Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious, June 18, 2005
A novel about the Taj Mahal better be good--no, scratch that; it better be great. That's because the structure Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built to celebrate his deceased wife Mumtaz Mahal stands as one of the great wonders of the world. His heartrending loss has turned into humanity's gain. If you don't believe me, look up some pictures on the Internet. Words like "incredible," "divine," "breathtaking," and "soul stirring" simply fail to capture the essence of the remarkable mausoleum. This monument to love transcends life itself, which was exactly the effect Jahan sought back in the seventeenth century. So take a look at the pictures or, if you're lucky, hop on a plane and go see the place. Then report back here and pick up a copy of Sandra Wilson's "Taj." This fictional account of the rise and fall of Shah Jahan--bursting with court intrigues, jealousies, love, and loss all wrapped up in prose that often soars to Olympian heights--is a book that honors the emotions the Mughal emperor wished to impart with his architectural triumph. The condensed version of this overly gushing paragraph is simply this: "Taj" is a book readers with an interest in historical fiction should read. Even those who pass over historical fiction ought to give it a look.
Wilson brings us into the story in 1666 as Shah Jahan lies on his deathbed recalling the sweet memories of his wife. He's no longer emperor thanks to his scheming son Aurangzeb, who deposed his father some eight years prior and sentenced him to confinement in the palace at Agra. With only his dutiful daughter Jahanara to keep him company, Shah Jahan's final years are ones of peace and reflection. Then we get the story, and what a story it is. It's now 1614 as Mumtaz and her husband Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan's title before assuming the throne) journey to the Moonlight Mahal, a secret garden owned by a friend, where the two revel in each other's company. The young prince is the favorite of his father Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor, and the monarch's powerful and scheming wife Nur Jahan. Khurram is charismatic, capable, and intelligent--everything a future emperor of a vast and growing empire needs to succeed. He's also young and headstrong, hoping to put to the test his abilities and thus secure a guarantee to the throne. Khurram gets his chance when his father sends him off to campaign against a group of troublemakers in a region called Rajasthan. His overwhelming victory there coupled with his father's fawning adoration soon turns Nur Jahan against the young prince.
Nur Jahan's snub of Khurram enrages our hero, and it's not too long before the two are engaged in open warfare to see who will sit on the throne. Jahangir's wife cannot rule herself since she's a woman, but she can exercise power through Khurram's dimwitted half-brother if she can convince her husband to disavow his favorite son. Tragically, her plans initially succeed to the point where Khurram feels he must attack the capital with his own forces in an attempt to seize the throne. Throughout all of these events Mumtaz dutifully stands by her husband, bearing him many children while offering sage political advice and unconditional love. A fascinating digression in the story concerning a villager named Chundar seeking justice from Shah Jahan serves as a sort of bridge to the second half of the story that describes the tragic demise of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan's efforts to pick up the pieces and move on. Enter the construction of the Taj Mahal, a project that takes twenty-two years to complete. Wilson describes in intricate detail the high level of craftsmanship necessary in building one of the world's greatest architectural triumphs. She also turns the building into a metaphysical experience between Shah Jahan and Allah. Fascinating stuff.
My complaints with the book are few, namely the too tight binding that makes the pages difficult to turn and an occasional typo that sometimes interrupts the flow of the story. These are nitpicky, niggling concerns, however, that should not prevent anyone from reading this book. The narrative is definitely homerun material, especially the second part of the story. Wilson knows how to write engaging prose that will have you reaching for a hanky when Mumtaz passes away. She also knows how to write VERY piquant scenes involving Mumtaz and Shah Jahan hooking up in the Moonlight Mahal. It's a rare book that can evoke such dissimilar emotions, but "Taj" pulls it off beautifully. Like the other reviewer here, I also read John Shors's "Beneath a Marble Sky," and I must say I appreciated the chance to read a story about roughly the same time period, one that deals with many of the same characters and issues, but from a markedly different perspective.
The caption under a picture of the author on the back cover of the book tells us that she spent time teaching courses at the American International School in New Delhi, and that it was during this time that she decided to find out more about the Taj Mahal. Wilson obviously did her research. I think the best compliment that I can offer to this author and her book is that I hope and pray a major publisher picks "Taj" up, runs off a bunch of copies, and throws a lot of money into marketing the story to the masses. I know fans of historical fiction would love to give this one a shot, but even readers that know little about history will indubitably find something of interest here. Action, romance, tragedy, love, redemption--"Taj" has it all and more. Definitely give this one a shot if you get the chance.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The woman and the love story behind the Taj Mahal, June 17, 2005
I got to read "Taj: The Woman and the Wonder" because I had read John Shors's "Beneath a Marble Sky." Sandra Wilson's novel is a prequel of sorts, only because the vast majority of her story takes place before the events in the other, although there is really a minimal amount of overlap in the historical narrative between the two books. Therefore, reading either book does not diminish your enjoyment of reading the other, and whether you read them chronologically according to the events they depict or according to the order in which they were written does not matter. Not only is this because it works either way, but also because this is a tale that bears more than one telling, just as one photograph of the building it is about is not enough.
The hook in both novels is the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings on the face of the planet, a sublime mix of architectural magnificent and aesthetic beauty that has been captivating visitors for centuries. In point of fact, the Taj Mahal is the mausoleum of the Mughal Empress Mumtaz Mahal, and whereas the novel by Shors tells of how the Taj Mahal came to be built, "Taj" is more about the woman who was interred there, although not as much as it should be.
The book's prologue is set in Agra, India in 1666, with the former emperor Shah Jahan on his deathbed, recalling the first time he had seen his late wife, which was on their wedding day in 1614 when she was called Arfjumand Banu Begum and he was still known as Prince Khurram, The first part of the book focuses on the conflict between Khurram, the heir apparent to the throne of Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor, and Nur Jahan, the emperor's wife. The empress, who is also Mumtaz's aunt, wants to continue ruling through the next emperor the same way she is doing through her husband, but Khurram is not as pliant as she would like. Fortunately Mumtaz can see what is happening and can advise her husband. But while Nur Jahan proves to be a formidable foe, Mumtaz is certain that her husband is fated to be the next emperor.
The second half of the book has to do with the turn of events that result in the building of the Taj Mahal following the death of Mumtaz Mahal. Throughout the novel there are some jumps in time that I find to be rather significant, where Wilson is content to forgo the details and simply tells us what has happened in the interim to move her story along. "Taj: The Woman and the Wonder" is one of those novels that could be at least a hundred pages longer, although even twice the current size would be even better, because the best parts of "Taj" are when she takes the time to develop the details, especially with regards to the love story that is supposed to be at the heart of the novel. In this regards Wilson really saves the best for last, but it would have been even better if more of the novel had been along these same lines.
There is a sense in which Wilson seems to be going out of her way to avoid covering the same ground as Shors, at least as far as I am concerned (I also think it is the right approach to take). She foreshadows the events that come to pass regarding the sons of Mumtaz Mahal and the emperor Shah Jahan, but they are tangential to the love story Wilson is telling. It is just that this great love story does not really start to fully emerge until right before the death of the titular character. Mumtaz Mahal has really been more of a minor character than anything else until that point and it is not until the final chapters of the book that Wilson really starts showing us their great love rather than telling us about it. Since she does this so well, I think she could have been doing it much earlier.
The impetus for "Taj" was Wilson's fascination with the Taj Mahal and her inability to find a book that explained exactly how it came to be. Since she could not find a book that answered her questions, she wrote this novel. However, while Wilson answers our most basic questions about that majestic edifice and the woman behind it, she does not flesh it out as fully as she obviously can, given what she shows us in this book's final chapters. This is one of those books where I wish I had been reading a draft copy so that I could urge the author to provide more of the really good stuff because then this novel would be more than pretty good.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everyone's Dream--To Be So Loved--A Tapestry of Love, History and Intrigue, October 29, 2006
My familiarity with the history of the Mughal Empire and the love story behind the creation of the Taj Mahal was minimal until Wilson's wonderful portrayal. She created a truly vivid and colorful diorama of that period--lifestyle and customs of the court, familial relationships and the jealousies often encountered and one of the most beautiful romances ever known. I must also say that I've not seen a more beautiful cover! Kudos to both the artist and storyteller. A great read for a friend, sister, Mom or Book Club!!
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