A beautifully described account of the building of the Taj Mahal. A little of everything: love story, action & adventure, family feuds. We had a GREAT themed meeting with indian food and dress. Lots to talk about. Very absorbing, well done.

Great book club selection.

Unique in that there really are not many books that talk about the Taj Mahal. An insightful novel about the middle east.

This story was fanciful and wonderful. A tale seldom told in the west. Worth reading.

There are certain novels about women that are written by men and you wonder how on earth the author is able to so perfectly understand the female voice. This is not one of those novels. Beneath a Marble Sky was dull,uninspired and tortuous to get through. The author may get it right on the next go around, but someone should have done a better job in editing this book.

This was our book club's favorite pick so far and we even got a chance to chat with the author about the book. I would recommend it to any book club, or if your club won't pick it, read it yourself! It's told from the point of view of Jahanara, the daughter of the Shah who commissioned the building of the Taj after the death of his most loved wife, and covers about 30-40 years.

Engaging story. Strong writing. Loved it!

Entire club thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fascinating to learn some real history of the Taj Majal as well. Checked on internet for accuracy of historical facts and most of them check out. Interesting to discuss role of women behind the scenes in history. Vivid descriptive writing-not just a 'summer' book!

A very well done piece of historical fiction. It was entertaining and informative which is not always easy to do in a novel. The entire bookclub enjoyed it.

I was really ready for a great love story with wonderful twists and turns. This had all those things in the book, but the flow was disapponting. You can tell a man wrote this book from a woman's perspective. The ending was terrible, it was a big dissappointment after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.

This story of love and loyalty neither impressed nor bored me. In spite of the fact that I was very excited to read it, I never developed a lot of emotion about the story or any of its characters. I didn't dislike it, but I can't really say I liked it either. In spite of the fact that this book is historical fiction, the way the story is told, it does not have the typical feel of historical fiction. A reader can normally expect to have the feeling that they are reading a work of non-fiction. That these characters were real and the events truly did take place. Most historical fiction I've read I consistently have to remind myself that the story is fiction. I never once felt like I was reading something that may have actually happened in this book. Somehow the author managed to leave out a sense of "realness" to the characters, their interactions, and the entire plot. One member of our book club actually did some research and found that much of the story truly did take place, even some of the more outlandish events. It is unfortunate that the author was not able to translate more reality onto his canvas. This is a story that had all the potential in the world to be absolutely riveting. But somehow it missed its mark.

Great characters richly drafted and developed. Easy fun read.

This book brought great discussion to our book club. I really was never interested in the Taj Mahal but after reading this historical fiction book, I found myself "Googling" the Taj! In our book club we all had a unanimous liking for the book. Historical fiction, love, despair, war, sibling rivalry... it was good.

I loved this book, it was easy to read and very interesting.

Beneath a Marble Sky is a perfect example of why I love historical fiction. This novel brought the story of the Taj Mahal to vivid life. I recently re-read this book, which I rarely do, and enjoyed it immensely once again.

I love this book. I just love it. It's the story of the Taj Mahal, and it's so well done. This novel has inspired me to travel to India. Beautiful and poignant.

One of my Book Club's reads. We all loved this book. So much of it is authentic of the times. It is romantic, sad, and a page turner all at the sdame time.

Great story and very well written. Our bookclubs 2008 "Book of the year!" Romance, Murder, Deception, Friendship and Love; this book has it all.

Excellent book club selection! I would highly recommend this book to all clubs. BONUS: The author called in to our book club discussion to answer questions. Brilliant!

A love story set in 1600s Hindustan against background of political intrigue and warrior cruelty--told through the eyes of Princess Jahanara--feat believable tho the author is male. From what I gathered from Goggle,etc., although many incidents in her early life were factual,her love story didn't happen. She was never married and became reconciled to Aurangzeb and had influence in his court after her father's death. As remarkable as the scope of her influence tho a woman was, the Shors's additions made her a relatable and believable character and yielded more satisfying storytelling. Who cares if they were pure fiction.

Although I knew nothing about the Taj Mahal to start with, I will admit that this peaked my interest in finding out more. It just seemed to be written more like a "dime store" romance than historical fiction. Very dramatic and unconvincing facts...

Historical Fiction, if you're interested in the Taj Mahal or life in 17th century India, this is the book for you.

John Shors provides a masculine touch to a haunting love story that survives the ages. His recall of history was only slightly embellished and provided good conversation. This book got a thumbs up from the Melting Pot Book Club and comes highly recommended as a good read.

A good read, historically fairly accurate...

This book generated great discussion plus some of us are so interested we may continue to read some non-fiction information about the Taj Mahal! Road trip?!