Scan barcode
A review by slinnell1
The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips
1.0
The problem I had with his novel, was that I couldn't connect with any of the characters. They were all pretty unlikable (and pretty full of themselves), while the main two narrators were also fairly boring. Of the two narrators, the Egyptologist and the Aussie detective, by far the most dry and dull was the Egyptologist, despite his maybe-pharaoh's favorite subject matter. He was, on the whole, as entertaining as reading an outdated text book, or perhaps even the dictionary.
The story is told through letters and journals, making no one's account of events reliable. It was really hard to get into straightaway, and dragged on and on in many places. I did guess the general ending, but not nearly as early as many reviewers on here, and the end was definitely the most interesting and entertaining part. It answered my questions, fleshed out what was left out by biased narrators trying to leave the most flattering accounts of themselves, and actually grabbed my attention.
It was unfortunate, really, that the book just seemed to go on forever, while the end itself went by far too fast. If you are looking or a book that won't make you invest too much time or emotion in it's characters or events, this is for you. Darker than I expected, but it certainly had it's amusing moments, and like I said, I did appreciate the ending. Overall, this book was not my favorite, but it certainly was "okay."
The story is told through letters and journals, making no one's account of events reliable. It was really hard to get into straightaway, and dragged on and on in many places. I did guess the general ending, but not nearly as early as many reviewers on here, and the end was definitely the most interesting and entertaining part. It answered my questions, fleshed out what was left out by biased narrators trying to leave the most flattering accounts of themselves, and actually grabbed my attention.
It was unfortunate, really, that the book just seemed to go on forever, while the end itself went by far too fast. If you are looking or a book that won't make you invest too much time or emotion in it's characters or events, this is for you. Darker than I expected, but it certainly had it's amusing moments, and like I said, I did appreciate the ending. Overall, this book was not my favorite, but it certainly was "okay."