The Pharoah's Shadow by Anthony Sattin

The Pharoah's Shadow - Travles in ancient and modern Egypt by Anthony Sattin (2000)
Read: March 2011

I can't even remembered where I picked this book up - it's definitly second hand and has some water damage that makes it look older than the 10 years that it is. I think it probably came in to my hands via the "free books" shelf at work, where people abandone books as they leave Cairo.

The book has an interesting premise - connecting the ancient to the modern in terms of beliefs, pasttimes and practices. It has been inspired by a book by Winifred Blackman who lived in Egypt and travelled its roads in the 1920's. She wrote copious notes and reflections on what she saw then as a resurrection (or continuation) of ancient Egypt and a fraction of these were published at the time. Her published book though made repeated references to future books she intended to write on various topics her expereinces had inspired, but sadly these, and the rest of her notes, did not materialise.
Sattin though uses her book as a starting point to seek out the ancient in the modern and seeks to reaffirm her findings as well as come across new ones. It takes him on many a journey with trusty friends and not so trusty drivers. The best journeys are those that are on numerous pieces of public transport and involve him avoiding the police until the last minute (he does much of his research after the 1999 terror attacks that invovled touristic sites and as such the movement of non-Egyptians should be restricted....except he manages to get round a lot of this through claiming ignorance and the "I've got here, so you may as well let me visit X temple").

I did find this book interesting; reading about his travels and the people he meets and the connections drawn between then and now. On the whole though I found the connections either rather obvious and general, or vague and therefore unnotable. Things happening in 7's for example is not exclusive to ancient Egypt, or modern Egypt. Belief in curing powers of individuals or of certain locations too does not seem such a significant discovery as many cultures have this belief and so it could be traced to ancient times in the same country or even links drawn between cultures...

UPDATE
M&D both read this when they visited at Easter and we went travelling in the Delta on a tour and to Siwa for a few days. I suggested it to them as when we were in the delta dad was asking a lot about the temples and relating it to life now. They both really liked the book and found it fascinating and very good. It was actually better for me to talk to them about it after they'd read it and I realised that maybe I enjoyed it and found it more interesting than I first thought. This expereince did make me think that maybe I should try to find a book club - so that I can discuss books with other people, rather than my own ramblings! But on the other hand if there were a book club, how would I get them to read the books I wanted to!

The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw

The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw (2009)
Read: March 2011

Another charity shop special here - found and picked up by Scotty because of the Atlantis connection and thinking about the new Indie film that may or may not ever materialise.

A bit hard to work out at first as the story jumps between characters and settings, but after a while I saw the connections and it was easier to follow the adventure. The story manages to cross most of Europe as the two leads meet up and try to piece the evidence together to find Atlantis, whilst in Spain the church has their find and are trying to cover it up whilst chasing and trying to get rid of the (now) couple. At times this reminds me of The Historian which I really enjoyed. It all gets a little too much at the end, but still not a bad read.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girls with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (2006, trans 2009)
Read: February 2011

This trilogy has been the talk of the town for a year or so maybe? It's been hugely popular in the UK for a while but before that was a massive hit in Scandanavia and is already being made in to a film. It's fame comes in part from the great writing, but also the story behind the books; these being the debut works of the author who died suddenly shortly after handing the finished manuscripts to his publisher and so has never seen the sucess they have become or been able to produce any more of this great work.
I say "great work" but I'm not talking Shakespear. These are just really good thriller / crime novels. I've only read the first of the trilogy and plan to space out reading the others over the next few months (don't want to rush and finish them all at once!). Jane bought these for me for christmas and I'm hoping I'll be able to lend them out to people here once I'm done with them.

It took me a while to get in to the book to be honest. The blurb on the back talks of three main characters, but in the first few chapters it felt like I was introduced to half a dozen separate characters (separate narratives), and couldn't seem to link these to the central story. About 1/4 of the way in and things start to fall in to place, then 1/3 of the way in the character narratives start to intertwine, make sense and get me hooked.

The girl (the one with the tattoo, you know?) is an interesting character and I do enjoy reading her story whether in the first person or third. She is conscious of her attitude towards, and relationship with, other people which makes me think she's an Aspie. I also like reading about other characters attitudes and approaches to her. Her "guardian" for example doesn't take one minute to try and look beyond her exterior and makes a huge mistake. Not that she would have let him understand her if she didn't want to let him in, but he obviously had his preconceptions that he will regret.

I'm not sure about Mikael's open relationship with his magazine's co-founder. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I cannot see how you can have something that is physical while emotions are saying "friends" and emotions are letting you see other people at the same time. I think Tatt girl might think the same, btu I'm not sure. Maybe more will come out of this in the next few books and either this open relationship will continue or will be questioned.

Along with the protagonists I was trying to solve the mystery of the dissapeared teenager. The perfect crime on a sealed island. I think I spotted it before it became totally clear, but that was only a chapter or so before the truth was releaved. It was more difficult to follow the other case as the details were onlyhinted at, not actually included....but maybe that was the idea.

I've specifically not looked at the blurb on the other novels, but as it is the Millenium trilogy and each title refers to girlie then I figure that these two stay togethe and fight crime like a Scandinavian geek / technophobe duo. Despite my sarcasm I did enjoy the book, turn pages and look forward to getting back to it, and am looking forward to the next one.

Cain's Field by Matt Rees

Cain's Field by Matt Rees (2004)
Read: February 2011

I've read two of Matt Rees' books before - he writes the Yussef Omar detective novels. Scotty got me this for my birthday and I was really pleased when I opened it as you know I enjoyed his other books. Then Scotty pointed out that actually this was really difficult for him to get a copy of as it his first book, an academic text that is out of print- wow!
The full title is Cain's Field - Faith, Fratricide and Fear in the Middle East, and it was written by Rees at the end of his time in the region as a journalist. Rees has a huge insight in to the region from the time spent here and it seems that he concentrated his time on speaking to every day people on either side of the conflict - listening to the real stories of people on the ground. The book is split in to two sections; Isreal and Palestine. The stories that form the different chapters show the conflicts within each territory, rather than between them.

It is a truely fascinating and enlightening book I feel. Rees obviously knows the area and it's people well by the way he can weave their narratives together to form the different chapters. Each chapter is firmly set within a side (Isreal or Palestine) but contains two or more stories that show the conflicts that people are fighting internally. These conflicts are leading to hate, violence, distrust, death and destruction. And so from that sense it is a very sad book. Rees however manages to, through these stories, deomstrate that the way forward in the region, that has the most chance of success, is to first address these internal conflicts. How can two countries come to agreement when they cannot agree within their own walls?

I learnt a lot reading this book and I do feel that I have learnt more about the area; not simply learning an author's views. I hope my trust is not misplaced (and have no reason to think it might be) but the time Rees has spent in the area as a journalist gives me the confidence that these narratives represent a truth about the region. Maybe not the only truth, but definitly a truth and in all cases the stories need to be heard as they represent real people living through this.

Hippo Eats Dwarf by Alex Boese

Hippo Eats Dwarf by Alex Boese (2006)

Read: February 2011

Pasquale lent this to me as he was on his way out of the apartment to Oman. I decided to give myself a lighter read for the next few days and so read it straight away rather than going onto my new Matt Rees.

This book required a lot of internet research and a little bit of writing. It's basically a collection of internet, or other, hoaxes and dissecting whether they are true or not and their affect on the psyche today.

The most interesting aspects were examples that came up from a few hundred years ago of hoaxes, urban legends and old wives tales. And then how these are still around today. I wasn't too impressed though by the sections dedicated to "the number one forwarded picture of 2004" of baby Hitler etc. Dross.

Could be an interesting book for my Theory of Knowledge class - how do you decide if something is true or not? Does it matter if what you believe is true? Can an untruth have more impact than a truth? But mainly this was predictable stuff but it did get me through a couple of days under curfew.

A Passage to Africa by George Alagiah

A Passage to Africa by George Alagiah (2002)
Read: January 2011

Scotty and I do like our news reporter biographies so we picked this up in a charity shop over the summer. Also it's focused on Africa which is another reason to buy and read and hoard!
I grabbed this off the shelf when we were packing a few things to head over to Flossie's to observe curfew. The first day of reading it I didn't get far - we've got the TV on all day streaming news about Tahrir Square - because of keeping an ear and eye open for what is happening. This book takes a little more concentration that the last one. Once into the swing of reading it I got through it in about four or five days I think.

My favourite sections were in the latter half and were about the revolution in Zaire. This was obviously fascinating to read with everything that is going on around us at the moment here in Egypt. Also in general the feeling of being a reporter and so out of place in the country you are reporting in (and sometimes living in, in the case of South Africa for Alagiah). There were definitely parallels that I could draw with today here in Egypt where all westerners are being suspected of being journalists and are therefore being treated with suspicion that they are propagating the uprising that is taking place.

I did enjoy the early parts of the book where Alagiah talks about his family when he was growing up and their journey when they left Ceylon for Africa. How amazing it was to have your first flight be that when you leave your home country, but five flights later you are only just arriving at your new home. Alagiah also talks about his own children in the book (who, according to my mother, now attend my old secondary school). They are growing up as ex-pats in South Africa and it sounds like an amazing time for them to have been there and such a unique and valuable experience for them to have had

I was really interested to read the sections talking about Rwanda. I found the film Hotel Rwanda amazing and have since been interested in the stories of this terrible time. The story Alagiah tells of his translator being accused of genocide and he suddenly not knowing who to believe is fascinating as he becomes aware that his impartiality as a reporter isn't as strong as his humanity for the man who is now a friend.

High Noon by Nora Roberts

High Noon by Nora Roberts (2007)
Read: January 2011

I was sent this book as part of the UKNova gift swap. The swap is designed for you to send/receive gifts that show something about the place that you live in. So I got a copy of High Noon by Nora Roberts. And not just any copy - a signed copy! Apparently it took 12 hours of queuing to get this signed the sender told me and that "it's very American"...
I was a little surprised to get a book, as normally you get some weird food stuffs or tea towels and post cards, but as I am a real booky person since moving out here it was a really great gift (I don't know if the sender knew this or not). I didn't know the book or author, but a little browse on the internet and I think it's been made into a TV series (?).  


Halfway through reading it my thoughts were:

"I'm reading the book that I was sent in the UKNova gift swap at the moment. The sender said that it describes America really well - well only if America is full of "single, female hostage negotiators with a complicated back story and love life that collides with their professional life only to find romance blossom but be under threat by a colleague at the same time" Bleugh! I'll try and finish it to do the swap justice...."

Did my view change? Well I ploughed through it quickly enough - it was an easy read and although it was a bit trashy it was more engaging than some fiction that's all about love and life. This was a cop story with a bit of intrigued and so it was entertaining and I had to think a bit (not much, but a bit).


I'm still not sure how this is "really American". It can't described a typical American life or American Dream, can it? Maybe the dramatisation and love-through-complicated-back-story-with-hang-ups is typically American TV / Book and this is what is popular there. Yes that must be it - kind of like CSI is popular maybe? The fact that this book has the "Nora Roberts seal" that guarantees that it is an original work suggests how prolific this writer is - Americans just can't get enough of it I assume.