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Taj | 
 enlarge | Author: Sandra Wilson
Creator: Lori O'keefe
Publisher: Amundson Davis
Category: Book
Buy New: $14.95
New (1) Used (7) Collectible (1) from $9.92
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 296869
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0976057549
EAN: 9780976057543
ASIN: 0976057549
Publication Date: January 24, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Taj reveals the human, cultural and political influences that surrounded the creation of India's most famous icon. It's all there--the love story, wicked stepmother, court intrigue, harems, battles and tragedy. Taj provides the magic carpet that takes you to a faraway time and place and reveals the back story of the Taj Mahal.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Woman of Wonder Lost in Misprints and Odd Writing Style October 23, 2008
Given the title, I expected to read a tale about the woman who inspired the building of the Taj Mahal. Instead, this book talks more about the stepmother (same story as many others: ambitious woman who desires to control the empire). I understand there may not be much documented about Taj herself, but a work of historical fiction could have created a story about her or developed the plot with more details surrounding the women in the zenana. Or maybe tell the story from Taj's point of view. Or give the book a different, more appropriate title indicative of the book's contents.
And speaking of the book's contents: did anyone proof this thing before it went to print??? I counted 7 errors just in the first 50 pages!
With regard to the writing style, I found it odd at times. The first 200 pages hardly mention sexual intimacy between Taj and her husband. I just thought this was the author's style to focus on the emotional bond the two shared. But then on page 230 (over 2/3 of the way into the book), there are 3 full pages detailing a session of lovemaking. Just didn't seem consistent with how the rest of the story was written. Seemed like it was taken from a seedy romance novel and inserted here, not written as further extension of the story.
Another writing style problem for me was how the stepmother suddenly backed down from all that she had been working to achieve for years. Perhaps it is a historical mystery, but it could have been developed a little better in this book.
The book was interesting. But it was not as much a work of historical fiction about Taj, as it was about the world in which she lived.
 Don't bother to read this book January 29, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I asked for 'Taj' for Christmas because I like historical fiction and India. This is the most disappointing book I have read in the last 2 years. It lacks detail. The characters are rather one dimensional. Very little of the politics is explained. Don't waste your money. I will be taking my copy to a used book store just to free up some space on my bookshelves.
To the editors: in the day of spell check, how can a book go to print with typos? For $30 an hour, I'll read the proof and correct the mistakes. That is right...you should be paying me to find the mistakes NOT making me pay for the book then finding the errors. There is no excuse for these types of mistakes.
A decent read.. January 5, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was less historical than I had hoped for. While I enjoyed the story, I wasn't compelled to care much about the characters near the end. The end felt as if it was hastily thrown together for a quickly approaching deadline. For all the time spent on leading up to the death of Mumtaz, there was really not much discussion about the monument he built to honor her.
As petty as it may seem, the typos were so distracting I had problems reading it -- some editor needs a refresher course!
 Fascinating historical romance July 18, 2007
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (5/07)
When I visited India some ten years ago, I encountered a world so different from what I was used to that I needed quite some time to sort out my feelings about it. There were sights so gruesome that I still have nightmares about them, and others so sublime that I still feel absolutely in awe that I was fortunate enough to witness them. Seeing Taj Mahal was definitely in the latter category. There really are no words fluid and shimmering enough to describe the wonder of Taj, and no words large enough to describe the impact it had on me. While there I learned about the great love between Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and I promised myself that upon my return home I would delve deeper into that fascinating story. Well, life has a funny way of interfering with even the best of plans. I returned home and although I often thought of Taj Mahal, I never managed to look deeper into the story of the two people so essential to the creation of the incomparable Taj Mahal.
When Sandra Wilson's book "Taj: The Woman and the Wonder" landed on my desk, I looked at the deceptively slim volume and said to myself that there was no way anybody could write about Taj in a mere 300 pages. Well, I was utterly and absolutely wrong. This is a monumental book. Yes, it looks quite slim, but in its own way it is larger than life, just like Taj Mahal itself. And just like Taj Mahal there are many sides to it. The basic story of a love between two people who happened to truly care for each other, in spite of their marriage being an arranged one, is deftly interwoven with a story of a struggle for an enormously rich and important empire. The scheming courtiers, life in Zenana, culinary delights, richness of dress, poor villagers, majestic elephants, beautiful gardens, horrible wars... all of this and much more gives the story many layers of delightful descriptions and many pages of colorful, detailed narrative. Just like the precious stone flowers inlaid in the marble of Taj Mahal walls, there are many small, seemingly not very important scenes of everyday life in Shah Jahan's household that make the characters of this book so wonderfully human and so endearing. Yes, Shah Jahan is a fierce warrior who will stop at nothing to get his throne, but when you read the passages of him catching his children, running through the many rooms of the palace; or of the intimate moments with his beloved wife Mumtaz; or even the pages where he agonizes about his spoiled relationship with his father, he becomes much more than just a great Mughal Emperor - he is a husband, a father and a devoted son. He is very human and very vulnerable. Always by his side, always unwavering in her support and love for her husband, her devotion to family and friends, is the incomparable Mumtaz Mahal. In their world of betrayal and intrigue, is it any wonder that the two are so close and so devoted?
Sandra Wilson's "Taj: The Woman and the Wonder" is a wonder in its own right. I challenge you to read it and remain unchanged.
 Reviewed by Amy Lignor May 31, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This work of historical fiction focuses on the reality, true love story, and high drama behind the creation of the Taj Mahal. Among other aspects of the novel, you will learn of the betrayal and rebellion that preceded the building of the great architectural `work of art.' You will follow along in shock as you see why a rich and powerful emperor was in prison the last eight years of his life. More importantly, however, and what makes this book truly a good read, is the love story. Happily, this is a love story that is not only real, but transcends the normal parameters of a romance, appealing to both men and women alike.
The story of a battle between a stepmother (the Cobra Queen) who wants to run the land, against a `favorite' son who is doing his best to win the favor of his father and move onto the throne - supplies this story with all the intriguing facets of Macbeth or Hamlet. The story is solid and good, and will keep the reader's interest. But the scenery - the creativity - the vibrant descriptions of the cultures, the ostentatious ceremonies, the clothing and jewels of the `women behind the men' - is what really makes this book a stand-out. I was truly in love with the Moonlight Mahal, a paradise that the loving couple went to get away from it all. I want to find this place and never leave. Mumtaz, later called Taj by her loving husband, says that this place is the `home of her heart.' It would be mine too.
There are scenes in this book that are actual `jewels.' There is a very beautiful description in the beginning of the book that focuses on an aspect of Jahan's faith: An angel rested on his left shoulder and recorded the bad Jahan has done in his lifetime. The Islamic Tree of Life holds a leaf with your name on it. When it flutters to the Earth, the Angel of Death reads your `bad deeds' and decides if you are qualified to spend eternity with Allah. In addition, there was a time when astrologers, (who were once heralded as scientists and learned men), picked when it was time to go to war, and the emperor could do nothing about it. It was the decision of the stars - the gods - and not mere mortals. It makes you think that we should bring this type of reasoning back.
If you're looking for beauty, Taj will not disappoint.
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