Fascinating
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My fiance bought me this to read on our honeymoon in India and I was gripped not just by the underlying 'love' story but by the descriptions of life, places and history. We visited the locations in the book and the story I was reading brought the places to life. Dont get me wrong - all the palaces, temples etc are beautiful and fascinating in their own right but I think I enjoyed them all the more because I could imagine them being used as they were originally intended, filled with colourful characters living out their stories (rather than being filled with crowds of modern day tourists). Its based on historical events and indian folklore and it makes for excellent reading. My only regret is that I left it in the hotel book-swap and now I want it back to read again!
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Jahana's voice just doesn't ring true
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Other reviewers have outlined the plot in detail here, so I won't cover it further in my review. Suffice to say it places a story of love and family feuds against the backdrop of the building of the Taj Mahal by Shah Jehan. What a fantastic opportunity to cast light on the era of the Moguls and the amazing power they wielded, not to mention the amazing possibilities provided by the landscape, colour and sheer diversity of India itself.
Sadly, however, for me this book fails to deliver on a number of levels. The history element is merely a sideline and India itself becomes a backdrop, instead of a driving force of the book. Additionally the protagonists are all stereotypically good or bad, coming over almost as comic-book characters. I also felt that, since we know for sure that the two principals end up together from the first chapter, the love story itself was a little flat.
However, in my humble opinion, one of the book's greatest flaws is the attempt to tell the story through Princess Jahanara's voice. It requires great sensitivity and skill to tell a story in the first person voice, even when the author is of the same gender. However, for a man to attempt to portray the feelings and words of a woman was never going to be really successful.
Overall, however, it's not a bad book, just disappointing if you're expecting a lush epic of the Moguls. I give it two and a half stars for trying.
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5 blue ribbon Romance Junkies review
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Most people who have had the pleasure of journeying to see the Taj Mahal marvel in awe at the majestic mausoleum. Even those of us who've only seen this beautiful building in pictures are struck by the sheer emotion we feel. The love that the emperor had for his beloved wife can easily be felt just by viewing his tribute and her final resting place. Such beauty often has an intriguing story behind it. By telling the story from the point of view of the emperor and his beloved wife's daughter, Princess Jahanara, John Shores allows us to step back in time
and experience life as it might have been.
Princess Jahanara learns of politics, love and gentleness at her mother's side. She longs for the kind of love that is so obvious with her parents, but knows that her marriage will be for political reasons and not based on any true feelings. As she grows up, Jahanara takes note of her brothers' personalities and the sheer ruthlessness that is so prevalent in Aurangzeb that it terrifies her. Dara is next in line for the throne but there's no doubt in Jahanara's mind that Aurangzeb will commit murder to take his place.
At the age of sixteen, Princess Jahanara is wed to a man whom she will come to hate, an emotion she'd never felt before entering into marriage. His cruelty and disrespect are felt by everyone around them but Jahanara is wise beyond her years and uses her mother's teachings to help her endure her fate. Since her parents and siblings left on campaign right after her nuptials Jahanara feels very alone until their return. Upon their return, Jahanara is delighted at seeing her mother and it's decided that Jahanara will be present when her mother gives birth. Jahanara is overjoyed at the opportunity to be present for the blessed event. Only when the time comes, it quickly becomes obvious something is very wrong. The baby is breech and the empress is losing far too much blood. The physician cannot stop the bleeding and Jahanara and her father have only moments with her as she fades quickly from their lives. One of her final wishes is that her husband find love again. He refuses so she asks that he build her something beautiful and visit her tomb on the anniversary of her death. The emperor commissions an architect to begin work on a grand mausoleum. Jahanara is to help Ustad Isa and communicate with her father about the building's progress, this means being away from her husband in order to be near the building site. Unexpectedly, she finds the love of her life in Isa, but she's already married. Jahanara would never bring dishonor on her father by cheating on her husband.
John Shors BENEATH A MARBLE SKY is a jewel of a story which will touch readers hearts and imagination. I was completely caught off guard by the raw emotions I felt just reading about the Emperor's family and all the love, devotion and years that went into the building of the Taj Mahal. Princess Jahanara is an amazing young woman with an extraordinary amount of bravery. Her tale is just as poignant and inspiring as her parents, which we already know withstood the test of time and is still standing for the world to see. I highly recommend this book, I know I'll certainly be making room for my copy on the keeper shelf.
Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)
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A marvellous story, beautifully told
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Simply stated, this is a beautifully written novel.
From the opening sentence to the last page, John Shors brings to life the world of contrasts which was the Mughal Empire at the time the Taj Mahal was built. In the process he tells us one of the world's most endearing and enduring love stories.
Elegant fiction in an historical setting. John Shors involves the reader from the beginning, and it was almost painful to reach the end. I wanted more.
Highly recommended
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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An absolute masterpiece of historical fiction
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Should Oprah ever read this novel, I have no doubts that it would quickly become one of her book club selections - and even then, Beneath a Marble Sky would not get the attention it truly deserves. This novel is, quite simply, a literary masterpiece. Like the timeless monument that forms the story's backdrop, Beneath a Marble Sky is a living testament to love, beauty, and humanity at its best. Epic in scale and disarmingly challenging in its vision, this novel offers an incomparable exploration of romance, truth, nobility, duty, sacrifice, friendship, faith, evil, etc. Its characters easily present themselves before your very eyes, far too human, real, complex, and intricately realized to ever remain locked among the words on the written page.
One of the seven wonders of the modern world, the Taj Mahal is the most famous and breath-taking monument to love on this planet, yet few in the West know very much about the story behind it. Inspired to tell its story in a work of historical fiction, John Shors spent seven years researching, writing, and refining this novel. To make the task especially daunting, he, as a first-time novelist, chose to tell that story from the point of view of Jahanara, the seventeenth century Hindustani empress whose father, Shah Jahan, commissioned the construction of the exquisite mausoleum. Following the outline of historical events that culminated in the controversial reign of Jahanara's tyrannical, Islamo-fascist brother Aurangzeb (Alamgir I), Shors takes the reader on an emotional journey of overwhelming proportions, peeling back the veils of time to reveal amazing insight into a fascinating society and culture whose influence is still felt to this day - and not only in modern-day India and Pakistan. Shah Jahan was a Moslem emperor ruling over a land with a Hindu majority. While surrounded by dangerous enemies, Hindus and Moslems lived together in peace in Hindustan - until, that is, Aurangzeb came to power and founded his reign on Sharia law. The parallels to modern world events are obvious.
Beneath a Marble Sky, though, is primarily the story of Jahanara, a most remarkable woman who, in this work of historical fiction, embodied the best qualities of both her father and mother. A remarkable woman indeed, she understood her duty as a child of the Emperor and never let the fact that she was a woman in a male-dominated society restrain her from doing what was right or, in her eyes, necessary. Her great fortitude and independence caused her almost unbearable pain and suffering over the years, yet she never betrayed herself or her ideals - or chose escape over what she viewed as her duty. Married off at sixteen years of age to a brutal, despicable trader, she despaired of ever experiencing the kind of true love shared by her parents - until, that is, she met Isa, the architect chosen to design and build the Taj Mahal. Theirs was a forbidden love that could have caused great damage should it have been discovered - but she found help from an unexpected place and came to know a degree of true happiness with Isa. Events conspired against her, however, as the blood-thirsty Aurangzeb sought to usurp the throne in place of Dara, Jaha's beloved older brother who wanted nothing more than to bring Hindus and Moslems closer together. It is during the ensuing years of great personal suffering that Jaha truly emerges as the embodiment of her mother's ideas and essence.
A book like this is the next best thing to a time machine, for John Shors truly does take you back to the days when Jaha walked the streets of Agra. Without your even thinking about it, you soon find yourself experiencing everything through Jaha's eyes and ears, from the chaotic activity of a bazaar to the perfumed beauty of a harem to the blood, stink, and sweat of brutal warfare - and, of course, the unsurpassed beauty of the Taj Mahal, which you watch grow from the laying of its foundations to the completion of the domed marble mausoleum which served as the inspiration for the book's title. Fear not that you won't be able to relate to life in this ancient, exotic setting, for Shors quickly immerses you in this world. The moral dilemmas Jaha faces are particularly poignant, making her the most human of protagonists. And the love story is just exquisite. Truly, I couldn't ask for a more rewarding, enthralling reading experience than I found in Beneath the Marble Sky.
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