"Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal"
(Reviewed by Jana L. Perskie DEC 19, 2004)
"The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
they're in each other all along."
- Rumi
"The mausoleum possessed the grace of a woman. Its heavenly arches were her eyes and its domes her upturned breasts. The minarets might be her jeweled fingers, while the white marble was surely the perfection of her face."
-
John Shors
Arjumand Banu Begam, better known as Mumtaz Mahal, was married to Shah Jehan, the fifth mughal emperor of Hindustan, in 1612. Although this was the emperor's second marriage, it was a real love-match and Mumtaz was her husband's inseparable comrade, advisor, companion on his journeys and military expeditions, and the inspiration for his acts of charity and good deeds. Both the Muslim and Hindu populations thrived under the emperor's reign. Mumtaz bore him fourteen children, and died giving birth to their last child in 1630, (only three years after her husband's accession to the throne). Shah Jehan was overcome by grief and was determined to perpetuate his wife's memory for immortality. He wanted "to build a monument fit for his love. He called upon the Empire's greatest architect, a young man who could transform jade into flowers, marble into paradise." This was the genesis of the Taj Mahal.
The late empress, beloved by her people, inspired all the realm's subjects to join in the emperor's dedication to build this supulcher. After twenty-two years of intense labor, and the combined effort of over twenty-thousand workmen and master craftsmen, the complex was finally completed in 1648 on the banks on the River Yamuna in Agra, the capital of mughal monarchs.
In Beneath A Marble Sky, author John Shors tells the beautiful story of the people most involved in the building of the Taj Mahal, and the complex circumstances surrounding their lives and the history of the region at this time. Jahanara, the intelligent and beautiful daughter of the Mumtaz and Shah, perhaps the child most like her mother, narrates this tale. Although Jahanara has many siblings, the primary plot here, other than the building of the monument, deals with the destructive rivalry between her two brothers, Dara, the oldest son and heir to the throne, a scholar, and the youngest, Aurangzeban, an ambitious warrior who covets his brother's position. This strife could cause civil war and threaten the Islamic Enlightenment, which prevailed during this period. The other important storyline deals with Jahanara's relationship with the architect, Isa. The princess was married to a brutal, coarse man who mistreated her. When her father asks her to become the court liaison to Isa and the construction of the Taj Majal, Jahanara is not only swept up in the creativity and responsibility of the project, but learns to love a man for the first time.
Mr. Shor spends much time developing his characters, and does so effectively. Through them the reader is able to picture life and the political chaos of 17th century imperial Hindustan. His writing is often elegant and flows at a good pace. Although the author's historical detail is accurate, the narrative is mostly about the personal relationships between characters, their loves, betrayal, adventures and war. He does describe the building of the Taj Majal, but I, personally, would have appreciated more detail about the construction and final product - the magnificent mausoleum. Overall, this is a fascinating novel of historical fiction and I highly recommend it.
- Amazon readers rating:
from 79 reviews
Read a chapter excerpt from Beneath a Marble Sky at the author's website
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Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com)
- Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal (May 2004)
- Beside a Burning Sea (September 2008)
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Book Marks:
- The official website for John Shors
- DesiJournal review of Beneath a Marble Sky
- BookReporter.com review of Beneath a Marble Sky
- BookIdeas review of Beneath a Marble Sky
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About the Author:
John Shors graduated from Colorado College in 1991, where he studied creative writing and after graduation pursued his dream of living in Asia. He was an English teacher in Kyoto, Japan for three years. He then backpacked across Asia, visiting ten countries in the next few years. Shors ate, played, and exchanged ideas with locals across the continent, becoming acquainted with customs and cultures that on the surface seemed so contrary to Western philosophies. Highlights from his journey included climbing the Himalayas of Nepal and exploring the monuments of India.
Upon returning to America, Shors became a newspaper reporter in his home state of Iowa. Within two years he won three statewide awards in journalism, including one for best investigative reporting. He and his wife then moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he began a career as a public relations executive, working for clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to local nonprofits.
Shors currently lives in Boulder with his wife and two young children.
