Khufu's Wisdom by Naguib MahfouzMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Here is the malady: you believe in duty... Which of the two do you think will be the first to be sold? Duty, or the avoidance of doing harm?“
This is the first novel in THREE NOVELS OF ANCIENT EGYPT by Naguib Mahfouz, he who writes in such an epic style!
Instead of saying "the trees swayed in the evening light," he goes: "In the darkness, the date palms looked like slumbering ghosts, or souls whose tortures stretched throughout eternity."
My gooooooosh!!!! Such a pleasure to read a novel full of beautiful sentences!
Khufu's Wisdom is about the great pharoah who had the Great Pyramid of Giza built. It's a very biblical tale, of a prophecy made of a baby who will rule after Pharoah, of a ruler's decision to kill a babe, and of Destiny making her will manifest, toying with a king's wishes.
I loved how Ancient Egpyt came alive in this work. And the grandeur of the language lent itself well to the soundtrack of Hans Zimmer's "Prince of Egypt" playing over and over in my head.
The passages of wooing were most beautiful! With lines like "I would sacrifice myself to protect you from evil" and "The more I see you, the more my soul is filled with you."
We could all use some majesty and grandeur in our lives, and I can't wait for my next dose with Book 2 in the trilogy!
Thank you SO MUCH to Joy Ann for lending this book to me!!
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