Hisdadukh is one of the most powerful charasheta
sorceresses in Babylonia, fighting demons and inscribing
protective amulets for hundreds of clients. Rava is her
love, a student of the secret Torah and brother of her
first husband Rami. Together, the pair navigates the
difficult world of their magic and of the more trivial
things in Jewish life in the fourth century. With Rava is
the difficulty of a childless wife he must divorce and
near-bankruptcy; with Hisdadukh lies the pain of being
separated from her child and kept in the dark by her
mother. Maggie Anton shows a beautiful picture of love
from the magical and historical roots of Jewish societies
long, long ago in ENCHANTRESS.
ENCHANTRESS really wowed me. I was absolutely
floored. I wasn't expecting that a book so full of new
information to me could hold my attention with both the
history and the love story. My usual experience with
historical fiction is one-sided; I either love the
history or I love the fiction. ENCHANTRESS is one of the
rare exceptions where I was absolutely enamored with both
at all times. The historical background and weaving in of
the characters is absolutely amazing. I cannot begin to
describe how wonderful and refreshing it is when a
historical novel explains things to you in such a
seamless manner. Anton even includes a glossary in the
back in case you miss something in the narrative.
I really loved Hisdadukh; the whole book is not
only in her point of view but completely and totally
inside her head. I love first person point of view,
mostly because it is so hard to pull off successfully
without slipping. I never doubted that Hisdadukh was our
only source of information, not once. She is the perfect
balance of confident and realistic. She has the power to
back herself up both literally and figuratively. She is
my favorite new character in a while, and I don't often
say that. All the other characters are well done but the
central character is the best hands down.
If I had one complaint, it would be that the
jumps in time are not that well-labeled. We go from the
birth of Hisdaduka and Rava's third child to the birth of
their grandchildren without much in between. Other than
this, I could find nothing wrong with the book which
wasn't down to anyone's personal taste.
Not only did I learn a great deal about a
historical period of which I was woefully uneducated, but
I discovered a new favorite author in the process. I want
everyone to know that Maggie Anton is a novelist who
combines love for history with the respect for character
that can only combine in sure-fire success. After
ENCHANTRESS, I mean to read all the Maggie Anton that I
can get my hands on, and I certainly hope you do too.
Fantastic tales of demons and the Evil Eye, magical
incantations, and powerful attractions abound in
Enchantress, a novel that weaves together Talmudic lore,
ancient Jewish magic, and a timeless love story set in
fourth-century Babylonia.
One of the most powerful practitioner of these mysterious
arts is Rav Hisda’s daughter, whose innate awareness allows
her to possess the skills men lack. With her husband,
Rava--whose arcane knowledge of the secret Torah enables him
to create a “man” out of earth and to resurrect another
rabbi from death--the two brave an evil sorceress, Ashmedai
the Demon King, and even the Angel of Death in their quest
to safeguard their people, even while putting their romance
at risk.
The author of the acclaimed Rashi’s Daughters series and the
award-winning Rav Hisda’s Daughter: Apprentice has conjured
literary magic in the land where “abracadabra” originated.
Based on five years of research and populated with
characters from the Talmud, Enchantress brings a pivotal era
of Jewish and Christian history to life from the perspective
of a courageous and passionate woman.
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