"A romance of beauty and power from Italy to India . . . so delightful an homage to Renaissance magic and wonder."
-Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World "This is 'history' jubilantly mixed with postmodernist magic realism."
-Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Review of Books
"A baroque whirlwind of a narrative . . . [Rushdie helps] us escape from the present into a dreamlike past that ultimately makes us more aware of the dangers and illusions of our everyday lives."
-Alan Cheuse, Chicago Tribune "Brilliant . . . Rushdie's sumptuous mixture of history and fable is magnificent."
-Ursula K. Le Guin, The Guardian (London) "For Rushdie, as for the artists he writes about, the pen is a magician's wand. . . . One of his best [novels]."
-John Sutherland, Financial Times "[A] prodigious fever dream of a book."
-Lisa Shea, Elle "Beyond its magical razzle-dazzle lays a work of steely contemporary resonance, rich in slyly metafictional allusions."
-Hephzibah Anderson, Bloomberg News