This is another book I've discovered thank to Twitter. I connected with Merrie P. Wycoff last month online, and during her Twitter party, I ended up winning a signed copy of Shadow of the Sun, her first novel. As you know, I love all things Egyptian, so I couldn't wait to read her novelization of the brief reign of Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to rewrite Egyptian myth and is still sometimes referred to as the "heretic pharaoh".
Told from the point of view of Merit-Aten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, this novel spans the first handful of years of Akhenaten's rule.
Although it was sometimes hard to believe the narrative voice (Merit-Aten is an old soul, but there are some things even the most enlightened four year old won't know), the story is complex and it's easy to get lost among the pages. The characters are vibrant, especially Pentu, the royal physician, and this story casts an interesting light on the rise and fall of the Aten in the context of other Egyptian religious traditions. Fans of all things Egyptian will enjoy this novel, and Wycoff leaves readers hanging at the end. Even though the resolution of this tale is historically attested, I can't wait to see what Wycoff does with it in future books.
What are you reading this week?
No comments:
Post a Comment