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9 internautes sur 10 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Historical Fiction at its Finest!, Aoû 19 2007
This historical fiction is about the story behind the building of the Taj Mahal, which was built to honor Mughal Empress Mumtaz Maha. It's the saga of her family and is told by the central character Jahanara, the daughter of the Mughal emperor. It is a story of love, honor, and betrayal.
This book is exquisite! Shor's deftly colors each page with breathtaking prose and breaths live into the vivid characters! It tried to read slowly, to savor each word and image, but this book is hard to put down! John Shor's architecture of this book is beautiful and I highly recommend it!
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8 internautes sur 9 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
A marvellous story, beautifully told, Mars 17 2007
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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4 internautes sur 5 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
An absolute masterpiece of historical fiction, Nov. 5 2006
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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5 blue ribbon Romance Junkies review, Fév 17 2008
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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Great Read!, Jui 25 2007
A great read..especially after reading The Feast of Roses. It gives you a completely different view of Prince Khurram..later known as Emperor Shah Jahan. A real love story letting us know about the true love of Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand). In the Feast of Roses you see Arjumand as deceitful however in this book you see her as a powerful women of the harem. I have mixed feelings about what really happened and whose view is correct however seeing the Taj Mahal personally and also the Red Fort it really brought everything together for me. I went 5 years ago with my family to visit these great sites and at the time I could not have cared too much but knowing what I know now b/c of this book I must say it is truly magnificant! The way they built the Taj Mahal is just mind blowing.
Two things about the book that I was diappointed to learn AFTER I read the book was that 2 main parts are fictional in this book. One being that Princess Jahanara was never married, and the other that there was no love affair in real life with Isa. To find that fictional was really disheartening however I guess without that there wasn't much of a story.
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An exquisite novel on the love story behind the Taj Mahal, Jui 13 2004
Before I say anything else my strong recommendation is to resist the impulse to look at any history of the building of the Taj Mahal. I made the mistake of going on line to find some pictures of the Taj Mahal once I got to the point in John Shors' "Beneath a Marble Sky" where the grand mausoleum had been completed and instead of stopping at the photographs I glanced at what was known about the historical figures at the center of the novel and it gave away a major development. So do as I say and not as I do. Afterwards you can find the true events that weave their way through this exquisite first novel.All that really matters when you pick up this novel is that you have seen a picture of the Taj Mahal (it is not like there is a bad one). It does not matter whether or not you know that it is a mausoleum or that it honors the Mughal Empress Mumtaz Mahal, because what is important is that if you have seen it you know the Taj Michael is one of the most beautiful buildings on the planet, a sublime mix of architectural magnificence and aesthetic beauty, and this historical romance is about how it came to be built. When the Taj Mahal is a tomb, then the great pyramids of Giza are reduced to just being piles of big blocks. The narrator of "Beneath a Marble Sky" is Jahanara, the daughter of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and because Jahanara his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who tells her story and that of her family to her granddaughters, who are visiting the Taj Mahal for the first time. The tale begins when she was thirteen and beginning to appreciate how difficult it is to be a woman in a man's world. It seems she will be a spectator to both the great love between her parents and the contention between two of her brothers for her father's throne. Dara is a student of philosophy and religion believes that Muslims and Hindus can life together in harmony, while Aurangzeb is a ruthless warrior and puritanical zealot who wants to extend the borders of the Empire in all directions and send unbelievers to their richly deserved deaths. When his beloved wife dies the emperor hires a talented young architect, Ustad Isa, to build her a beautiful memorial, the Rauza-I Munavvara ("Tomb of Light"). As the Taj Mahal rises, the conflict between the two brothers comes to a head, but the fate of the empire comes second to that of Jahanara and who has her own love story. When you get to the heart of this novel and why it works it is because Shors comes up with an elegant explanation for why a man would be inspired by a dead woman he has never seen to create the most beautiful building on earth. At the same time Shors remains faithful to the cultures and the poetic rhythms of the languages they speak. A key part of what makes this novel work is that it is really another tale from the Arabian Nights. Those fabled 1001 tales came from three cultures, Arabic, Persian, and Indian, while this novel set in Hindustan represents a culture clash between two of those three as a Muslim emperor rules a predominantly Hindu land. However the idea that this is another Scheherazade story matters because the characters and events are slightly larger than life. We are, after all, talking about a beautiful Muslim princess along with the course of an empire. There was a point in the narrative where I found myself questioning that Jahanara's parents would ever marry their beloved daughter to such a wretched soul as Khondair. A reason was given, but the validity of it was implicit at best and it was only when it dawned on me that this is a tale writ as large as Aladdin and Ali Baba that I realized history and realism were not the standards by which "Beneath a Marble Sky" is to be judged. This is an epic romance even if it is told in deeply intimate terms and while it is not a fantasy it is touched by the exotic, which tempers fidelity to the history around which Shors has crafted his own work. Final Notes: First, I noticed one of the best web sites devoted to the Taj Mahal mentions this book. It should, because it is going to inspire a lot of people to go to Agar. Maybe not as many as are currently heading to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth, but a sizeable number nonetheless. Second, I have to wonder what in the world John Shors will write next after this one. Where does he go from here? It will be interesting to find out and there will be a lot of people looking forward to that next book after reading "Beneath a Marble Sky."
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Superb !, Jui 12 2004
John Shors brings the period and people alive in his extraordinary historical novel. As the developer of the award-winning Virtual Travel ® website "Explore the Taj Mahal" http://www.taj-mahal.net, I am thoroughly impressed at the level and quality of his research, and his portrayal of the characters and times of the building of the Taj Mahal. Five Stars!
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One of my top ten so far this year!, Jui 12 2004
I've got to tell you, I fell totally in love with this book. It's historical fiction at its finest! The characters are so well drawn, the storyline so well thought out, that you care about what's going to happen next. Did I tell you I loved the book? I'm betting you will, too.
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Excellent, Jui 5 2004
Par Un client
This book has everything a reader looks for in a historical novel -- a strong plot, believable characters, romance and suspense, and lots of interesting historical detail. If you're a fan of historical fiction, you'll enjoy this book.
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Wonderful historical fiction, Mai 29 2004
Writing historical fiction is a challenging endeavor. Not only does the author need to know how to do historical research-and actually do it-they must then construct an engaging story that will grab a reader who knows little about the era the story is set in. I once knew a fellow student who took an undergraduate historical research seminar with me just because she wanted to write historical fiction. She simultaneously was working on a master's degree in English. I couldn't understand why someone would think they needed so many classes just to write novels. Fortunately, writer John Shors seems to have conquered the techniques of this genre, as evidenced by his fascinating book "Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal." I cannot say I am an expert on Mughal India, having only covered it superficially in a couple of World Civilizations courses during my undergraduate career, but the story does jibe with what I remember about sixteenth and seventeenth century India. Obviously, Shors took substantial liberties with the finer points of his story, inventing many incidents and moving some of the places around, but the background information seems solid."Beneath a Marble Sky" is a story told in flashback by Jahanara, the favorite daughter of the Mughal leader Shah Jahan (ruled 1628-1658) and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Her early life is one of luxury and play tempered by a burgeoning sense of responsibility about her future role as a representative of a Muslim emperor ruling over a majority Hindu state. Even as she swims in the river with her brothers Dara and Aurangzeb, or gossips with her Hindu friend Ladli, Jahanara knows that one day she will marry someone of importance to the empire. In the meantime she spends a large amount of time with her beautiful mother, learning how to overcome the obstacles placed in the way of women in a Muslim dominated court. She also begins to see the strains between her brother Aurangzeb and the rest of the family, strains that will one day explode into a series of disasters for the Mughal Empire. Still, Jahanara is content in her youth, enjoying the world around her through the innocent eyes of a child. As Jahanara grows into a beautiful young woman resembling in no small way her mother, storm clouds appear on the horizon. Her parents marry her off to the sleazy Khondamir, a wealthy silver merchant who only wants Jahanara as a wife to increase his power with the court. This marriage removes the young princess from the day-to-day activities of the court, where the power struggles to succeed Shah Jahan begin in earnest. Aurangzeb, his hatred for the family growing by leaps and bounds, has been spending an enormous amount of time leading the military in campaigns against the Persians in the North and the Deccans in the South. His brother Dara, on the other hand, remains at home studying philosophy and religion. Jahanara worries about Dara's indifference to all things relating to the throne, and tries to warn her brother about the risks posed by Aurangzeb. Meanwhile, Mumtaz Mahal dies while giving birth to a child, thus leading Shah Jahan to build a mausoleum to memorialize his beloved wife. The emperor employs Isa, a talented architect, to build what will become the Taj Mahal. Jahanara helps Isa in this arduous task, which allows her to escape the wily Khondamir for a time. The chore allows Jahanara to show off her intelligence, as well as letting her reenter the political intrigues in the court. On numerous occasions, the princess saves members of her family from Aurangzeb's wrath using only the wits she inherited from her savvy mother. I won't spoil the rest of the story, but twists and turns aplenty abound right up to the last page. Maybe it's just me, but I thought Shors's writing style resembled in no small way those wonderful translations of "1001 Nights" and similar tales of the Orient. You get an amazing sense of what it must have felt like to stroll through a bazaar, with its exotic sights, smells, and sounds. You also get a strong feel for power politics in an eastern imperial family, which, to no surprise, is about the same as it would be in a European monarchy. The best part of the book in my opinion is Aurangzeb's religious orthodoxy. Here's a guy whose strict Muslim beliefs lead him to brand members of his own family as heretics worthy of execution. Regrettably for the Mughal Empire, the Muslims were a minority in a Hindu country. Aurangzeb hated this majority and punished them accordingly when he assumed the throne. The resulting chaos eventually set the stage for the British conquest of India. In the book, the reader cannot help but see shades of Osama Bin Laden lurking behind the actions and words of Aurangzeb. At first I thought attributing these traits to Jahan's son was anachronistic, but it's not. Aurangzeb really was an Islamic fanatic. As the empire teeters on the brink of annihilation, the Taj Mahal towers in the background, a monument to love surrounded by so much hate and suffering. Give John Shors's book a go if you love historical fiction. It's a great read about a period of history most westerners know nothing about. The quick pace, wonderful atmosphere, and the major and minor themes in the book will resonate with readers. I have only seen pictures of the Taj Mahal, and will probably never get over to India to see it in person, so reading this book was sort of a substitute for a lengthy trip. I have already recommended the book to a few people I know, and I think you will do the same after you read it.
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CDN$ 18.50 CDN$ 13.51
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