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Akhenaten Dweller in Truth A Novel Naguib Mahfouz Tagreid AbuHassabo Books

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Akhenaten Dweller in Truth A Novel Naguib Mahfouz Tagreid AbuHassabo Books

First, the writing is spare and haunting: Mahfouz did win a Nobel Prize, after all. The different perspectives of each character's recollections lend a distinct Rashamon flavor to the story. However, there is another perspective, belonging to no character in the book, which I find illuminating.

Many reviewers approach the book from a secular Western perspective, even though its author was an Egyptian muslim. As I understand it, Islamic tradition presents Muhammad as "the seal of the prophets", the final and complete revelation of God's message - but not the first or only. Thus, their tradition acknowledges several earlier, incomplete revelations of the message. In that tradition, Jesus is seen as a legitimate prophet, though neither complete nor final. One perspective on this novel is to view the character of Akhenaten in the light of this tradition: an early and incomplete prophet of God's message. He got the monotheism right, he got the importance of love and mercy right, but he let all his work be destroyed because he was pacifistic. He placed his trust in God and refused to defend either Egypt or his new religion. Ultimately, Egypt was invaded by opportunistic neighbors, the traditional polytheistic elites regained control (and legitimacy) by defending the country, and his (incomplete) revelation was largely obliterated from the record. It is interesting to note that there are various incomplete paraphrases of Muhammad's most famous phrases throughout the book, strongly suggesting that Akhenaten is supposed to be seen as one who got a partial glimpse of what Muhammed later saw completely.

Of course, this is a novel, not a history book: do not expect a scholarly discussion of the real Akhenaten. For example, Nicholas Reeves' book claims that Akehnaten used monotheism as a tactic to seize power from the many priests serving many gods, and that the whole concept of "prophet" is just a secular propaganda trick to outflank other elites in competing for control of the malleable masses. However, I think it is clear that Mahfouz was not writing history but using Akhenaten's story as a vehicle to create beautiful prose and to tell a particular kind of story.

I'm no expert, but I think that the more one understands the cultural context of the author, the more one can understand the unspoken overtones of phrases and anecdotes -- as well as the author's ability to rise above the narrow perspectives of his youth. As I understand it, the traditional Islamic view of ancient Egypt is one of unmitigated jahiliyya. Nevertheless, Mahfouz seems to be clearly implying that there was at least one leader of great wisdom and virtue then, even if he was ultimately crushed. When Sadat was killed, the first words of his assassin were "I have killed Pharoah", reflecting the widespread image of the pharoahs as deserving of death. Yet Mahfouz presents the pharaoh Akhenaten as receiving, understanding, and following God's guidance (incompletely). It is, to borrow a po-mo term, "transgressive" - if you compare it to Islamic traditional beliefs.

At least for me, this interpretation added a new layer of complexity and nuance to both the details and overall arc of an already excellent novel.


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Akhenaten Dweller in Truth A Novel Naguib Mahfouz Tagreid AbuHassabo Books Reviews

This is a very well crafted and beautifully written book about the heretic king Amenhotep IV, better known by the name he gave himself in honor of his God, Akhenaten. The narrator of the story is a young man living decades after the death of the king. His father is a wise and respected man with a reputation for honoring Truth. The young man tells his father he wants to know the truth about Akhenaten, and his father tells him to go and find out the truth-- by talking with the people closest to him, who are still alive. The book is a set of recollections by these people, each with their own biases and fears and regrets about what happened. One would think this would make for dry and uninspiring reading but that isn't true at all. Through these individual stories, one gradually develops one's own vision of the life of Ankhenaten, his queen Nefertiti and the court in Akhentaten that rose up and fell into dust in less than 2 decades. The final recollection is the most powerful of all. The young man leaves with the imprint of the beauty and power and magnificence of the One God on his soul. And we as the witnesses to his journey to find the truth, become convinced of it too, as a reflection of what is best and finest in humankind. Egypt (and possibly the world) wasn't ready for the truth of Ankhenaten at the time but one might reflect that today much of Egypt follows the One God, whose name is Allah. Ankhenaten wins in the end.
I debated whether to give this three or four stars. It doesn't really deserve four, as (1) it's really little more than a novella and (2) it's by far not the best work of Naguib Mahfouz - and certainly not even close to the wondrous Cairo Trilogy. However, it deserves more than three, as (1) it's well written, as is typical of Mahfouz, and (2) it is an interesting way to convey history - or, rather, the lack of it, as Akhenaten remains a mystery. No one really knows whether Akhenaten was as crazy as an Egyptian bedbug or if he was a brilliant and sensitive proto-monotheist, and similar uncertainty applies with regard to his beautiful wife, Nefertiti. So Mahfouz adopts a Rashomon-like approach, describing each of them through the eyes of others, no two of whom agree on what they were all about.

If I'm being charitable, Mahfouz deserves no less; he was an inspired and inspiring writer who has provided many hours of pleasure and thought-provoking literature of the highest order.
First, the writing is spare and haunting Mahfouz did win a Nobel Prize, after all. The different perspectives of each character's recollections lend a distinct Rashamon flavor to the story. However, there is another perspective, belonging to no character in the book, which I find illuminating.

Many reviewers approach the book from a secular Western perspective, even though its author was an Egyptian muslim. As I understand it, Islamic tradition presents Muhammad as "the seal of the prophets", the final and complete revelation of God's message - but not the first or only. Thus, their tradition acknowledges several earlier, incomplete revelations of the message. In that tradition, Jesus is seen as a legitimate prophet, though neither complete nor final. One perspective on this novel is to view the character of Akhenaten in the light of this tradition an early and incomplete prophet of God's message. He got the monotheism right, he got the importance of love and mercy right, but he let all his work be destroyed because he was pacifistic. He placed his trust in God and refused to defend either Egypt or his new religion. Ultimately, Egypt was invaded by opportunistic neighbors, the traditional polytheistic elites regained control (and legitimacy) by defending the country, and his (incomplete) revelation was largely obliterated from the record. It is interesting to note that there are various incomplete paraphrases of Muhammad's most famous phrases throughout the book, strongly suggesting that Akhenaten is supposed to be seen as one who got a partial glimpse of what Muhammed later saw completely.

Of course, this is a novel, not a history book do not expect a scholarly discussion of the real Akhenaten. For example, Nicholas Reeves' book claims that Akehnaten used monotheism as a tactic to seize power from the many priests serving many gods, and that the whole concept of "prophet" is just a secular propaganda trick to outflank other elites in competing for control of the malleable masses. However, I think it is clear that Mahfouz was not writing history but using Akhenaten's story as a vehicle to create beautiful prose and to tell a particular kind of story.

I'm no expert, but I think that the more one understands the cultural context of the author, the more one can understand the unspoken overtones of phrases and anecdotes -- as well as the author's ability to rise above the narrow perspectives of his youth. As I understand it, the traditional Islamic view of ancient Egypt is one of unmitigated jahiliyya. Nevertheless, Mahfouz seems to be clearly implying that there was at least one leader of great wisdom and virtue then, even if he was ultimately crushed. When Sadat was killed, the first words of his assassin were "I have killed Pharoah", reflecting the widespread image of the pharoahs as deserving of death. Yet Mahfouz presents the pharaoh Akhenaten as receiving, understanding, and following God's guidance (incompletely). It is, to borrow a po-mo term, "transgressive" - if you compare it to Islamic traditional beliefs.

At least for me, this interpretation added a new layer of complexity and nuance to both the details and overall arc of an already excellent novel.