liquidwild

I was expecting this book to be more about Mehrunissa than about the entire Moghul empire of the late 16th century. I am always intrigued by women who held power and influence in cultures where they are usually powerless. The wars and the unrest and the power struggles for the Moghul throne were not interesting to me. So, the more I read the more I found myself quickly skimming larger and larger chunks of the book. The novel concludes just as Mehrunissa marries the prince she always adored from afar. I understand there is a sequel to this novel that picks up where this book leaves off. But I don't feel entirely compelled to read it. So, while I started this novel curious about the life of this woman and how she negotiated the royal harem, I didn't really find what I was hoping to discover. I liked that the women depicted in the book were not idealized or represented in a way that I would consider unrealistic (based upon my limited understanding of the Middle-Eastern culture). The women were powerless in some ways and yet manipulated, schemed and had battles of their own. They were not entirely good nor entirely bad. They were real women struggling to survive and improve their stations in life. Mehrunissa is a real character in history. The Taj Mahal was built for her niece who was married to one of her husband's heirs. While fiction, the book does rely on the information known about her: the intrigue surrounding her birth, the status of her family in Indian society, the questionable end of her first marriage, etc. Since the book is historical fiction, I think it would appeal to people who like books such as "The Red Tent" or "The Other Boleyn Girl".

2020-08-09 16:17