Rating: 
Summary: Truth, monotheism, and politics in ancient Egypt
Review: Although Mahfouz is best known in the West for his novels of modern Cairene life, he also has written a number of novels based on ancient Egyptian history. "Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth" is one such work. Technically a novel, this book is more a meditation on historical truth and the multiple perspectives of different individuals on the same event. The frame story of a young nobleman investigating the truth about the notorious heretic pharoah provides a vehicle for those close to Akhenaten tell their versions of what happened. They each have their own axes to grind, their own secrets to hide, and their own versions of reality. Politics, power, ambition, idealism, mysticism and pure pragmatism all play their parts. The only constant in each narrative is Akhenaten's devotion to his one god, though some view it as heresy and some as revelation. But the Pharoah is convinced that his god and his god's way of peace and love will triumph in the end. Of course, Akhenaten and all he worked for were destroyed, but it is for the reader to decide if he won in the end. This is not a book to read for plot development and sweeping action. But, if you are interested in a book that takes a more character-driven and philosophical stance, then "Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth" is a rewarding read.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting take on Akhenaten and his peers
Review: Even though this book is clearly a work of fiction, it puts an interesting spin on the probable diversified opinions of the people who lived through and participated in the changes in Egypt caused by his reign and his ideas. History always refers to him as the "heritic", a mad man with insane ideas that almost brought his country to its knees. This book goes about bringing out both sides of the issue. A young man with a "need to know and record it for history's sake" goes about interviewing those still alive most closely involved with Akhenaten on many levels of power or influence after the kings death and destruction of his city.. As I'm sure you would find today, even if asked about our own President, there would be those who would either be for or against his policies. Some people continued to love Akhenaten even after his name was stricken from the records; whereas others complete hatred would continue until the end of time. I enjoyed this book very much and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys thought provoking stories about Ancient Egypt.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Historical Fiction
Review: From Nobel Prize winning author, a new look at the controversial reign of Pharoah Akhenaten and his beautiful wife Nefertiti. Akhenaten, turning his back on the political and religious power structure which supported Egyptian pharaohs, rejected polytheism in favor of a single deity of love, light and joy, which precluded violence, punishment, and war. He left the traditional home of pharaohs, Thebes, and built a new governing city to his new deity. Although the population of Egypt adored this new enlightened governance, the strength and reach of the Egyptian empire soon crumbled as enemies encroached upon its borders with impunity and finally, the military and powerful priests gave Akhenaten an ultimatum-give up your throne...or else. As a result, Tuthankamen, Akhenaten's young brother, was placed upon the throne and Akhenaten's rule ended in imprisonment and a suspiciously early death. Mahfouz's well researched historical fiction constitutes interviews with the key power players recalling the reign and crisis of Akhenaten's rule, each perspective revealing the speaker's political biases. The sum provides an easy and fascinating glimpse into an unusual period of Ancient Egyptian history.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was very excited when a friend told me about this book. I have been intrigued by the story of Akhenaten since my freshman year of college when I was introduced to his "heretic" ways. Akenaten disrupted all aspects of Egyptian life when he relocated the capitol and declared Egypt to be a monotheistic society (worshipping one god). For people who had always worshipped numerous gods this change was shocking and infuriating. Some followed him, however most continued to worship their own gods in secret. Because of his controversial actions I couldn't wait to see how Mafouz depicted Akenaten. I quickly read the book and was rather disappointed. I found the story to be highly repetitious, with little character development. While the book serves as a good introduction to the story of Akhenaten it leaves out many intriguing controversies (For instance Mafouz depicts Akenaten as a loving father to Meretaten his daughter, in actuality evidence suggests that Akenaten had sexual relations with the girl in order to conceive an heir). The book only glances at Ancient Eyptian social and religous life. If Mafouz did do any research, he didn't incorporate it into the book. Mafouz claimed that Nefertiti outlived Akenaten when in actuality she disapears from the historical record before him, suggesting that she died. Mafouz also used creative licencse to claim that Akenaten had carved the world famous bust of Nerfertiti. Mafouz intersperces truth and fiction to such an extent that a reader with cursory knowledge of ancient Egypt may mistake his creative licence for historical fact. Had the author taken more time to research and add details to the story, this would have been an excellent work of historical fiction. Instead, he retold the same series of events with only slightly differing views and no attention to the social reality of Ancient Egypt. If you want to read interesting historical fiction with a sturdy backbone of research, try Steven Saylor or Steven Pressfield.
Rating:
Summary: Sublime Dream
Review: In all truth, very little is known and can be asserted as fact surrounding the lives of ancient Egypt's ruling couple, Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Arguably, they may be a pair of history's most elusive figures ... yet, Ahhenaten is the more intriguing of the two. In trying to tell the story of the Pharoah so little is known about, Mahfouz employs a narrative not unlike that of one of film's most revered projects, CITIZEN KANE: a narrator -- a young man, perhaps a budding scholar -- begins by asking his father about the recently deceased king, and his father suggests that the true story could best be told by those who knew him well ... the surviving members of the royal party. Curiosity propels our narrator to visit a host of Akhenaten's supporters and detractors, ending with a conversation from even the exiled queen, Nefertiti. However, is it truth ... or is it fiction? As is the case with KANE, the reader ends up learning more about the psyche of the tale's teller (those who knew Akhenaten best) than we do the late king. The pieces of the puzzle do provide a fascinating look, nonetheless, at Akhenaten. Was he a visionary? Was he a heretic? Was he a scholar and artist, or was he driven to do what he did -- changing the complete worship structure of Egypt to one God instead of many -- out of madness? A work of excellence by a scholar on the subject, AKHENATEN, DWELLER IN TRUTH is highly recommended for any students of ancient history, archaeology, and perhaps even conspiracies. We may never know all regarding the 'heretic king,' but Mahfouz brings us close enough to believing that we were there.
Rating:
Summary: The multi-faceted story about Akhenaen and his God
Review: Living in a modern Egypt where the belief in one God is the accepted denomination of worship, Mahfouz poses this question: what would it be like a few thousand years ago when the table was turned, and the concept a sole-creator was a subject of heresy? In Akhenaten, the historical heretic of ancient Egypt, Mahfouz finds a way to construct a little tale that is laden with the ever-important philisophical questions about faith.
The narration, done in what I always call a 'Rashomon' style, is based on the stories from different people around Akhenaten as told to a curious young man in search of the truth about the heretic. These views reflect a wide spectrum of perception about Akhenaten, from simply abhorrent as in the high priest of Amun's, (Amun is God of Thebes, the leader of all Gods in the structure of beliefs in ancient Egypt), to the loyal and loving views of Nesfertiti, the infamous wife of Akhenaten. Ironically, for stories that are supposed to shed light on the truth, they pose more problems than answers. These questions can be divided into two levels, one that relates to the myriad of characters, and the other the philosophical realm of one's faith. The stories as told are intrinsically intriguing, filled with insinuations that get muddier as more perspectives are offered. They encompass greed, jealousy, loyalty, love and more, and the narration is built in such away that the next interviewee tells on the previous' motives. However, as these are purely opinions and hearsays, it is hard to construct an objective story that reflects the true nature of each character aside from mere speculations. On the other hand, as the story of Akhenaten begins to take shape, most readers who adopt a monotheistic take on religion might discover a lot of parallels between Akhenaten's religion and their own. And in these reflections lie the eternal questions about one's belief, such as how much of religion should be tied to governance or if being an absolute pacifist can solve the mundane but realistic conflicts. In its simplicty, lurks a deeply evocative book. Short and straightforward as it might be, 'Akhenaten' does not leave you in peace even after you finish reading it. It is a deep parable that makes you wonder what it takes to be a faithful being.
Rating: 
Summary: =0)
Review: LoL...I have this crazy Amarna obsession, so I was psyched when I got my grubby hands on this book, but frankly, after reading it, I just don't understand what the fuss about this book is all about. Maybe the aesthetics got lost in the translations, but whatever it was, it left me a bit disappointed. There was a nice infusion of theories surrounding Akhenaten, but it was superficial and def. could have used a little more development. And although the formatting was interesting, I didn't really like the way the characters were portrayed and overall, the story was just a bit too wishy-washy for my taste.
Rating:
Summary: The Nature of Truth Examined
Review: Naguib Mahfouz is one of my favorite writers and, though this tome is not my favorite of his titles, it is, no less intriguing. Mahfouz tackles the controversial historical figure, Pharaoh Akhenaten, by posing the question of his identity and impact on the ancient land, to historical figures of the time. The chapters of the book, are linked by the narrative of a fictional writer, seeking the 'real story' of Akhenaten. The narrator interviews, Maya, Horemheb, Nakht and several others, including the ignigmatic Queen Nefertiti. Each respondent has a different perspective on the so-called 'heretic king'. Some hate him. Some love him. Many have mixed emotions about the man who, first, selected a god among the pantheon of Egyptian gods, then promoted this god to the position of state god. As time and political events passed, the king came to conceive of his one god as the ultimate, unseen power in the universe. The tales detail the effect this revolutionary concept had on the ancient land. It is obvious that Mahfouz sees Akhenaten as the precursor to the three 'great religions', in that he was the first in recorded history to espouse the concept of one god. The story teller is a master at creating the whole complex picture, from disparate views. He has succeeded again.
Rating:
Summary: Beguiling
Review: Okay, I confess: I plagiarized the adjective beguiling from the back cover, but it was the best one word phrase I could come up with to describe this quirky book. In some senses, it reminds me of a detective narrative, a kind of Egyptian Oedipus who is searching for the "truth." The story in this case revolves around this monotheistic pharaoh and his peculiar religious leadership and reign. I'm not an expert at the history of the period -- my above reviewer points out several inaccuracies which if true would be disappointing to me. After reading 15 or so different interviews of those close to Akhenaten, some of the mysteries are resolved. It's a short read and quite a unique narrative that will transplant you to ancient Egypt. It's amazing at times how modern the narrative feels. How much really separates sexual escapades of someone like Clinton from those of the ancients? Not much as we see from our study of history. A bit offbeat, but a good read on an intriguing subject.
Rating:
Summary: Mr.O's online book review
Review: The book Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth was a very interesting book. The plot is interesting and I would highly recommend it to others. It starts out with a great queen of Egypt who has two sons. The younger one becomes prince and eventually pharoah, but one day he hears the voice of God say to him that he is the only god that should be worshipped and there is no other but him. So, Akhenaten turns to monotheism and starts to spread this new religion. The nobles and most of the people of Egypt accuse him of being crazy and label him a heretic. So he leaves to build his own city and takes his followers and his wife with him. There is a great war over the people and eventually, Akhenaten is all alone. Now, the story is being told to a young boy named Meriamun, who is hearing it from many different views. He hears the story over and over from some of the priests, Akhenaten's wife, and even some of the gaurds. Meriamun is on a mission to find out the truth. I hope you read the book and enjoy it just as much as I did. Don't be fooled by this review just because it's for my school, I did enjoy the book, and I hope you will too.
|
