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Summary: The Pharaoh's Daughter
Review: I thought The Pharaoh's Daughter was an excellent book. I enjoyed it very much. The author did a very good job. I recomend this book to everyone who enjoys learning about how the people of Egypt live and what they go through. In conclusion, I thought it was very entertaining, and I recomend it to everyone.
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Summary: A Good Historical Fiction
Review: I thought this book was very good. I thought that this book was very interesting and entertaining. The change between main characters made me lose interest until I began to understand the new character. This book had an interesting view into biblical times.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Historical Fiction
Review: I thought this book was very good. I thought that this book was very interesting and entertaining. The change between main characters made me lose interest until I began to understand the new character. This book had an interesting view into biblical times.
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Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Julius Lester has proven to be a disappointment. Moses (Moshe) was of African origins and so I would assume his sister was also. To portray her as a European is a total lie. Ancient Egyptians and Hebrews were of African origins, a fact that many people have a problem gasping. To deny this fact is to insult African people. Further, the Hebrew religion is not defined and limited to one's race. There are Hebrews around the world representing various ethnic groups. Judaism is not a white religion, nor are its origins.
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Summary: Rich and carefully crafted
Review: Lester's interpretation of Moses in the Bulrushes has a prince-and-the-pauper-like twist the pharaoh's daughter invites Mosis's sister and mother to come live at the palace with her and the baby she is taken in. Almah, the sister, is enraptured by the lavish lifestyle of Egyptian royalty and eventually becomes a priestess, while Princess Meryetamun begins to live a more simplified life. Conflict between the Habiru and Khemetian people is the central theme of the book. Lester includes rich details of ancient Egypt such as class distinctions, religion, food and dress; he remains true to the time and culture through
his language and carefully selected dialogue. I found the author's notes the best part of this book; although the novel was carefully researched, an interesting idea, and well-written, it just didn't get me excited about ancient Egypt. A glossary and bibliography are appended.
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Summary: A neat adaption to the story of Moses.
Review: Pharaoh's Daughter is "a story of ancient Egypt". Actually, it retells the story of Moses. More so, it focuses on his sister, Almah. Unlike most Habiru (Hebrews), she speaks Khemetian (the language of Egyptians). She doesn't really fit into her family and her God-worshipping society, having been bored by her mother's stories. Almah meets the Egyptian princess, Meryetamun, one day by the Nile river, just after Pharaoh Ramses II issues for newborn Habiru boys to be killed. Meryetamun faints when she sees a crocodile strike at one of the baby baskets, and Almah takes her to her home and Meryetamun finds out about Almah's own litte brother. Later she visits again and saves Almah's brother before the guards can get rid of him. She names him Mosis and passes him off as the gift of the goddess Eset (Isis). Almah and her mother enter the palace as well, and there, Almah finds her true happiness. She admires the Khemetian ways, though scorned by her mother. When Meryetamun's mother, the queen Nefertari dies, she is drawn to Almah's mother and the Habiru God, while Almah learns to love the Egyptian pantheon and the heartaching Pharaoh. The second part of this story is narrated by adolescent Mosis, in which he observes the differences in his wide family and is pressured to choose which religion he prefers. Then the Pharaoh, his "Grandfather", issues a proclamation for all Habirus to work as slaves on his new temple, and suspicions are drawn to Almah, Mosis, and Meryetamun. Mosis is forced to act. This novel provides a great insight to the world of ancient Egypt while enlightening us on the biblical story. The author's hard work and thoughtfulness are revealed in the writing as well as in the introduction and Author's Note.
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Summary: A new perspective on Moses
Review: Pharaoh's Daughter is a revised version of the Moses saga of Jewish and Christian history. The author puts in the perspective of a young Habiru, or Hebrew, Almah, who is coming of age and her brother Mosis. Their family and entire people work and live under the control of the Egyptian pharaoh who is considered a god.
The novel begins with Mosis and his sister Almah, with Batya his adoptive mother. Batya invites Almah to a secret meeting, and find that Mosis has murdered another Egyptian. While the murder of a slave would have been acceptable, the murder of a fellow Egyptian was unethical.
Most of the book recounts the basic story of Mosis as told in the Torah and the Bible. The story is somewhat different. In this telling, the baby is watched over by Almah, not Miriam, and is sought after instead of being stumbled upon by Pharaoh's daughter. There are also many similarities, particularly Mosis' father, Abba, is a leader in the novel and in the biblical story is a Levite, a member of the priestly tribe. The story continues traditionally with Mosis growing up in Pharaoh's house, murdering, and fleeing. One other big difference is that Almah grows up in Pharaoh's house with Mosis.
In the epilogue Mosis has left Egypt, but Almah has stayed and has become a priestess. She talks with Pharaoh and admits that she helped him escape. Pharaoh agrees that it was good he escaped even though he was not going to have him killed. In the end, both Almah and Pharaoh are praising God in their own way. "How do you say it in Habiru, Hallelu Ya.?"
"History is the study of the human past." Therefore "good history" would be a story that truthfully recounts the human past. Pharaoh's Daughter was deeply researched by the author, who herself was becoming a Jew. The author included many points that made the story "good history" including Moses' lisp, "But usually his tongue was as heavy as a stone for the pyramids." The author is sure to cite her sources at the end of the book. I believe that this novel was a new way for someone who knows the bible to see the story in a different perspective, and would highly recommend it.
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Summary: Pharaoh's Family Problems
Review: Pharaoh's Daughter, by Julius Lester, is a very good book. Lester uses his experiences (in the epilouge), and historical facts to create a rich tapestry of characters. While trying to get the mental stereotype of Mosis (yes, I did spell that right) out off your mind, he manages to make you think that you are a person in the palace watching this drama unfold.
Using his overflowing knowledge of Egyptian religion, he creates great descriptions of all of the gods and goddesses that makes you think that you are in the same hallway, suite, or even the temple. The way he uses the different gods and goddesses in the plot is absolutely wonderful. You can't help but think what it would be like to live back then. I highly reccomend this book
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Summary: Pharaoh's Daughter
Review: Pharaoh's Daughter, by Julius Lester, is an easy read and an overall good book, especially if you are interested in ancient Egypt. The book starts off with the Pharaoh, Ramesses the Great, declaring that all the first born Habiru sons are to be killed. Moses' sister Almah, takes Moses (originally known as Yekutiel) to the river and hides him. The Princess, Meryetamun, finds Moses claiming that the goddess Taweret led her to him to make him her son. She takes baby Moses back to the palace along with his sister, Almah, and their mother. Eventually, Moses' mother leaves the palace but Almah stays there to live with Moses fore she is entranced by the royal lifestyle.
Almah, found her calling was to live in the palace and worship both gods and goddesses instead of Ya like she had been raised to and becomes a Priestess. Moses, however, is indecisive about what religion he wants to pursue. His whole life is mixed up. His Habiru sister speaks and worships like a Khemetian and his mother, Meryetamum, worships only Ya and acts more like a Habiru. Moses is torn between two worlds fore he is not a Habiru nor a Khemetian. Now, I don't want to give away the entire story, so I'll just say this: Moses kills someone and is forced to leave Khemet in secret with the help of his sister Almah. I found this book to be interesting because Julius Lester tells much of what ancient Egypt was like and created in-depth characters that you can relate to. One of my favorite parts of the story is when Almah looks into Meryetamum's golden mirror and sees her reflection clearly for the first time. She notices that she is not ugly, but beautiful and feels like the goddess Eset. It is then she knows her true path.
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Summary: Pharoah's Daughter.....
Review: Pharoah's Daughter was a great book of the young life of Moses. It showed many aspects of the story of Moses told from another angle. Almah decides the Khemetian (Egyptian) way of polytheism is the life for her. Mosis on the other hand, can't decide whether to worship Ya (Hebrew God) or the polytheisic gods of ancient Egypt. In this story of struggle, love, and hate, one young girl has to make decisions that will change her own life and the lives of many others forever. To make this short and sweet and still not give the story away, Moses and his older sister, Almah, become part of the Royal Family and their lives will never be the same.
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