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.