Ilhem

I had the vague memory that Naguib Mahfouz's prose didn't work for me, and this short novel confirmed it. It was interesting, but failed to be exciting.

Anyway, it's still an intriguing read about truths, perspectives, Akhenaten and his royal spouse Nefertiti, about religion, tradition and politics. Some time after Akhenaten's death, the narrator who remains an obscure character, tries to clarify who Akhenaten was, and interviews several characters who were tightly linked to the pharaon, his reign and his demise.

The same story is told several times with different perspectives, different truths, and in the end, the reader is left sorting them out by himself and building his own opinion or perhaps his own dream of Akhenaten as a man and a ruler.

It left me very intrigued by two characters who were to me until now nothing more than two famous names and statues in museums. I think i'm going to chase some biographies to dream some more.

Note : I read it in French, but there is an English edition.