Book Review Catch-Up: "Thebes at War" by Naguib Mahfouz

[megwrites]

Title: Thebes At War
Author: Naguib Mahfouz
Genre: Historical Fiction
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Anchor (Reprint)




Basic Plotline: Thebes at War, written by Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz is a retelling of the Egyptian struggle by three different monarches to be free of their Hyksos overlords.


The Positives: Mahfouz's retelling of the Hyksos conquest of Egypt and the struggle, by the royal family to free their kingdom, is told in a very lean way. Focusing in on Tao II, Kamose, and Ahmose, Mahfouz puts together a book that reads much like an epic from the golden age of Hollywood - something like the Ten Commandments or Ben Hur. Dramatic and personalized, the tale is filled with nationalistic and patriotic leanings.

There is an obvious allegory between the British occupation of Egypt and the Hyksos, and Mahfouz is passionate in pressing the need for liberation and showing the mental effect of occupation on the population.

There is a fascinating love story between Ahmose and the Hyksos princess tucked away among the patriotic fervor and it is sadly underplayed but rather interesting because it is unfulfilled, tragic, and telling.

There are some wonderful moments when the translation hits a high note and there is a clarity in the narrative, though those moments are sadly fewer than I would have liked.


The Negatives Because the book is a translation, it's hard to tell whether the problems with the prose are because of Mahfouz's writing or the translation. I'm inclined to believe the unevenness is because of a translation that erred on the side of being literal and stripped of that essential, intangible flavor and poetry that makes a book more than a collection of related statements.

Along with the drama comes a kind of melodrama and oversimplification of the facts, including some historical innaccuracies about the Hyksos in order to make them fit in with Mahfouz's allusions to the British.

Describing the Hyksos as being white-skinned is inaccurate given what archaelogists know about their origins, and at first I was unsure if the opening scene of the book was describing a Hyksos overlord coming down the Nile or a British governor, which was probably deliberate. I was also uncomfortable with Mahfouz's insistance on describing the Hyksos as being fat and evil - the implication being that their fat was a sign of their greed.

There is also a repetitiveness to the battles, and each time the Egyptians are described as being monolithically brave and eager to die for their cause. The Hyksos are almost universally greedy, cowardly, and also drawn with simple strokes. Getting through tiresome battle descriptions and back to any semblance of a story about real human beings was hard, though it may fascinate those who are interested in military history.

I'm interested to know whether this type of story telling is typical of Mahfouz or if this work was the victim of a bad translation, so I'll definitely be seeking out more of his work in the future.



CoC Score: 10. For obvious reasons, this is an author of color telling the history of his people.

Gender Score 7. Mahfouz is somewhat kind, even to the Hyksos princess that is the tragic love interest of prince Ahmose. There are relatively strong women in the form of the Dowager Queen Teti-Sheri and Kamose's wife.

GLBT Score 0. No GLBT people or issues mentioned in the books.