Discussion date: June 10, 2008

About the meeting:

The highlight of our June meeting was a phone chat with author John Shors, who generously shares his time with book groups. Although he told us he often does 8 calls a night (!), he somehow retains his enthusiasm and cheerful willingness to answer what probably are many of the same questions over and over.

John told us a bit about the forthcoming movie based on Marble Sky, which former “ER” star Eriq LaSalle is producing. He also revealed that his next book, titled Beside a Burning Sea, will be published in September. He said it is very different, set in the South Pacific during World War II, relating the story of an American nurse who falls in love with a Japanese patient. Unlike Marble Sky, it is told through different voices, not a single point of view. And he is currently working on his third novel, which will be set in Saigon.

John talked a bit about his writing, which is a constant process of revision. He said he had rewritten Marble Sky 56 times, and Burning Sea 22. He said the characters come to life for him as he writes about them, that his writing in many ways is a process of discovery about the people in his story. Although the main characters of the book are drawn from history, he created many of the minor ones, such as Jahanara's husband (she never actually married), and her daughter, her friend, and her servant. The love story between Jahanara and Isa was also fictional, although she was his assistant in the building of the Taj Mahal.

Marcia mentioned that the descriptions of the construction of the Taj Mahal had put her in mind of one of our previous books, Pillars of the Earth, about the building of a medieval cathedral. John commented that this was an astute observation, as he had read the Ken Follett book while in high school, and it had made a strong impression on him, although he hadn't really thought of it before as a direct influence on his own book.

We all agreed that John had done a remarkable job of dramatizing the events and the characters, writing so convincingly and compellingly from the point of view of a woman. Nearly everyone awarded the book 4.5 stars, with a couple of 4 or 5-star ratings.

Author's website

Reader's guide