I liked this magical-realism novel but did not love it - somewhat interesting, somewhat baffling, unclear about the point (if there was one) of the book, and difficult to get through because of my uncertainty about whether it was worth continuing. I finally got through it because I wanted to see whether the book changed into a book I valued. ( )

Un joven viajero europeo, alto y de cabello rubio que se hace llamar Mogor dell'Amore, el mogol del amor, llega a la corte del verdadero gran mogol, el emperador Akbar, con una historia que contar que empieza a obsesionar a toda la capital imperial. El extraño afirma ser hijo de una princesa mogola perdida, la hermana menor del abuelo de Akbar, Babar: Qara Koz, una gran belleza que se cree que posee poderes de encantamiento y hechicería, que es capturada primero por un uzbeko, señor de la guerra, luego por el sha de Persia y, finalmente, se convierte en amante de un tal Argalia, un soldado de fortuna florentino, comandante de los ejércitos del sultán otomano. Cuando Argalia regresa a casa con su amante mogol, la ciudad queda hipnotizada por su presencia y surgen muchos problemas.

Hard to know how to rate this one. The writing is wonderful: insightful, gorgeous, humorous and playful. The characters are appealing and for the first ~50 pages I was hooked. Then the next couple hundred pages (or so, felt like a ton but probably wasn't) went by and I was pretty dang bored. Just when I decided to skim a bit (read: last desperate act before abandoning) it got really good again and became a page-turner. So, um, ymmv??

Thankfully, Rushdie has quite a few titles to pick from and (can't say this enough) the writing is fantastic! I'll be perusing all his titles for stories that keep me engaged so I can experience more of his craft. ( )

A tale of a traveler, the enchantress of the title moves between the Mughal capital and Florence through her wiles. Sometimes I thought of Scheherazade a bit, but this is pure Rushdie and a mesmerizing tale at that. Read at your own risk for you may not be able to put it down. ( )

I love reading Rushdie, and this book harks back to his earlier, lighter style. I had a hard time getting into it and it did not sweep me away as some of his other books did. It gave me a hint of the fabulous, but never quite took me there. ( )