The Wishing Trees
Authors: John Shors
Tags: #General, #Fiction, #Historical - General, #Fiction - Historical, #Historical, #Widows, #Americans, #Family Life, #American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +, #Domestic fiction, #Fathers and daughters, #Asia, #Americans - Asia, #Road fiction
Praise for the Novels of John Shors
The Wishing Trees
“John Shors’s
The Wishing Trees
is an affecting and sensitively rendered study of grief and loss, the healing power of artistic expression, and the life-altering rewards of travel to distant lands. I was deeply moved by this poignant and life-affirming novel.”
—Wally Lamb, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
She’s Come Undone
and
Wishin’ and Hopin’
“Beautifully written,
The Wishing Trees
is a fascinating tale of a father and daughter on a spiritual and emotional journey—where they find love and forgiveness in the most unfamiliar but amazing places. The trials and triumphs of these characters serve to paint an emotionally resonant picture of their voyage as they’re able to miraculously transform their shared sorrow into acts of hope, kindness, and affection.”
—Mahbod Seraji, author of
Rooftops of Tehran
Dragon House
“A touching story about, among other things, the lingering impacts of the last generation’s war on the contemporary landscape and people of Vietnam. In a large cast of appealing characters, the street children are the heart of this book; their talents, friendships, and perils keep you turning the pages.”
—Karen Joy Fowler, bestselling author of
Wit’s End
“John Shors has written a wonderful novel about two American lives shaped by an encounter with the lives of the Vietnamese people in this present age, decades after that country has faded from the ongoing clamour of news in this country. For that very reason, Shors transcends politics and headlines and finds the timeless and deeply human stories that are the essence of enduring fiction. This is strong, important work from a gifted writer.”
—Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
“In
Dragon House
John Shors paints such a vivid picture of the lives of Vietnamese street children and the tourists they need in order to survive, you would swear it was written by one of them. I loved this book, and cared deeply about the characters brought to life by Shors’s clear sensitivity to the plight of the unseen and unwanted in Vietnam.”
—Elizabeth Flock, bestselling author of
Sleepwalking in Daylight
“Amid the wreckage of what’s known in Vietnam as the ‘American War,’ Shors has set his sprawling, vibrant novel. All of his characters—hustlers, humanitarians, street children—carry wounds, visible or otherwise. And in the cacophony of their voices, he asks that most essential question: How can we be better?”
—David Oliver Relin, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
Three Cups of Tea
“There is a tenderness in this moving, deeply descriptive novel that brings all those frequently hidden qualities of compassion, purity of mind, and, yes, love—the things we used to call the human spirit—into the foreground of our feeling as readers. This is a beautiful heart speaking to us of the beautiful world we could and should find, even in the darkness that so often floods the world with fear.”
—Gregory David Roberts, bestselling author of
The Mountain Shadow
Beside a Burning Sea
“A master storyteller. . . .
Beside a Burning Sea
confirms again that Shors is an immense talent. . . . This novel has the aura of the mythic, the magical, and that which is grounded in history. Shors weaves psychological intrigue by looking at his characters’ competing desires: love, revenge, and meaning. Both lyrical and deeply imaginative.”
—Amy Tan, bestselling author of
The Joy Luck Club
“Features achingly lyrical prose, even in depicting the horrors of war. . . . Shors pays satisfying attention to class and race dynamics, as well as the tension between wartime enemies. The survivors’ dignity, quiet strength, and fellowship make this a magical read.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“An astounding work. Poetic and cinematic as it illuminates the dark corners of human behavior, it is destined to be this decade’s
The English Patient
.”
—
Booklist
“Shors has re-created a tragic place in time, when love for another was a person’s sole companion. He uses lyrical prose throughout the novel, especially in his series of haiku poems that plays an integral role in the love story, and develops accessible, sympathetic characters. . . . A book that spans 2½ weeks, set on a deserted island, easily could become dull and redundant. But Shors avoids those turns by delving into the effects of war on each character, causing readers to attach themselves to the individuals yearning for home and the ones they love.”
—
Rocky Mountain News
“In
Beside a Burning Sea
, Shors has combined the classic desert island adventure with touching stories of love among the castaways. These elements provide an irresistible pull; Shors makes the reader a willing accomplice on this rewarding journey.”
—
BookPage
“Fiery romance raging in the tumult of war. . . . Emotional structures are powerfully built. The story is rescued from a softening of narrative by strong doses of brutality. Against the vast theater of war, each character experiences a private drama. . . . This story of redemption, love, and friendship is placed against a hideously distorted, morally arid world, one where the prophets, saints, and deities of the great religions have been silenced, but where human decency, even heroism, survives in small, fertile patches.”
—
The Japan Times
Beneath a Marble Sky
“[A] spirited debut novel. . . . With infectious enthusiasm and just enough careful attention to detail, Shors gives a real sense of the times, bringing the world of imperial Hindustan and its royal inhabitants to vivid life.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Jahanara is a beguiling heroine whom readers will come to love; none of today’s chick-lit heroines can match her dignity, fortitude, and cunning. . . . Elegant, often lyrical writing distinguishes this literary fiction from the genre known as historical romance. It is truly a work of art, rare in a debut novel.”
—
The Des Moines Register
“Agreeably colorful . . . [with] lively period detail and a surfeit of villains.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“An exceptional work of fiction . . . a gripping account.”
—
India Post
“Highly recommended . . . a thrilling tale [that] will appeal to a wide audience.”
—
Library Journal
“Evocative of the fantastical stories and sensual descriptions of
One Thousand and One Nights
,
Beneath a Marble Sky
is the story of Jahanara, the daughter of the seventeenth-century Mughal emperor who built India’s Taj Mahal. What sets this novel apart is its description of Muslim-Hindu politics, which continue to plague the subcontinent today.”
—
National Geographic Traveler
“[A] story of romance and passion . . . a wonderful book if you want to escape to a foreign land while relaxing in your porch swing.”
—
St. Petersburg Times
“It is difficult to effectively bring the twenty-first-century reader into a seventeenth-century world. Shors accomplishes this nicely, taking the armchair traveler into some of the intricacies involved in creating a monument that remains one of the architectural and artistic wonders of the world.”
—
The Denver Post
“[Shors] writes compellingly [and] does a lovely job of bringing an era to life . . . an author to anticipate.”
—
Omaha World-Herald
“A sumptuous feast of emotional imagery awaits the reader of
Beneath a Marble Sky
, an unabashedly romantic novel set in seventeenth-century Hindustan, inside the warm sandstone of its Mughal palaces.”
—
India West
“This sweeping love story takes place in seventeenth-century Hindustan during the building of the Taj Mahal. Princess Jahanara, the emperor’s daughter, tells her parents’ saga and shares her own story of forbidden love with the architect of the legendary building.”
—
St. Paul Pioneer Press
“Shors . . . creates a vivid and striking world that feels as close as a plane ride. Most important, he manages to convey universal feelings in a tangible and intimate way. Shah Jahan’s grief isn’t just that of a man who lived centuries ago; it’s a well of emotion felt long before Mumatz Mahal ever lived, and is still felt today. Shors’s ability to tap into that well, and make it so alive, renders the novel as luminous a jewel as any that adorn the Taj Mahal’s walls.”
—
ForeWord Magazine
ALSO BY JOHN SHORS
Beneath a Marble Sky
Beside a Burning Sea
Dragon House
NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, September 2010
Copyright © John Shors, 2010
Readers Guide copyright © Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2010
All rights reserved
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:
Shors, John, 1969-
The wishing trees/John Shors.
eISBN : 978-1-101-45998-0
1. Fathers and daughters—Fiction. 3. Americans—Asia—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3619.H668W57 2010
813’.6—dc22 2010016227
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.