“The Enchantress of Florence” Hits NYC
The New York literary world came out in all its sophisticated force Tuesday evening, for Salman Rushdie’s book launch party, organized by the Indo-American Arts Council. The elegant Aroon Shivdasani - IAAC’s Executive Director - hosted a wonderful soiree at the Rubin Museum of Art. Sir Rushdie read excerpts from the novel with his customary flair and wit, while Shashi Tharoor - writer and former Under-Secretary-General of the UN - mediated and engaged Rushdie in a thoughtful conversation. A lavish reception followed the reading, attended by such personalities as mother-daughter novelists Anita and Kiran Desai, writer Suketu Mehta and actor/writer/chef extraordinaire Madhur Jaffrey.
Members of the press were treated to a pre-reading Q & A session, where I had the chance to ask Sir Rushdie a question that had been in my thoughts since first hearing of the title he had chosen for his latest work. I mean, Florence is my beloved birthplace and so the title intrigued me: “Why did you set part of the story in Florence? Why not ‘The Enchantress of Granada’ or ‘The Enchantress of Vienna’?” Mischievously, he answered: “Because it’s not!” But after the desired giggles from all the journalists there, he continued: “I saw a lot of similarities between the aristocracy of Renaissance Florence and the Mughals. I was intrigued by how much the two worlds mirrored each other. And how the figure of the “Witch” had began a transformation in the paintings of Renaissance artists, from an old hag with boils, to a seductress and an enchantress.”
It has been written that “The Enchantress of Florence” is a “dazzling, irreverent novel set in Renaissance Florence and the court of the great Mughal Empire.” The book “opens with a young European traveler who calls himself “Mogor dell’Amore,” the Mughal of Love. He arrives at the court of the Emperor Akbar with a tale that captivates the imperial capital- a story 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.”
Published in the US nearly a month after its UK release, this novel is truly the most anticipated read of the spring. I had to tear into my own copy as soon as I got home and was reassured by the entertaining and magical storytelling I have come to associate with Salman Rushdie’s writing. And the story made me yearn for my hometown of Florence, its cobbled streets and the humid darkness of its hidden corners.
The book is available at all bookshops and retails for US$26. But beware of its dangers, as reading it could create in you a craving to travel extensively…
Photo of Sir Salman Rushdie by Michael Toolan.
Book cover image courtesy of Random House, excerpt courtesy of Peepul PR.
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