Beneath a Marble Sky

We had a very unique book club meeting two weeks ago. John Shors, the author of "Beneath a Marble Sky," called in to chat with us for 30 minutes. Although the book received good critical reviews, it wasn't selling that well. In a moment of inspiration (or insanity), he added a message at the back of the paperback version promising to attend any book club meeting that invites him.

Real Life Triathlete, one of our fearless book club leaders, managed to get us on his schedule. Apparently the idea has taken off and he is doing 6 or 7 book club meetings each night! You can see a synopsis of our discussion here.

I tore through the book in a few days. The descriptions of the Taj Mahal sent me scrambling to the web to dig up photos of the inlaid calligraphy and marble carvings.

My takeaways:

- Shors wrote the book over the course of 5 years. He wrote an hour a night and then edited the manuscript 50+ times. I was so inspired. It can be done!! You really can write a book in your spare time and still manage to have a personal life too!

***SPOILERS***

- I asked him why he did the story in a series of flashbacks. He said the story was so action packed that he wanted to provide the reader with breathing room. Mmmm...I don't know if I agree with that. If you've got the momentum, I don't think you should kill it.

I think the flashbacks were a good idea, but for a different reason. The story ends in an anti-climax. The princess Jahanara does many daring and dangerous things but ultimately is defeated by her "evil" brother Aurangzeb. Setting the story in her old age, when she is in hiding and obviously not victorious, was a good way to set the reader's expectations.

I wonder if they are going to change the ending for the movie adaptation. Unfortunately, since this is historical fiction, they can't get rid of Aurangzeb, who became emperor of the Mughal Empire. Or can they?

One of my favorite lines from "The Producers" is where the director Roger makes the following comment about a WWII Nazi script:

"Of course that whole second act has to be rewritten. They're losing the war? Excuse me. It's too downbeat."

***END SPOILERS***

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Hiccup Update: The Serene One is on the mend and we are getting enough sleep. Phew. Special thanks to Sis who came over and helped us reassemble our house and who skillfully hung a hammock for the girls