Akhnaten Dweller in Truth - Naguib Mahfouz

Sadly I have not taken as much time to read authors from the Middle East as much as I probably should. I have certainly read books about the Middle East from white authors, and have found them really interesting - mainly because I tend to choose my books somewhat carefully. For example, the writings and books of Barbara Hodgson, who I first discovered via this amazing book named Paris Out of Hand. I think the first one I really read was "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk, and I really enjoyed it. I want to branch out more into writings from that region. 

Recently I did pick this book up by Naguib Mahfouz. It was the title that caught my attention because I know the name via an opera by Philip Glass that I think is gorgeous. The opera tells, in Glass's own way, of the rise, reign, and decline of Akhnaten - the first Egyptian Pharoah who believed in just one true god. He wanted to lead a monotheistic society which troubled a lot of people, but he truly felt that all life came from Aten. So, when I saw a book with the same title, I picked it up and took a glance through. It is a short little thing, less than 200 pages, and written in an easy style, and I think I read it in two days. The story of the book is the writings of a young Egyptian man who is traveling down the Nile and sees a city in the far off distance. He asks his father which city that is, and the response is that it is the city of the Heretic. This leads the young man to delve into the history of the heretic by visiting people who knew him and get their perspective of Akhnaten, and what happened. I think it is a great companion piece ot the opera, which I will also write about at some point. History, when written in certain ways, can be so fascinating and wonderful. Also, if you see a book that intrigues you, take a chance. You never know where it may lead you.