Through twist after twist of fate, the child foretold is elevated higher and higher in the Pharaoh's army, wins the heart of his favourite daughter, and eventually rescues him from an assassination attempt carried out by the Crown Prince. He had grown impatient waiting for his father to die and wanted him killed, but is himself killed by the one the God's had chosen to succeed Pharaoh. By surrendering to impatience, the Crown Prince brought about his own downfall and ensured that what had been pre ordained would occur.
What makes all three of these tales wonderful is Mr. Mahfouz's abilities to spin a story. His descriptions of the settings — from the battlefield to the interior of a palace to a boat on the Nile — sound like he was right there making notes as the events took place. How else could he describe the way a chariot charge looks when 200 of them wheel to the attack? Or what is inside a holy temple, and what exact corner the God lives and how he is shrouded? I never sailed upon a boat up the Nile in 2000 B.C., but I now have a pretty good idea.
But he also knows everyone's most intimate thoughts and desires in such great detail that they had to have confided in him at some point in time. Okay, sometimes all the beating hearts and aching desires sound a little too much like a romance novel, but those moments are balanced out by the retribution meted out in the end.
I've always thought that classical literature was the foundation for today's soap operas, with their intrigues and intricate plotting, and Three Novels Of Ancient Egypt bears that out. But if today's soaps had writers akin to Naguib Mahfouz creating their scripts, they would be of a quality we wouldn't even recognise they'd be so good.
Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis Of Nubia, and Thebes At War are three examples of a masterful writer at work. While they are written in a style we may not be accustomed too, with their adherence to classical conventions and language that is somewhat more flowery then we are used to, it does nothing to diminish their quality.
Canadian readers can pick up a copy on –line through Random House Canada or through any other Canadian retailer like Amazon.ca
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!