The Egyptian is a fictional memoir of the life of a physician in the days of the pharaohs. The narrator, Sinuhe, is an old man, sick of gods and kings. He says he writes for himself rather than for posterity.
Unfortunately, Mika Waltari published the “memoir,” inflicting Sinuhe’s misery on readers for 500 pages.
Readers will find a new interesting historical bits in this novel, but it’s entertainment value is nil.
Sinuhe’s medical skills take him all over the Middle East. His specialty is brain surgery: he drills holes in people’s heads to let out the badness.
Sinuhe meets heads of countries and commanders of armies, patches up wounded soldiers, treats the poor for free. When necessity demands, he hastens the deaths of enemies of Egypt.
Back in Thebes, he sides with the party of the newly-created god, Aton, against the followers of Ammon. The religious controversy ends in wholesale slaughter.
Sinuhe is exiled to end his days living up to his name, “the One Who Is Alone.”
Waltari’s novel is packed with sex and violence related with all the passion of the police blotter. Only Sinuhe’s servants, Kaptah and Muti, feel like living people. The rest of the characters are just hieroglyphics.
The Egyptian: A Novel By Mika Waltari Trans. Naomi Walford G.P. Putnan’s Sons, 1949 503 pages 1949 Bestseller # 1 My Grade: C-© 2009 Linda Gorton Aragoni
Great Penformances 
The book still sounds interesting.
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