The Egyptian

http://www.mbird.com/2013/08/mika-waltari-and-the-divided-self/
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/364826.The_Egyptian


RA Rating:  A+

I’m half-Finnish, and I have been hearing for years that every Finn worth their salmiakki (salted licorice) has read the great Finnish masterpiece, The Egyptian, by Mika Waltari.  The fact that I had not, when I last visited my family, was cause for shock followed by a lesson in literature.

Finns don’t get a lot of international renown in the arts, with the exception of composer Sibelius, and conductor Salonen.  So it is a point of pride for us that Waltari’s novel, once translated into English, became the post-war bestseller in 1949; only losing its top ranking position with the publishing of Eco’s English edition of Name of the Rose.

One of the most respected elements of the novel has to be Waltari’s depth and range of this novel’s characters.  His protagonist, Sinuhe, while brilliant and resourceful, is also only all too human.  Richly gifted, he certainly demonstrates that hubris can only lead to self-destruction.  When he errs, not only does he suffer greatly, but he brings untold hardship to those closest to him, including his family and personal slave. His personal failings may derive from his intrinsic lack of self-awareness, his early life hindered by his dubious origins.

This fictional autobiography is told by Sinuhe in his old age, describing his training and rise to prominence.  While he is trained by priests in the House of Life, Sinuhe has no real faith in the Egyptian pantheon of gods.  Coming from unknown parents and being adopted by a poor physician, Sinuhe has humble origins and yet lofty ideals, with a defined ego.  With such talent and intellect, Sinuhe sees great success, and becomes royal physician to the infamous Pharaoh Akhenaten.  His fame however is fickle, and Akhenaten’s rule and favour was both tumultuous and fleeting.  Sinuhe finds himself exiled, and roaming the ancient Near East practicing his craft and learning many types of foreign medicine, interacting with many of the world’s greatest leaders of the age.

Through The Egyptian, we are introduced to a rich cast of characters, many famous in Egyptian history, in which Waltari himself was well versed.  Perhaps its post-war popularity revolved around the fact that The Egyptian was written during World War II, and the parallels between Hitler and Waltari’s Suppiluliuma were overt.  Abe Brown once wrote, “As Waltari's book was written during the Second World War, Suppiluliuma's depiction is likely to be at least in part inspired by Hitler rather than by historical facts…Suppiluliuma has not yet attracted the attention of any historical novelist to write a bit more nuanced popular account—though his life certainly offers rich untapped material".

Waltari also fictionalizes Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his wife, Tiy; the great Egyptian Queen Nefertiti; the boy-king Tutankhamun, Pharaoh Ay and Pharaoh Horemheb, leading us through a dramatic recounting of the end of the 19^th Dynasty of Egypt’s New Kingdom. Other historical figures met in Sinuhe’s travels included Aziru of Amurru, and Burna-Buriash II of Babylon.

Interestingly, I found that my most lasting impression from the novel was Sinuhe’s opposing personality.  He has both an incredibly high and an incredibly low opinion of himself, his skills, his life, his rulers his gods and his country.  This unusual duality opened the autobiography and defined it:

"I, Sinuhe, son of Senmut and his wife Kipa, am the author of this work. I write not to glorify the gods, for I am weary of gods. I write not to glorify pharaohs, for I am weary of pharaohs' deeds. Rather for my own sake do I write this. Not to flatter gods, nor to flatter kings, nor out of fear, nor out of hope for the future. For I have experienced and lost much in the years of my life, and am untroubled by trivial fears; and I am weary of the hope of immortality, as I am weary of gods and kings. Only for my own sake do I write this, and in that respect I believe that I am different from all other writers past and future."

Is this antipathy the result of the wisdom of his old age, or perhaps the wisdom of the chaotic age that Sinuhe lived?  With the rise and fall of Akhenaten, every major aspect of Egypt’s character was redefined and later defined again:  from the extent of the Egyptian Empire, to the major religious institutions, to the changes in art and monumental architecture to even the basic economics of the country itself.  To live through such time, and under the changes in kingship at this time, Sinuhe had become the survivor of an old way of life, and both sought to hold on to the old ways, while also travelling the known world to absorb new knowledge.

Easily the best known of Waltari’s historical fiction, The Egyptian draws readers into an ancient age long gone, and tells the story of Egypt and her people from a vivid perspective. 



The Night Circus

The Night Circus:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/books/review/the-night-circus-by-erin-morgenstern-book-review.html?_r=0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Circus


RA Review:  A+.  Morgenstern's The Night Circus is a masterpiece.

This novel is as beautifully crafted as the feats of magic and illusion performed by Le Cirque des Rêves.  There is something bold, ethereal and elegant about this novel; something magical and elusive, that you can't quite put your finger on, like a dream you forget almost instantly upon waking.

Set in the late 19th century, two magicians set the board for a challenge of power and protégés.  Enter Prospero the Enchanter, who wishes to use his own daughter, Celia, in the test.
Mr. A.H- selects an orphan, Marco, as his contestant.  Each mentor grooms their ward in their own magical method, until they reach adulthood and begin the rivalry in full, not knowing their opponent's name, face or talents.  The challenge pits them unknowingly against each other, bound in a magically binding blood contest, with Le Cirque des Rêves as the stage.

Le Cirque des Rêves has no schedule fixed, it appears overnight.  As the years progress, its devoted patrons, the "rêveurs", send each other notifications of when the circus arrives, and identify themselves and each other with a splash of red against monochrome clothing, hoping to see any new feats offered while enjoying old favourites.  Contestants in the magical feud work in different methods:  Marco works from outside of the circus from a business perspective and appear at random intervals to add his own magical elements, while Cecilia was hired as an illusionist from the circus' very opening, and travels with it regularly.

Despite the magically binding nature of their participation in the contest, over the years Marco and Cecilia discover each other's identity and fall in love.  They attempt to subvert the contract in order to remain together and evade the fate placed on them by their mentors.

The Night Circus is easily my favourite read of the year, and one of the most elegantly beautiful novels I have enjoyed.  Well done, Morgenstern.

The Prague Cemetery- Umberto Eco

The Prague Cemetery:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/books/review/the-prague-cemetery-by-umberto-eco-book-review.html?ref=bookreviews&_r=0

I chose The Prague Cemetery as last month’s read for my local book club as Umberto Eco is one of my favourite authors.  The sheer genius of his work and intricacies of his plots are simply astounding.  I have re-read The Name of the Rose on several occasions, and always find it thrilling, even with knowing the ending.

I eagerly anticipated reading this selection with fellow bibliophiles.  What I was not aware of prior to commencing this book, was that a basic understanding of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is referenced again and again throughout the plotline, would be fundamentally required in order to keep up with the narrator.  In addition, Eco has made it clear that with the exception of the narrator, every person mentioned in the book was a true historical figure.  I kept a long list with me for Googling as I read, wishing that I was better versed in French and Italian history and 19^th century European politics.  These two challenges may prohibit the average reader from completing and/or enjoying this work.

With the aid of the every helpful Wikipedia, I made it through the novel, riveted by the last third of the book.  Allow me to give an overview without spoiling the conclusion:

Written as a series of journal entries, we meet our protagonist, a man of dubious character and circumstances:  one Simone Simonini, who by today’s standards would be a social pariah for his racist and misogynistic attitudes.  Simonini was raised by a grandfather who sheltered Jesuits and laid all conspiracies at the door of the Knights Templar and Jews.  Over the course of his young life, Simonini is tutored by Jesuits, attends law school and begins learning and practising forgery under an unscrupulous lawyer.  After making an art of forging legal documents, Simonini comes to the attention of the government and is sent to spy on Garibaldi in Palermo.  Ordered to destroy sensitive documents, Simonini is banished to Paris after organizing the explosion of a ship and death of its crew.

Finally, we arrive in Paris, 1861 and the main events of the story unfold.  For the hapless reader, the book has probably been set aside somewhere between Simonini learning to forge wills and testaments, and his activities in Palermo.  I know that was where I struggled to focus.

The journal entries are made by Simonini as well as Abbé Dalla Piccola in 1897.  Having previously met Freud, and discussed memory issues and talking cures, Simonini writes in the diary each day to try to recall the events of his life.  Where Simonini cannot or will not truthfully recall events, Piccola will add details following Simonini’s entries.  Simonini himself cannot account for another person within his household, and tries desperately to determine if he and Piccola are the same person...which goes against his own recollection of killing one Abbé Dalla Piccola years before.

Embroiled in subterfuge under the command of the French Secret Service in order to keep him and fine food and stockpile money for a comfortable pension, Simonini finds himself at the heart of events pertaining to the Paris Commune, the Dreyfus Affair and counterespionage with the Russian Secret Service.  His lifelong passion, however, is to build upon a letter written by his grandfather decades before, which becomes the basis for The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a tract which illustrates that the Jews are plotting world domination in many nefarious ways.  The letter, his research, and liberal regurgitation of other anti-Semitic tracts will one day be sold to the highest bidder in The Protocols and ensure his financial prosperity.  In his search for other tracts to include or edit into his work, Simonini becomes involved in Palladism, devil worship and aids the great hoax, Léo Taxil.

Struggling to meet his own ends without being uncovered as a spy, murderer and forger, Simonini also attempts to recall his own history and character. 

When the book concludes, and you are still confused, Eco provides a handy timeline and bibliography.  Things become much clearer.  I was interested and also appalled to learn that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was a favourite read for Adolf Hitler.  Needless to say, The Prague Cemetery is not light-reading to help you wind down right before bed.

Love it, hate it, and certainly try to finish it.  Eco’s still worth the read.

The Bibliophile

If I have one God-given talent, it's speed-reading.  And thank goodness, because I inhale books.

The problem is, few people want me to relate my entire feelings over a novel or book of poetry to them.  Is it because I am a spoiler, or just because they don't want to hear me talk?  I honestly don't know - probably because my mom is the main critic on this one.

So I am starting a book blog.  My thoughts on loving and hating the lit I inhale.  It would take years to go back and review every book I have ever read, so we're going to start with recent reads in late 2012/early 2013 and go from there.

Also, I recently started a small, elite book club.  I say elite because we have 4 members.  I'll write about our experiences here as well.

Happy reading everyone!

-RA