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Loading... Paleis van sterren (2004)by John Shors, Jeannet Dekker
Work InformationBeneath a Marble Sky by John Shors (2004)
Historical Fiction (251) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. John Shors must have wrote this inviting book with much love. This is a highly fictionalized story of the building the Taj Mahal in 17th century Hindustan told by Princess Jahanara. I tip my hat to the man because it did feel like a woman wrote the book because it did at times feel like a romance novel .... with a good smattering of bloody and violent scenes to keep it out of the romance section. It was the men in the story I found a little over-legendary to the point of being flat... like Jahanara's evil brother and uncouth husband. Nizam and especially Ladli were wonderful (the author seemed to have a lot of fun with the snarky Ladli). At the end of the book, the author offered to personally speak to any book club who read his book. I wondered if anyone took him off on his offer? After really enjoying Shors' Temple of a Thousand Faces, the ficionalized, but well researched story of Cambodia's Ankhor Wat, I have wanted to read this book about the Taj Mahal. It did not disappoint. The story is told by the clever Princess Jahanara, eldest daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, describing the treacherous battle for succession in India, her loveless politically-arranged marriage, and her falling in love with the architect of the mausoleum for her deceased mother. Their faithful eunuch servant and her closest female friend are strong characters and great allies. The religious tension between the ruling Muslims and the majority Hindus was well handled, but introduced late, in my opinion. no reviews | add a review
In 1632, the Emperor of Hindustan, Shah Jahan, overwhelmed with grief over the death of his beloved wife, Mumatz Mahal, commissioned the building of a grand mausoleum to symbolize the greatness of their love. The story surrounding the construction of the Taj Mahal occurs, however, against a scrim of fratricidal war, murderous rebellion, unimaginable wealth, and, not least of all, religious fundamentalism ruthlessly opposing tolerance and coexistence between the disparate peoples in the empire. At that time, Hindustan comprised all of modern Pakistan and Kashmir, most of eastern Afghanistan, and two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent (roughly north of Bombay to the Himalayas). Beneath a Marble Sky, narrated by Princess Jahanara, eldest daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, recounts their story, and her own as well, a parallel tale of forbidden love enduring censure and extreme deprivations. Beneath a Marble Sky brims with action and intrigue befitting an epic era when, alongside continuous war, architecture and its attendant arts reached a pinnacle of perfection. In a splendid debut, John Shors has crafted an immensely readable and well-researched historical novel of surprisingly contemporary relevance. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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