The Golden Goblet

It isn’t often that a book throws you into the world of Ancient Egypt with such perfection that you move from cover to cover as easily as you’d travel down the Nile. This is the case with The Golden Goblet, a winner of the Newberry Honor that should have managed to claim the full award. While reading I found myself realizing that the descriptions were perfect replications of the lives painted on the walls of the tombs, that it was as if those paintings had come to life, as they were meant to when they were drawn onto the walls to guide those in the afterlife.

Though the mystery is somewhat obvious for an adult mind, the read itself is not to be missed. Not once did I put the book down to think “that wouldn’t have happened” or show more “they would never have said that.” If it were possible for someone to have lived in the time of the story, come back and written this book, I could easily believe that was exactly what had happened in the process of creating this book. Time travel is possible, just open the cover and begin your journey. show less

This is a fun children's book and I think, age-appropriate for its intended audience. Readers get an idea of what it was like living in Ancient Egypt, though I do wish a bit more history could have been explored. Ranofer's brother's hatred of him and their father is never explained. The ending was rather nice. Overall a fun adventure in children's historical fiction.

Very readable & modern. I could easily imagine it being published now instead of half a century ago. There's even some humor. And a fantastic (yes, that's the exact word I mean) ending. I mean to say, don't get your hopes up that it's the best book ever, but considering how much about ancient Egypt is in school curricula and also fascinates people, I'm surprised this isn't more widely read.

Ranofer is a boy working in a goldsmiths shop in ancient Egypt. He longs to be a true goldsmith, but his guardian, a cruel and abusive half brother, Gebu, won't allow him a full apprenticeship. When the boy learns that his brother has been using him to steal small amounts of gold from the shop, he tries, with the help of two friends (one his own age, the other a very old man) to find a way to stop his brother's theft without being accused himself.
When he is no longer useful to Gebu, the brother pulls Ranofer from the goldsmith and takes him on at his own stonemasons shop, which the boy loathes completely. But he soon realizes that Gebu is involved in even more serious crimes than stealing smiges of gold from goldsmiths. He and his show more friends will have a difficult time figuring out what his new crime is, and an even more difficult time bringing him to justice.
The plot was intriguing enough to keep my interest throughout the book, and the setting in ancient Egypt added interest. The story is totally plot driven, surging forward at all times, with no sidetracking at all for additional character development or subplots. Indeed, there isn't a single female character in the book until about the last ten pages or so. show less

I finished this a week ago, but I like to wait until my book group meets to review the books we read together. I often find insight in others impressions. We were mixed with this title. Some of us loved it and others didn't like it at all. Several of us found it slow going at the beginning, but enjoyed the suspense at the end. I loved the craft descriptions and others found them tedious. A good discussion ensued. It seems like a book that boys interested in history might enjoy. I think it has held up well over the years.

Ranofer wants only one thing in the world: to be a master goldsmith like his beloved father was. But how can he when he is all but imprisoned by his evil half brother, Gebu? Ranofer knows the only way he can escape Gebu's abuse is by changing his destiny. But can a poor boy with no skills survive on the cutthroat streets of ancient Thebes? Then Ranofer finds a priceless golden goblet in Gebu's room and he knows his luck - and his destiny - are about to change.

I would give it 3 stars, because I mostly enjoyed it. There were times I wanted to shake or smack the characters for foolishness or stubbornness, including the MC. It had some annoying things, like the similes and one character constantly being called "Ancient"