Scheherazade, that greatest narrator of fiction, may squirm at the thought of being so wistfully referenced in this new and sprawling tale of magic and philosophy, but then what other writer today would dare challenge the master storyteller except Rushdie?

Here, the two years eight months and twenty-eight nights, or one thousand and one nights, refers to a time of Strangeness that has befallen the earth, where supernatural beings rule in a state of chaos. These are the jinn, or genies who have returned after one of their own, a lightning princess, fell in love with a mortal man in the 11th century and populated the earth with her kin. Her lover is a philosopher without a god in a world of magic and fantasy. What follows is a wild ride through the ages from contemporary New York to old Bombay, where the worlds of reality and fantasy are at war through the words of dead philosophers. Amongst this conflict the novel thrums with eroticism and reads like a dystopian Aladdin.

The pyrotechnics of Rushdie’s prose dazzle in an intricately plotted and finely tuned narrative that traverses centuries and countries. There is no doubt that Rushdie is out to entertain, however underneath the fantastical elements are those serious ideas about faith and reason that drive much of his fiction. The brilliance of the book lies in his ability to blend old mythologies with pop culture and retain a compelling narrative arc. However, the emotional range of his characters can be frustratingly narrow and thus the tug of his prose remains intellectual and aesthetic. But brimming beneath is a firm belief that the world is found wanting with its lack of magic. Rushdie is certainly making up for that.

Luke May is a freelance reviewer.