About 1300 years before the birth of Christ, in what was then the greatest civilization in history, the new Pharaoh, Akhnaton, decreed that all gods were false, except for one, Aton. Aton was a god of peace, he said. He was a god who believed all men were created equal, even servants, and slaves, and people with black skin. He was a god who cherished even the lowly-born. Naturally, there was a great deal of resistance to Akhnaton's new decree, and the resulting chaos brought about his downfall, and almost spelled the doom of mighty Egypt.
That fascinating bit of ancient history is the centerpiece of this great novel by Mika Waltari, but the novel is also much, much, more than this, and in fact gives us a dazzling, up-close view of the entire ancient world as it existed thirty-three centuries ago.
The story is narrated by Sinuhe, a doctor, trained in the temple of Ammon, the predominant Egyptian god of his youth. His skill and luck bring him into contact with the most powerful men of Egypt, one of whom asks him to travel through the nations of the known world, in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses. With him we visit bizarre Syria, opulent and decadent Babylon, austere and fierce Hatti, the land of the Hittites, and finally artistic Crete, with its own share of barbaric, cruel customs. All of these places are fascinating, and the author gives us loads of detail.
It is then back to Egypt, where he shares with us the Akhnaton adventure, and the political intrigue that surrounded his reign. We get to meet Horemheb, the general who succeeded him, and also, surprisingly, King Tut, who was pharaoh for only a short period of time, and who died at the age of eighteen. Sinuhe plays an integral part in the proceedings.
But his own story is quite interesting as well. His first love leads to the ruination of his family. His greatest, life-long love was a Cretan girl whom he met in Babylon. (She was the victim of a shipwreck.) And then there is the beautiful, mature saloon-owner whom he comes to love in his later life. All come to a tragic end.
The author really brings ancient Egypt to life, more so than any other novel I've read. There is the taste of the beer and wine, his description of the "black earth" of the river valley, the grandiose monuments, horrific desert chariot battles, gods and goddesses, barbarism, unusual sexual customs, Akhnaton's new city, and the House of the Dead. It is marvelously rich.
It is also very wise. Akhnaton, for example, when told that the Hittites are massing at Egypt's northern border, suggests that Egypt disarm to show the Hittites that the they are a peace-loving people! What a fool! And how interesting that the author predicted Jimmy Carter thirty years before he came to office! (Of course, there have always been and there always will be political naifs.) Here is Sinuhe, sadly reflecting on Akhnaton's altruistic desire for equality and brotherhood among men: "Even were the time to come when there would be neither poor nor rich, yet there will always be wise and stupid, sly and simple, for so there have ever been and ever will be." Inevitably, the peace Akhnaton seeks to achieve leads to war, and the brotherhood he seeks to impose leads to civil strife.
This is a terrific, fast-moving, wise and well-written novel, loaded with interesting historical tidbits. It very much reminds me of another great novel having to do with a vanished civilization: Aztec, by Gary Jennings, which was quite popular a few years ago. Both are great, and deserve wide audiences.
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This book is one of the best page-turner bildungsromans I have ever read!
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A. G. Lockhart
In the Land of the Pharaohs
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 1, 2016
Caitlin Dunn
Not the book in the picture.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 7, 2022linolakk
terrific, takes you into ancient egypt
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 29, 2021
