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The Feast of Roses | 
 enlarge | Author: Indu Sundaresan
Creator: Sneha Mathan
Publisher: Blackstone Audio Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $44.95
Buy New: $28.32
You Save: $16.63 (37%)
New (5) from $28.32
Avg. Customer Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 473104
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 2
Pages: 200
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 1433200759
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781433200755
ASIN: 1433200759
Publication Date: February 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Requires MP3 compatible player. Brand New! UNABRIDGED audiobook on MP3-CD direct from the manufacturer.
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Product Description
In her critically praised debut novel, The Twentieth Wife, Indu Sundaresan introduced the love story of Emperor Jahangir and Mehrunnisa. The story continues in this lush sequel, when Mehrunnisa comes into Jahangir's harem as his twentieth and final wife. This time Jahangir has married for love, and members of his court are worried that Mehrunnisa could exert control over their futures. Their concerns are well founded. Despite the rivalry of the imperial harem, who has plotted against her from the beginning, Mehrunnisa soon becomes the most powerful woman in the Mughal Empire. She rules from behind the veil, securing her status by forming a junta of sorts with her father, brother, and stepson and by risking all, even her daughter, to get what she wants. But she never loses the love of the man who has bestowed this power upon her.
Download Description
"The love story of Emperor Jahangir and Mehrunnisa, begun in the critically praised debut novel The Twentieth Wife, continues in Indu Sundaresan's The Feast of Roses. This lush new novel tells the story behind one of the great tributes to romantic love and one of the seven wonders of the world -- the Taj Mahal. Mehrunnisa, better known as Empress Nur Jahan, comes into Jahangir's harem as his twentieth and last wife. Almost from the beginning of her royal life she fits none of the established norms of womanhood in seventeenth-century India. Mehrunnisa is the first woman Jahangir marries for love, at the ""old"" age of thirty-four. He loves her so deeply that he eventually transfers his powers of sovereignty to her. Power and wealth do not come easily to Mehrunnisa -- she has to fight for them. She has a formidable rival in the imperial harem, Empress Jagat Gosini, who has schemed and plotted against Mehrunnisa from early on. Mehrunnisa's problems do not just lie within the harem walls, but at court, too, as she battles powerful ministers for supremacy. These ministers, who have long had Emperor Jahangir's confidence and trust, consider Mehrunnisa a mere woman who cannot have a voice in the outside world. Mehrunnisa combats all of this by forming a junta of sorts with three men she can rely on -- her father, her brother, and Jahangir's son Prince Khurram. She demonstrates great strength of character and cunning to get what she wants, sometimes at a cost of personal sorrow when she almost loses her daughter's love. But she never loses the love of the man who bestows this power upon her -- Emperor Jahangir. The Feast of Roses is a tale of this power and love, the story of power behind a veil. "
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 More of a general review on her 3 books July 24, 2008
"The midday sun whitened the city of Lahore to a bright haze. Normally, the streets would be deserted at this time of the day, but today the Moti bazaar was packed with a slowly moving throng of humanity. The crowds deftly maneuvered around a placid cow lounging in the center of the narrow street, her jaw moving rhythmically as she digested her morning meal of grass and hay".
This is how she begins her books.... painting a clear picture for you to not just see, but even be a part of. I've read three of her books, The Twentieth Wife: A Novel, The Feast of Roses: A Novel and The Splendor of Silence: A Novel and Indu Sundaresan keeps me wanting for more. Her books are historical, romantic, thrilling, captivating and much more. I don't know a clear category or genre that her books could fit in because there's a lot her books do. They gave me a history lesson and motivated me to read and research more about the Mughal Empire and India's freedom struggle. They made me nostalgic as I could feel India all around me as I read those descriptive lines that talked about the intricacies of architecture, the finesse of attire, the aroma of several delicacies, the colors of a blooming garden, the smell of the first rain... oh! the list is too long! Her books work like a time machine taking you back to that mystical era gone by.
Indu Sundaresan introduces you to each of her characters with such ease that after it all you feel like you personally know all of them. It's amazing how she makes you feel for each of them. You can grow to like or dislike these people just the way you would in real life. It's amazing how she portrays certain delicate relationships and makes you feel anxious as she builds around them a whole plethora of directly or indirectly effected events. Her vivid books brought about all kinds of emotions in me..... happiness, anxiety, pride, disgust, amazement, hope and everything else you can possibly think of. I think the stories she tells are well rounded and provide a very fulfilling read. Absolutely love her books and can't wait for her next one!
 embarassingly bad April 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are reading this, don't waste time with this book. It is poorly written, with endless repetitions and contradictions every 2nd sentence.
I had been both aggravated and embarrased by the quality of her first book " The Twentieth Wife" ( see amazon review) and had vowed not to read this. But this morbid curiosity overtook me and I wanted to see if this book was as bad as that. And my curiosity was satisfied. It was the same as the first.
I guess with some authors, as long as the book rakes it in, it is a success. Some of us however, read books to enjoy them and this level ( or lack of ) writing is difficult to swallow - specially on a historical topic of immense power and beauty.
At the end of the day, the part that, once again, upsets me is her use of ZENANA and HAREM as if they are one and the same thing. For such basic blatant mistakes, she would have to have a very superior style to carry the book forward. Sadly, the combination of an annoyingly repetitous style with erronous language and facts and hardly any thought content, even history cannot save this book.
Tami Abdullah September 21, 2007
A wonderful book. It is hard to put down. Indu is a magnificent writer.
Seductive and intelligent August 3, 2007
Sundaresan is talented in her craft. She completely seduces the reader with vividly intense writing. She is artful in explaining customs and traditions without being condescending. The reader is enchanted by her storyline of a strong willed woman from tenuous circumstances and follows her like a waft of smoke through Mehrunnisa's path.
The love story is universal, and everyone can relate to the desire and longing for both life and love that the main character pursues, in this case, in the second half of her life. This sequel follows the character and the challenges she continues to face. She is so well created, that we grow to love her, knowing her flaws and admiring her strengths.
Immediately upon finishing the first book, I hunted down this sequel, which was as richly fulfilling as the first book was. I found myself reading the book by this author at every spare moment.
 Love, murder, political intrigue... May 18, 2007
The other online reviews of this book are very accurate. This book seems less character driven than The Twentieth Wife. It's quite heavy in descriptive detail, which is sometimes plodding. But, Mehrunnisa's story is fascinating. What's that quote about "nice women don't make history"? She became increasingly ambitious, at times blinded by it, but always centered on her husband's love. Love, murder, political intrigue - what more can a novelist ask for? I enjoyed this very much.
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