[MMH]≡ [PDF] Gratis Akhenaten Dweller in Truth A Novel Naguib Mahfouz Tagreid AbuHassabo Books

Akhenaten Dweller in Truth A Novel Naguib Mahfouz Tagreid AbuHassabo Books

Download As PDF : Akhenaten Dweller in Truth A Novel Naguib Mahfouz Tagreid AbuHassabo Books

Akhenaten Dweller in Truth A Novel Naguib Mahfouz Tagreid AbuHassabo Books

There is a Hindu saying that "a work of art has many faces." As Mafouz's short novel eloquently shows, not only art but religion, history, and human character as well share a multi-faceted difficult character.
This novel tells the story of the Pharoah Akhenaten. As a youth, he rejected the primary gods of Egypt and worshipped the sun. Subsequently, he came to the concept of a singly, incorporeal God, accessible to all human beings who ruled the universe with love and asked only that people love him and each other and treat each other with kindness and justice. Ahkenaton was removed from the throne after alienating the priests of the traditional Egyptian gods and died shortly thereafter, probably the result of assasination.
The novel is told by a young Egyptian, Meriamun, who is fascinated by the story of the "heretical" Pharoah and seeks to learn his story by interviewing those close to him. Meriamum's father reluctantly allows his son to follow this path, writes him letters of introduction, and counsels him to "be like history, impartial and open to every witness. Then deliver a truth that is free of bias for those who wish to contemplate it."
Following the introduction, the book consists of Meriamun's interviews with those close to Akhenaton, including his teacher, the pagan priests, the security guard, his priest, physician, a woman from the harem, and his wife, Neferiti.
Each of these people has his or her own story to tell about Akhenaten. They bring their own standpoint to bear upon his religion, his leadership as the Pharoah, has sexuality, and his sanity.
We see the situation as more complex than a courageous, lone individual finding a way to monotheism. The priests have their point too as Akhenaton is a weak ruler, provokes or at least fails to discourage civil war, and, most pointedly, issues an order forbidding the worshippers of Egypt's traditional gods to worship in their own fashion.
Through all this, the sense of ethical and mystical idealism shines through the book and through the portrayal of Ahkenaton.
The book stimulates thought on the nature of religion, its relationship to the world of practical politics and the nature too of fanaticism. Ultimately, I think, the book is a parable of spriritual seeking similar in some ways to Hesse's Siddhartha. On one level, the seeker is Akhenaten. On a second level, the seeker is the narrator Meriamun. On the third and most important level the seeker is the reader as he or she becomes drawn into the story and reflects upon its significance.
This is a deceptively simple story worth reading.


Tags : Amazon.com: Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth A Novel (9780385499095): Naguib Mahfouz, Tagreid Abu-Hassabo: Books,Naguib Mahfouz, Tagreid Abu-Hassabo,Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth A Novel,Anchor,0385499094,Literary,Akhenaton,Egypt - History - Eighteenth dynasty, ca. 1570-1320 B.C,Egypt;History;Eighteenth dynasty, ca. 1570-1320 B.C.;Fiction.,African,Akhenaton,,Egypt,Eighteenth dynasty, ca. 1570-1320 B.C.,FICTION Classics,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction-Literary,FictionLiterary,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,History,King of Egypt,Literary CriticismAfrican,ancient egypt;akhenaten;arabic literature;religion;literature;egyptian;egypt;historical fiction;pharoah;sun god;monotheism;history;Arab;Nobel Prize;fiction;Nefertiti;Amarna;temple;Tutankhamun;Thebes;Amun-Re;Karnak;high priest;queen;reign;nobel prize winners in literature;historical;classic;literary fiction;historical fiction novels;alternate history;historical fiction books;classic literature;classic books;classic novels;classics;novels;fiction books;historical novels;books fiction,ancient egypt; akhenaten; arabic literature; religion; literature; egyptian; egypt; historical fiction; pharoah; sun god; monotheism; history; Arab; Nobel Prize; fiction; Nefertiti; 18th dynasty; Amarna; temple; Tutankhamun; Thebes; Amun-Re; royal tomb; Karnak; Amenhotep; high priest; queen; Akhetaten; reign; monotheistic; nobel prize winners in literature; historical; judaism; literary fiction; classic books; fiction books; classics; classic literature; historical fiction books; historical fiction novels; classic; saga; christianity,Literary CriticismAfrican,Fiction - Historical,Akhenaton,,Egypt,Eighteenth dynasty, ca. 1570-1320 B.C.,History,King of Egypt,Fiction

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.
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.
There is a Hindu saying that "a work of art has many faces." As Mafouz's short novel eloquently shows, not only art but religion, history, and human character as well share a multi-faceted difficult character.
This novel tells the story of the Pharoah Akhenaten. As a youth, he rejected the primary gods of Egypt and worshipped the sun. Subsequently, he came to the concept of a singly, incorporeal God, accessible to all human beings who ruled the universe with love and asked only that people love him and each other and treat each other with kindness and justice. Ahkenaton was removed from the throne after alienating the priests of the traditional Egyptian gods and died shortly thereafter, probably the result of assasination.
The novel is told by a young Egyptian, Meriamun, who is fascinated by the story of the "heretical" Pharoah and seeks to learn his story by interviewing those close to him. Meriamum's father reluctantly allows his son to follow this path, writes him letters of introduction, and counsels him to "be like history, impartial and open to every witness. Then deliver a truth that is free of bias for those who wish to contemplate it."
Following the introduction, the book consists of Meriamun's interviews with those close to Akhenaton, including his teacher, the pagan priests, the security guard, his priest, physician, a woman from the harem, and his wife, Neferiti.
Each of these people has his or her own story to tell about Akhenaten. They bring their own standpoint to bear upon his religion, his leadership as the Pharoah, has sexuality, and his sanity.
We see the situation as more complex than a courageous, lone individual finding a way to monotheism. The priests have their point too as Akhenaton is a weak ruler, provokes or at least fails to discourage civil war, and, most pointedly, issues an order forbidding the worshippers of Egypt's traditional gods to worship in their own fashion.
Through all this, the sense of ethical and mystical idealism shines through the book and through the portrayal of Ahkenaton.
The book stimulates thought on the nature of religion, its relationship to the world of practical politics and the nature too of fanaticism. Ultimately, I think, the book is a parable of spriritual seeking similar in some ways to Hesse's Siddhartha. On one level, the seeker is Akhenaten. On a second level, the seeker is the narrator Meriamun. On the third and most important level the seeker is the reader as he or she becomes drawn into the story and reflects upon its significance.
This is a deceptively simple story worth reading.