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| |  | Literature & Fiction | Home » » » Beneath a Marble Sky | | | | | | | Description: | | Journey to dazzling seventeenth-century Hindustan, where the reigning emperor, consumed with grief over the tragic death of his beloved wife, commissions the building of the Taj Mahal as a testament to the marvel of their love. Princess Jahanara, their courageous daughter, recounts their mesmerizing tale, while sharing her own parallel tale of forbidden love with the celebrated architect of the Taj Mahal. This impressive novel sweeps readers away to a historical Hindustan brimming with action and intrigue in an era when, alongside the brutalities of war and oppression, architecture and the art of love and passion reached a pinnacle of perfection. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| John Shors | | Paperback:
| 368 pages | | Publisher:
| NAL Trade | | Publication Date:
| June 06, 2006 | | Package Length:
| 8.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.9 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.55 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 125 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 captivating, can't put the book downNov 17, 2009
While I didn't think this was my sort of book I took a chance and read it due to the reviews. I was surprised at how easy it was to get into and just kept getting better. I had withdrawals when I was finished and couldn't read the book anymore. I went right on Amazon that day and bought his next 2 books. Looking forward to reading them.
 Once Upon a Time in AgraNov 16, 2009
This was a quick read, requiring just a few hours on each of three successive nights to finish the book, which was enough time to devote to this somewhat contrived, if nonetheless appealing, fable which the author has structured loosely, very loosely, on the goings-on of a cast of characters more or less intrinsic to the conceptualizing and building of that exquisite mausoleum and iconic edifice of the Mughal empire which we know as the Taj Mahal.
Hardly an epitome of historical fiction, this book is the rather improbable, though partially factual, tale of the love that led to the raising of this most magnificent tomb, and along the way there's a lot of somewhat indefinite warring but very definite maiming and killing of hordes representing various regional or factional allegiances which existed under the Islamic and Persianate imperial powers that ruled the Indian subcontinent at that time.
To relate his story, the author gives us a narrator who is caring, steadfast, intrepid and otherwise irreproachable; a brilliant and gifted builder; an exquisitely beautiful, wise, and near angelic mother; a devoted, righteous-- though autocratic-- father; the requisite pathological villains in the persons of a brutish husband and a demonic brother who is the yin to the yang of a rival, kinder brother; a couple of remarkably loyal and self-sacrificing friends; and several conveniently accommodating neighbors, fellow travelers and assorted family members.
These characters play their parts against a background of politically insurrectionist machinations and gaudily and gorily related depictions of 17th century cruelty and maltreatment of all and sundry. And still, somehow, the extraordinary building is completed, a fine romance does indeed ensue between the doughty heroine and her architect lover and, as extraneous folk die or move out of sight, the implicit reunion of the narrator/princess with her lover and daughter occurs. And so it all ends. As well it might. It's only a story.
 Good, easy readNov 04, 2009
I picked this book for my book club. We all enjoyed the book, but none of us found it to be life-changing or the kind of book whose characters will stay with you for years to come.
It is a quick, easy read. A few of the situations were beyond believable. My main complaint was that you could tell that a male author was trying to write in a female voice. It was laughable at times.
Overall, interesting side stories about religion, wars, and the building of the Taj Mahal were woven into a good love story. We all agreed that we would have liked to delve deeper into those side stories. I also liked the inner struggle between sense of duty and personal desires. I would recommend the book to others.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 A trite love story disguised a 'historical' fictionOct 11, 2009
I had high hopes for this book considering the reviews it's gotten on Amazon. I was disappointed! The book is a pretty tired love story placed in loosely in the historical setting of how the Taj Mahal was built. I was surprised by how one dimensional all the characters were. Plus, not only was the historical context flawed and unrealistic, but the story itself just plodded along uninterestingly, until the inevitable conclusion. I read this for a book club, and otherwise doubt I would have finished it. I would not recommend this to lovers of rich and intricate historical fiction!
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 anachronistic beyond endurance - arrrgh!Sep 23, 2009
I understand that historical fiction fills in with artistic imagination. I do not accept John Shors complete disregard for historical values and 17th century Indian culture. He writes a compelling tale with special appeal to the adolescent female, but he misrepresents the time and place egregiously. He ought to be ashamed of himself.
I struggled to page 126 before I had the meltdown that inspired this review. No Indian Emperor in 17th century India would have counseled his daughter as follows:
He seemed to consider my words. "Never deny yourself love, my child. For to deny love is to deny God's greatest gift. And who are we to deny God?"
Let me summarize my reaction this way. I have more confidence in and enjoyment of sliding into Alice's rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll's writing. This Marble Sky fell on me and squashed me flat.
Betsy Friedman
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