Booknook

Title: The Egyptian: fifteen books on the life of Sinuhe the physician, c. 1390-1335 BC
Original title: Sinuhe egyptiläinen: viisitoista kirjaa lääkäri Sinuhen elämästä n. 1390-1335 e.Kr.
Author: Mika Waltari
Translator: English translation by Naomi Walford
Year: published in 1945 (Finnish original), 1949 (English translation)
Genre: historical fiction
Content warnings: period-typical slavery; ahistorical racism, racist language (by modern standards); non-graphical depictions of violence

I, Sinuhe, the son of Senmut and of his wife Kipa, write this. I do not write it to the glory of the gods of Kem, for I am weary of gods, nor to the glory of the Pharaohs, for I am weary of their deeds. ... For my own sake only I write this.

Thus begins Mika Waltari's The Egyptian, one of the most beloved novels in the history of Finnish literature. The Egyptian is an autobiography by a fictional physician called Sinuhe. Sinuhe was born during the reign of Pharaoh Amehotep III, in the same year as Amenhotep's son, who would later become Pharaoh Ekhnaton. He writes his memoir in exile, during the reign of Pharaoh Horemheb, the last of the 18th dynasty Pharaohs.

( Mild spoilers )

The Egyptian is a pessimistic novel. Waltari wrote it in the span of a few months just after the end of the Second World War, and the effect of the events of the preceding decades are clear in it. Waltari has admitted to using places and events in the novel as allegories for places and events in modern Europe. The novel is a smorgasbord of corruption, religious zealotry, mob rule, and war crimes. It's full of cruelty, though it never gets very explicit in its depictions.

However, The Egyptian is also merciful in its depiction of human nature. It's true that no one is a hero in it, not even Sinuhe himself. Everyone, from the pacifist Ekhnaton to the slaves and poor labourers, is capable of great cruelty. Often, the people with good intentions are even worse than the selfish ones. And yet, the novel, through the character of Sinuhe, also shows understanding and sympathy for these people, even when they act in deplorable ways.

The Egyptian has been translated into many languages. However, many of the translations have apparently used the English edition as their source, rather than the original Finnish, which is a shame. The English translation was based on the abridged Swedish edition and was actually even further abridged. Not all of the editions have been translated from English, though. The German edition, for example, has been translated from Finnish and is unabridged.

I myself read the original Finnish edition, so I can't offer any in-depth comments on any translations, though at first glance Walford's English translation seems good (aside from the abridging). There is also a full English translation available online, though I presume it's an unlicensed one. A commenter on Reddit called it an improvement in general, but said that it felt clunkier than Walford's translation.

In my opinion, The Egyptian is fully deserving of its fame. It's a vivid portrayal of life in Ancient Egypt and the Near East -- Waltari definitely did his research, though he also took artistic liberties with historical facts -- and though it's pessimistic, that's part of its appeal. It's a brick of a book, sure, but it's a rewarding and surprisingly easy read. If you can read it unabridged, I recommend that, but I think even the abridged editions are most likely worth reading.

(Mod! Could we have a genre tag for historical fiction, please?)