltoday) Rushdie: ‘I read Ludovico Ariosto’s poem ‘Orlando Furioso.’ It’s about an Indian princess who mysteriously shows up in Europe.’ (thanks, anonandon)
‘Enchantress’ references ‘Midnight’s’ character
(Hindu) The Rana of Cooch Naheen is the fictional ancestor of the Rani of Cooch Naheen, who appeared in ‘Midnight’s Children.’ [He’s done this with Braganza Pickles too.] ‘Enchantress’ required years and years of background reading.
Comic, sans
(Guardian) ‘Padma was ridiculously beautiful, comically beautiful. I had to write in spite of her. The divorce was like a nuclear bomb dropped in your living room when you’re trying to work’... Next book may be children’s, for son Milan.
‘Enchantress’ excerpt
(ToL) The more Skeleton ate, the fatter Mattress became — perhaps the two whores had made a pact with the Devil... Witchcraft requires no potions, spirits or magic wands. Language upon a silvered tongue affords enchantment enough.
‘Enchantress’ explicitly explicit
(ToL) ‘This is the most sexually explicit book I’ve written... Tamarind and honey gave a woman intense pleasure’... ‘The Satanic Verses’ began as three books... Machiavelli is misunderstood. ‘The Prince is a parody.’
Rushdie’s back
(Telegraph) ‘Enchantress’ is vintage Rushdie — he tells East-West stories better than anyone. Nods to Pamuk’s [boring] ‘My Name is Red’ with painters who disappear into their pictures. The Mughal, Ottoman and Persian courts were also part of the Renaissance.
Critic whinges about Rushdie’s density
(Metro) Those who struggled with ‘Midnight’s Children’ will throw this book across the room. Does anyone believe in his stories’ fictional integrity? He’s got huge poetic energy and a chimerical intelligence. But as a whole, the book’s a mess.
Kakutani gets curry headline
(NYT) NYT book critic Michiko Kakutani’s review of ‘Unaccustomed Earth’ is titled ‘Wonder Bread and Curry: Mingling Cultures, Conflicted Hearts.’ Gag. The curried and comically bad headline should disqualify NYT books from ever reviewing desi lit.
Rushdie’s divorce caused writer’s block
(ToI) Rushdie says his divorce from Padma Lakshmi caused a crippling bout of writer’s block which threatened to end his career. He talks about how hard it was to finish ‘The Enchantress of Florence.’
‘Enchantress’ far too kind to Mughals
(Pressdisplay) Nirpal: Pacy, irreverent, but superficial, bombastic, like being cornered by a drunk. Sex written with prurience and glee. In real life, Indians were Mughals’ little whores... Rushdie broke down when Naipaul, who wrote India honestly, won the Nobel.
Rushdie ate Wiki, regurgitated book
(BusStd) Nilanjana: What holds ‘Enchantress’ back from greatness is the encyclopedia Rushdie swallowed while writing it. Stay with the funny bits, jettison 150 pages, and it’s another ripping Rushdie read. If all else fails, wait for the anime version.
Venetian pie
(Telegraph) What’s up in the knight’s pajamas? There’s much fevered sex in ‘Enchantress.’ After reading it, you won’t want to eat a ‘hefty, mottled’ finnochiona sausage or a ‘vandalised’ pomegranate ever again.
A disjointed ‘Enchantress’
(ToL) A pendant to ‘Shalimar,’ in which Akbar appeared. He writes satirical diatribes about God, country, death and desire, takes revenge on brides who cannot hold erotic charge. Bravura entertainment, but disappointing — encompass much, develops little.
‘Enchantress’ is Rushdie’s worst
(ToL) The worst thing Rushdie has ever written. Albino giants, telepathic bathwater. Merciless garrulity. Garish banalities and depthless sensationalisms. Melodramatic, penny-dreadful prose scissored out of an antiquated novelette.
Le Guin reviews ‘Enchantress’
(Guardian) This generous novel swarms with gorgeous young women, whores and quarrelsome old wives — all stock figures. Women are never treated unkindly, but they have no autonomous being. It all boils down to the desire for a young woman in bed.
A colorful ‘Enchantress’
(Telegraph) ‘The Enchantress of Florence’ is postmodern metaphor for storytelling. It’s childish fiction for adults: a welcome splash of bright color; Rushdie, a virtuoso in poster-paint. [heh]
‘Enchantress’ — it fails to
(Economist) ‘The Enchantress of Florence’ shows Salman Rushdie remains in the wandering period that began after the brilliant ‘The Moor’s Last Sigh.’ As rich and stultifying as foie gras. Of course, Rushdie’s mediocre writing exceeds most novelists’ best.
‘Enchantress’ on Kindle?
Same editor doing Parag’s book and Rushdie’s
(Publishersweekly) ‘What I have coming up right now is ‘The Second World’ by Parag Khanna, a geopolitical analysis. And in early summer, Salman Rushdie’s new novel, ‘The Enchantress of Florence.’ [Is one editor on nonfiction + fiction common?]