The Egyptian (1983)

"Would that I had words that are unknown, utterances and sayings in new language, that hath not yet passed away, and without that which hath been said repeatedly, and without that which hath been said repeatedly - not an utterance that hath growth stale, what the ancestors have already said."

-Khekheperre-Sonbu, a learned man and priest of the reign of Senusret II, c. 2150 BCE

With all due respect to the complaints of millennia past, I must instead defer to Mark Twain. He offers that history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Such is the story of Sinuhe, the royal physician to a heretic king, the Egyptian who wanders from Egypt to Babylon to Syria to the Hattusa to Crete. This is the archetypal story of love and loss, and yet it is new and familiar. He struggles for meaning and existence, both naive and sly, enduring the currents of dogma and war of history - all words repeated so much they are nearly meaningless, but still a cipher of every human being's story.

Waltari, though a rather astonishing depth of research, recreates a long-distant world, and dare I cliche - makes them Come Alive. A linear plot seldom exists, save for the wanderings of our eternal protagonist, and the surroundings and people around him, from his beginning to the end.

It is also an interesting coincidence that the author is Finnish - a country placed squarely in the middle of the most brutal conflict of the last century, between Nazi and Soviet, yet suffered far less than its southern neighbors. In that far country, they survived well enough to give warnings of war and dogma and tyrants, that we might learn from their history. ( )

My first introduction to "The Egyptian" was through a late night movie with Michael Rennie playing Sinuhe. The credits stated something like :Adapted from Mika Waltari's bestsellling novel." I got the book out of the library the very next day and found several things, not the least of which is that Hollywood doesn't always follow the story in the book.
The story of Sinuhe, an Egyptian physician, is told in first person and describes his life in the time of great change. He is just oeripheral to the major historical happenings, close enough to see what actuallyhappens to ordinary peopke when the leaders make monumental changes.

I read this first in the early 60s and again now, almost 50 years later and I find I still enjoy the book and see even more layers than I did so long ago. ( )

What a great book!

The setting of the book is in ancient Egypt--actually in other areas of the ancient Near East as well. Though nominally narrated by an average Egyptian doctor, this average doctor was deeply involved in the politics and diplomacy of this very pivotal point in Egypt's history. ( )

fremragende bog ( )

The Egyptian is structured as a the first person account of the life of Sinuhe, and through this account the story of a short-lived episode in Egyptian history of a change in religious belief. I first read this book as a much younger man, some 40 years ago. I am now much closer to Sinuhe's age at the time the account was written, and have re-read the novel with as much pleasure and greater appreciation. It is neither a pretty nor a nice story, but it is a great story about how a life is lived in a time of change, how decisions can be made for the best or worst reasons and how difficult it is to imagine all of the personal and broader implications. Reading this novel in my relative youth has certainly informed my life and my own decisions. However I am hopeful my approaching age will be somewhat more edifying than poor Sinuhe endured. I highly recommend The Egyptian l to anyone interested in a thoughtful novel, placed in a context remote enough to be only as challenging as you allow. The novel is well written, I enjoyed the language as well as the themes. ( )