FICTION

How fitting that the subject of Salman Rushdie's latest novel, "The Enchantress of Florence," is the very nature of storytelling itself.

Famous for the Iranian fatwa delivered against him for his controversial novel "The Satanic Verses," Rushdie knows better than most how the stories we tell can both captivate and threaten us.

Thus we have "The Enchantress of Florence," a rollicking summer read that takes us from the heights of decadence in Renaissance Florence to the mysteries of the Mughal Empire and the court of Emperor Akbar the Great.

The novel is suffused with the sense of magic and wonder that makes Rushdie's works so pleasurable and beguiling. Here is a world where exotic perfumes administered in harems can tame the madness of a wild, blind elephant; where imaginary lovers take on an independent life of their own and wander palace hallways; and where the charms of a mysterious princess (who might just be a witch) can both soothe and sting the nations of East and West.

It all begins when a mysterious, blond, European stranger arrives in the heart of the Mughal Empire and demands an audience with Emperor Akbar. His trump card for admittance into the royal court: a story meant only for the emperor's ears and one that might have pivotal ramifications for the future of Mughal civilization.

The stranger's tale (he goes by many names, including "Mogor dell'Amore," the "Mughal of Love") forms the heart of "The Enchantress of Florence." It depicts the stories of three Florentine youths and their lives during the cultural apex of the Renaissance: Ago Vespucci, Nino Argalia, and "il Machia," who will grow up to be none other than Niccolo Machiavelli.

In true storytelling fashion, stories start nesting within one another so that we get a Russian-doll structure of stories within stories. We find ourselves following Argalia on his adventures outside Florence, where he comes across a kidnapped Mughal princess known as Qara K?z, the novel's titular enchantress. When Argalia returns to Florence after decades of adventure, with the princess and her faithful servant in tow, the result has damaging effects for an already troubled city.

To go into greater detail would be to sap the narrative power this novel banks on. Suffice it to say that (regardless of what nested story we're in) there are rapturous love affairs, daring escapes, fever-pitched battles against tyrannical warlords (including Vlad Dracula), court intrigues, and plenty of passion.

Despite Rushdie's unequivocal mastery of the art of storytelling, "The Enchantress of Florence" does not read like the whirlwind epic one would expect from the author of works such as "Midnight's Children" and "The Moor's Last Sigh," especially considering that the conclusion of Qara K?z's story (and, by extension, the stranger's own tale) is a letdown that doesn't pack the epic heft we'd expect after spanning decades of history.

More importantly, Qara K?z's tale is overshadowed by the more poignant subplot of the Emperor Akbar's flirtation with secular thought. Rushdie's interpretation of Emperor Akbar commands our attention in the same way that Akbar rules over his empire; all too often one looks for breaks in Vespucci's tale so that we can spend just a few more precious pages in the emperor's court.

Nevertheless, with its mix of flights of fancy, riveting prose, and reflections on the East-West relationship that are a Rushdie trademark, "The Enchantress of Florence" is a wonderful read and an enthralling way to spend time in your summer reading chair.
Zak M. Salih is a freelance writer who lives in Arlington County.