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"Back so long ago, when they built this enchanted place, they killed men in three ways: They waited for them to die, they worked them to death, and they hanged them.

Not much has changed. Instead of working men to death, there is a slow starvation of the body and soul. And instead of rope, they use a machine."

"This is an enchanted place. Others don't see it, but I do."

Publisher's synopsis

The enchanted place is an ancient stone prison, viewed through the eyes of a death row inmate who finds escape in his books and in re-imagining life around him, weaving a fantastical story of the people he observes and the world he inhabits. Fearful and reclusive, he senses what others cannot. Though bars confine him every minute of every day, he marries magical visions of golden horses running beneath the prison, heat flowing like molten metal from their backs, with the devastating violence of prison life.

Two outsiders venture here: a fallen priest, and the Lady, an investigator who searches for buried information from prisoners' pasts that can save those soon-to-be-executed. Digging into the background of a killer named York, she uncovers wrenching truths that challenge familiar notions of victim and criminal, innocence and guilt, honor and corruption-ultimately revealing shocking secrets of her own.

Review

If there is one book that you simply must read over the course of 2014, it is The Enchanted. This is one of the most powerful, moving, haunting, intense, gut-wrenching, perplexing and captivating reads that I have experienced in a long, long time. I can not rate this book highly enough. 24 hours after having finished it I am still there, in the prison dungeons, listening, lurking, completely transfixed.

Written by Rene Denfeld, a fact investigator in death penalty cases, The Enchanted is a powerful book that gives death row a face. It is about characters whose lives intersect on death row; an inmate, an investigator and a chaplain, together with some strong secondary characters.

The story of each character individually is compelling, but they are interconnected so beautifully that they burst with emotion. The fluid prose that defines this novel is passionate and thought-provoking. Denfeld so artfully balances moments of stark sadness and cruelty, with such poignant images of beauty and grace.

Death row inmates deal with their demons in different ways. Some clutch their faith. Others draw or paint or write. Our narrator chooses to read voraciously and live in a fantasy world.

"The most wonderful enchanted things happen here - the most enchanted things you can imagine. I want to tell you while I still have time, before they close the black curtain and I take my final bow."

Those on death row are convicted criminals; many are guilty of unspeakable cruelty and the most vicious of crimes. The Enchanted paints a picture of the 'person' and not just the crime for which they were committed. It explores the why. What made this person? Why did they do the things they did? What does it mean to be human?


He holds his fingers out of the cage. It is the eternal gesture of hope that says "touch me".

This book by design is intrusive and uncomfortable and challenges our core beliefs. But it is also beaufiful and breathtaking and simply enchanting. A must read for everyone.

5/5 magical golden horses!