King of Egypt, King of Dreams

by Gwendolyn MacEwen

Writing to poet Al Purdy, MacEwen confessed she wanted her second novel to be "bulky, readable, and not overly mysterious." Unlike in Julian, however, here MacEwen sets out to write a serious novel that also functions as entertaining historical fiction. The novel's hero is Akhenaton, Pharaoh of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, who was the first ruler to introduce the idea of monotheism. As Rosemary Sullivan remarks in her biography of MacEwen, he was, like Julian, "one more human being filled with the god-lust." Akhenaton's single-mindedness in his quest for his own brand of reason is a paradoxical distillation of the artistic originality, fertility and beauty set against death and despair and an inability to love. With an afterword by the author's sister.

Genres: History, Psychology, Nonfiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Gwendolyn MacEwen was one of Canada's most celebrated writers publishing several stories and many works of poetry throughout her career. She was born in Toronto, Ontario on September 1, 1941 to Elsie and Alick MacEwen. As a child she attended public schools in both Toronto and Winnipeg, and when she was seventeen her first poem was published in the Canadian Forum, a journal which published the works of both new and renowned writers. At the age of eighteen she left school to pursue a full time career as a writer and at the same time opened a Toronto coffee house, "The Trojan Horse".

As a child Gwendolyn didn't get the best care from her parents. Her mother was mentally unstable, spending most of her life in institutions and her father was largely an alcoholic. However this may have been what led to her writing being so heavily focused on mythology, dreams, magic, and history. After leaving school Gwendolyn taught herself several different languages including Greek, French, Arabic and Hebrew, which she used to translate many of her poems. Her fluency in several languages is what most likely encouraged her to make references to cultures outside of Canada. Gwendolyn tended to focus on more surreal ideas in her writing and she had her own unique way of expressing them when compared to other poets from her time. A lot of her poetry involved changing the surrealism into reality by using strong imagery and often allegory. The cultures she studied often showed up in her work as part of the overall imagery and allusions to historical events were quite common.

Her volume of poems "The Shadow-Maker" won the Governor General's Award in 1969 and included many poems such as her famous "Dark Pines Under Water". During the mid eighties she was a writer in residence at the University of Western Ontario and then later the University of Toronto. Gwendolyn died in 1987 at the age of 46 from what was believed to have been health problems due to alcohol. Although she was not alive to be present, later that year her collection "Afterworlds" was awarded the Governor General's Award, making it the second time her work had won such a prestigious honour.

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic, mystical treatment of the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton, who is probably my favorite Pharaoh. He was regarded as the heretic king, or the criminal, and after the death of his successors Tutankhamen and Ay, the cult of Amon attempted to erase the names of Akhenaton, his wife Nefertiti, and their entire family line from history. The reason was that Akhenaton's father, Amenhotep III, had been completely under the power of the priests of Amon, and his reign was marked by the throne's resistance to the cult. But Akhenaton took the drastic step of declaring complete independence from the Amon cult, shuttering their temple, and even moving the capital of Egypt to diminish the house of Amon's power. But Akhenaton was really regarded as a criminal because he declared that there was only one god, the Aton, which was the sun disk. He seems to have been a mystic, and a religious fanatic, with an unusual but intriguing vision for a monotheistic (or quasi-monotheistic) religion, which he sought to impose on Egypt by force.

I think it's this troubling mysticism that drew Gwendolyn MacEwen--who seems to have been rather a mystic herself--to Akhenaton. In this novel, she explores the dynamics of Atonism, or the particular version of it she understand based on the historical/archeological debates and her own interpretations of the extant evidence. She also explores some of the interpersonal dynamics of a Pharaoh who was probably at best only partially understood even by those closest to him, and whose worldview was completely alien to that of most ancient Egyptians he ruled.

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gwendolyn Macewen used such beautifully illustrative language that she could have written books about watching cement dry and it would be revolutionary. Her language is so well composed.

King of Egypt King of Dreams is not something I would normally pick up for myself, in fact i only read it because in my 2 year search of second hand book stores and library reserves it is the only novel I’ve been able to find of hers. There is certainly some things I still don’t understand from the story, and historical fiction carries its own nuance to appreciate. But her attention to detail in portraying accuracy in her story as much as she is respectable.

This novel ultimately achieved what she set out to do - publish a piece that was bulky yet readable, though I’ll argue against not being overly mysterious. Akhenaton is a character whose story forces on to recognize that even kings are lost and forgotten through the test of time. Lives once real are ultimately left subjected to speculation and projection of assumptions. Their impact on the world everlasting, but never completely understood. Gwen captures what is ephemeral, what is fleeting, and what is true.

[J. Else · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointment, and I only read 90 pages of the book!

Lacking in emotional depth. You never get into the historical figures that the author is trying to bring to life. Its all prose with a few conversations here and there. Akhenaten is our hero, yet you never get to know him. He only seems to do things to spite other people or because he wants to do what he wants to do. He comes off as a spoiled brat instead of king enlightened by the god Aten as it seems the author is trying to portray him as.

The author switches from one character to another. There are no transitions between time or person. Every scene seems to run into each other, and it leaves you confused as to where the characters are and what is happening.

The things the author writes about seem rather unimportant. She talks about Akhenaten tipping over his chariot and being embarrassed by himself or stepping in a pot of paint. Tipping over a chariot would be a dramatic and near-death event even if it was a light chariot riding around in the city.

Akhenaten was the first ruler in history to introduce the idea of monotheism. I think this is incredibly brave and enlightened for someone to do after thousands of years of previous rulers and many gods in Egypt. There has to be more to this man than just doing what he wants and ignoring politics because he finds it boring. I picture him as much more. Was it because he was crazy? That is the easy answer which other authors have penned before. This author seems no different. She makes him unpredictable, nonchalant, and rather superficial. There is no character growth or intimacy.

Nefertiti is also portrayed as little more than a weak woman who dotes over Akenaten. She was much more. She won the hearts of her people and not by running around naked and making out with her husband as the author describes. The children are mentioned little to none in the first 100 pages as well.

Everything moves around frantically like the plot is caught up a whirlwind, and as a reader, you can never quite get your feet on the ground. It really felt like the author looked at a few temple monuments, found out a few names, and that was all her research. Not a good read for people wanting to feel what life was like in Ancient Egypt. You never get swept up in the book or characters or plot.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as her poetry, but still ok.