Book Review:The Tutankhamun Affair
OK, on to the review. I really ought to have done this sooner in the 2nd week of December, and am surprised I didn't, but i suppose I was undergoing a substantial amount of emotional turmoil at the time of reading and finishing this book. I don't even have it with me anymore; it was my darling cousin Namu's book, so please bear with the lapses of memory.
The Tutankhamun Affair is written by Christian Jacq, a French Egyptologist and writers who has written many other books on the country, it's history and the mysteries that surround it, and the excavations there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It's based on a true story, and one that has caused much intrigue, both for Egyptophiles and for the layman. But it's not a suspense novel, CERTAINLY not, given the pace - more like fictionalisation of documents. I warn you, you must be patient with this book, and like the inhibited virgin queen it is, it will unfold itself to you slowly only after you trust it and hang around long enough to let it trust you.
I know, I know, the above line is cheesy as hell, but it pretty much summarises the protagonist, Carter's, experience with Egypt. Introduced to her in his late teens, his love affair with her is as frustrated and long-drawn out, yet faithful and patient as any woman could wish for the man she marries to be. BUT NOTHING can come in the way of his love for Egypt, not even mere women, and he overcomes insurmountable odds thrown at him by men of various nationalities and motives - oh the politics involved in power and academia - to finally find the mirage he was seeking - Tutankhamun's tomb.
If you're expecting to solve a great mystery - that of Tutankhamun, through this novel, DON'T. I guess an important piece of advice I can give you here is that the thrill of this book is in the journey, and in it's destination. But by the end of the book, the virgin has merely been deflowered. She has not even BEGUN to show you the subtle secrets of her being that will entice you and make you hooked for life, her maturing into fine wine. In that vein, the book does leave you somewhat disappointed and longing for more. However it does a fine job of giving you a feel of the place, the journey, the search, the frustration, by its torturesom pace. I read the book only a few pages at a time since I began it, but was determined to persist till the end, and find out exactly WHAT made all the people I knew who had read it praise him so much. And i was rewarded by the middle of the book as I was devouring it, till it slowed down towards the end. Much like Carter's life and work.
I empathised with Carter because he reminded me of Howard Roark of The Fountainhead, who is one of my favourite literary characters for his determination and uncompromising nature and inability to be sycophantic and play the brown-nose game. Lord Carnarvon, the perennial adventurer who vicariously seeks his dream in Carter and in Egypt, is a splendid, colourful, noble character, abundant in the traits that Carter lacks, indeed, Sangria to Carter's dry gin. The portraits of the important people in the middle are well-etched, but the women lack definition and the political upsurging at the background, despite being filled with important personalities, remains merely background noise.
If you're looking for romance, you'll be somewhat disappointed. The love is present in the miles of undulating sanddunes, in the midday heat breaking rocks, in the spirituality and loyalty of the Arab peoples, in the green eyes of a houri that was lost into oblivion because Carter could never be hers. The human love presented here, seems trite in comparison to the sweep of Egypt's charm and secrets. It just somehow seemed even more disappointing, that a woman, though a native, a force for change, and the key to Egypt's secrets, lost out to a cream-clad elegant Englishwoman with a love of discovery. I like to analyse racial romantic relations, and frankly there's little to criticise other because strong odds stand in the way of both romances. And well, they weren't race-based. It was just a question of common interest over common culture.
Because of the sweep of the book, (funny how both Michelle and Patty used that for the same book) is so grand, human relations get lost, and Jacq himself seems to lose interest in expounding upon them or the dialogues, and everything seems to get drowned in the dunes (for us English readers anyway). Some parts are funny though, and Jacq is adept (probably given his profession and familiarity with the political setup of the era) at caricaturing characters (if not for creating them in depth) and for documenting scenes with razorsharp accuracy at stereotypical idiosyncracies. For some reason I kept imagining the French head of the Egyptology Excavation stuff too look likee Freud - glasses and a superior, stern, expression - taking himself and his work TOO seriously!
Since the book is translated from the original French, there are some words/sentences that hamper the otherwise slow, albeit steady pace. Paragraph breaks, and verbal rejoinders for instance, come across as too abrupt and dialogues don't seem to be carried on to a natural conclusion.
Since this is the only book I've read of Jacq - i would recommend it, especially if you're interested in history, the colonial excavation project, Egypt, or need reassurance about the arduous journey up the career ladder.
Augustus Octavius (on Amazon.com) thinks otherwise. He gives it 1 star.
"I am a huge fan of Christian Jacq, and have read and own most of his wonderful novels. So, I was extremely excited when I began to read the Tutankhamun Affair. I love history, I do, and also Egyptology. But I have to admit, this book very boring. Promised in the description of the book was "passion, betrayal and madness" but the passion was Howard Carter's for Egypt, the betrayal was his grant not getting renewed (exciting, I know) and the madness was the frustration of a grueling excavation. This book needs to stop taking itself so seriously. Jacq uses way too much repitition, and made the book about three times longer than it should have been, stretching it out to nothingness. I could barely bring myself to finish it. Christian Jacq is my FAVORITE AUTHOR, but if he is going to keep writing novels like this one, with all that "merging with the light" stereotype, I will change my opinion. This book followed a very overdone structure, and the characters were very much underdeveloped. Though this is harsh know that it is criticism, and I have great respect for the author and his PAST achievements.
Hmm. Now I mUST check out his other books. See for yourself!
posted by Princess Joya | 1:03 am
2 Comments:
Howard Roark!! C'mon. He was onlt a figment of Ayn Rand's fantasy world - so laconic, cool and idealistic - an abnormal individual if you were to ask me. One of Ayn Rand's biggest critisisms was that she was an aspirational philosopher, but never regarded as a genuine one. Her central characters are often one-dimensional people who seem to lack emotions that everyday people have. While she glorifies the ideals of the individual, she often ignores the other dimensions of an individual's personality.
We're all figments of our imaginations. I love Roark precisely for embodying those traits that I lack so conspicuously. They do seem to inhabit some sort of liminal world, but the politics in that book pretty much reflected those in real life. I've eard it's a book you love upon reading but hate as you evolve. let's see what my emotions are on the book upon re-reading it a few years hence!
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