The EgyptologistArthur Phillips
I think this book is cursed.
I received this on Christmas morn, thanks to Santa. (Ok, it was my husband.) And I squee-ed with glee, because I loved Phillips' Angelica, and I love All Things Egypt, hence I knew I would love The Egyptologist. I began reading it the day after Christmas, and I was hooked from the opening pages.
And then the unthinkable happened. Shuffling across my living room in my cheap, shoddy slippers, I tripped -- I kid you not -- over what could only have been air. The pile of stuff in my hands -- The Egyptologist among the items -- went flying to the four corners of the room as I fell to the floor. I watched my prized novel tumble down slowly, turning over and over and over again (clearly, this happened in slow motion, mind you), and I watched as it landed a few feet away from me. To give you a visual of the event and how I went down like a ton of bricks (although stairs were not involved), I present Exhibit A:
I received this on Christmas morn, thanks to Santa. (Ok, it was my husband.) And I squee-ed with glee, because I loved Phillips' Angelica, and I love All Things Egypt, hence I knew I would love The Egyptologist. I began reading it the day after Christmas, and I was hooked from the opening pages.
And then the unthinkable happened. Shuffling across my living room in my cheap, shoddy slippers, I tripped -- I kid you not -- over what could only have been air. The pile of stuff in my hands -- The Egyptologist among the items -- went flying to the four corners of the room as I fell to the floor. I watched my prized novel tumble down slowly, turning over and over and over again (clearly, this happened in slow motion, mind you), and I watched as it landed a few feet away from me. To give you a visual of the event and how I went down like a ton of bricks (although stairs were not involved), I present Exhibit A:
Upon my recovery, I stood, dazed and slightly injured (have no fear, ducks, I am fine), and raced to my dear Phillips. Alas, he did not fare so well. The spine was cracked, the first third of the book lying at a painful angle. The cover was maimed, and a black Sharpie only partially masked the damage. My heart, however, fared far worse. Of all my new books, I prized this one most highly. AND IT LOOKS LIKE A TURD RIGHT NOW.
Anyway. I bring this up because The Egyptologist is GLORIOUS, it is breathtaking, it is heartbreaking -- oh Trilipush! Alas. AND THEN my dear Heather J. tells me that NEARLY NO ONE in the blogosphere likes The Egyptologist, save for us. SAY WHAT?!?!?! Error 404 Page not found. Does not compute. And so on.
Ok fine, let me tell you about the book. There's some Egypt. And some unreliability. (Done right, mind you, unlike, say, THIS.) And, there's a bit of a mystery. And while the great revelation concerning said mystery becomes clear to anyone with a brain about halfway through, that's not the point. The point is how different people totally misread the obvious signs that are right in front of them. It's about yearning, and about loss, and about wanting to be greater than we are. It's also gripping and the ending is INSANE. Trilipush!
So, you should read it. And, because my summary sucks and is mostly about me, here's the summary from Arthur Phillips' website:
Just as Howard Carter unveils the tomb of Tutankhamun, making the most dazzling find in the history of archaeology, Oxford-educated Egyptologist Ralph Trilipush is digging himself into trouble, having staked his professional reputation and his fiancée's fortune on a scrap of hieroglyphic pornography. Meanwhile, a relentless Australian detective sets off on the case of his career, spanning the globe in search of a murderer. And another murderer. And possibly another murderer. The confluence of these seemingly separate stories results in an explosive ending, at once inevitable and utterly unpredictable.
In a nutshell: Read this, dear friends. And don't ef your copy up like I did.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars
FTCBS: Dear Santa brought me this one. No strings attached here.
Anyway. I bring this up because The Egyptologist is GLORIOUS, it is breathtaking, it is heartbreaking -- oh Trilipush! Alas. AND THEN my dear Heather J. tells me that NEARLY NO ONE in the blogosphere likes The Egyptologist, save for us. SAY WHAT?!?!?! Error 404 Page not found. Does not compute. And so on.
Ok fine, let me tell you about the book. There's some Egypt. And some unreliability. (Done right, mind you, unlike, say, THIS.) And, there's a bit of a mystery. And while the great revelation concerning said mystery becomes clear to anyone with a brain about halfway through, that's not the point. The point is how different people totally misread the obvious signs that are right in front of them. It's about yearning, and about loss, and about wanting to be greater than we are. It's also gripping and the ending is INSANE. Trilipush!
So, you should read it. And, because my summary sucks and is mostly about me, here's the summary from Arthur Phillips' website:
Just as Howard Carter unveils the tomb of Tutankhamun, making the most dazzling find in the history of archaeology, Oxford-educated Egyptologist Ralph Trilipush is digging himself into trouble, having staked his professional reputation and his fiancée's fortune on a scrap of hieroglyphic pornography. Meanwhile, a relentless Australian detective sets off on the case of his career, spanning the globe in search of a murderer. And another murderer. And possibly another murderer. The confluence of these seemingly separate stories results in an explosive ending, at once inevitable and utterly unpredictable.
In a nutshell: Read this, dear friends. And don't ef your copy up like I did.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars
FTCBS: Dear Santa brought me this one. No strings attached here.
10 comments:
Hilarious :) I for one think this book sounds great! Thanks for the review because I've not heard about it yet.
If I recall, one blogger commented on my review of this book that reading it was like putting needles in her eyes. ~LOL~ So yeah, I'd say there are quite a few people who don't like it. But we, the select few, WE know better!
I haven't read it yet myself, but my friend and blogging partner liked it. Here's her review: http://janawillworkforbooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/egyptologist-by-arthur-phillips.html
Too funny!! I remember YEARS ago I was dying to read this...I remember having a LONG debate with a librarian trying to find this book (I had the title wrong, my fault)...found the book...so excited...and then for reasons unknown and forgotten, I never read it.
I love all things Egypt. So your review convinced me. I WLL READ THIS!!
Thanks!
Aw! That sucks! I hate it when I do terrible things to my books like spill drink or food on them. I spilled water on my copy of "Woman" by Natalie Angier a couple of days ago and cried elephant tears (well, inside I did).
Anyway, I kinda wanted to read this a few years ago and then kinda forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me. I'm adding it to my wishlist as we speak. Here's hoping I can part of the minority that likes it. :)
www.whosabiblioaddict.com
Not only have I never read it, I've never heard of it before. Its vilification intrigues me, though, so I may have to add it to my TBR list.
Oh no to your accident!
I read this one last year, and I totally loved it too. So now you have another blogosphere ally! I adore unreliable narrators, and authors who trust the reader to be clever enough to catch on to what's happening. ;)
You are not alone! I, too, loved that book. It's hysterical.
Why is it that the beloved books are the ones that fare the worst? I read The Egyptologist in 2007 and loved it. I didn't click with it immediately as you did but I was in love with it by the time I was finished.
Wonderful - I'm so happy to find more love for The Egyptologist! It's nice knowing you're not alone :)
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