When Your Sister Rules the Most Powerful Civilization on Earth

(affl. link)

• a historical fiction novel by michelle moran
• told through the eyes of nefertiti's younger sister, mutnodjmet
• the characters must have been based on heiroglyphs because they were flatttttttt
• i commend moran on telling a story filled with real-life historical black spots and making it entertaining... but it just really wasn't compelling
  • "Almost nothing is known about Nefertiti's life prior to her marriage..."

• the dialogue was based more around gossip than substance
• information of the court travels in a GoT like fashion (s1-2 that is...before all the killing started)
  • to please Joffery Ahkenaten
• a tale about a people's relationship with their leaders and with their god(s)
  • from the pharaoh to victoria
• a story about legacy, and how quickly your finest works will be lost to the desert for eternity, so enjoy your garden while you can plant in it
  • “When the crowd was gone, I asked Thutmose, “Why is it that the women love you so much?” He thought for a moment. “Because I can make them immortal. When I find the right model I might use her for Isis, and when the winds of time erase her memory from her house, there will still be her face looking down from the temples.””
• “Nefertiti has not done what she was supposed to, I thought. Instead of risking her place as Chief Wife to sway Pharaoh, she’s protected it by goading him on.”
  • family blames nefertiti for playing the games of the court but they wanted her to be their pawn, which isnt better. they tried to tame a storm that belonged to a person, not to egypt
    • that said, nefertiti did spend an inordinate amount of the book being realllly annoying and jealous of every woman that was not her
  • they say absolute power corrupts absolutely, but i dont know if ive ever seen it that way. i think that power magnifies certain attributes that all people share equally. if this werent the case, parents would not have to threaten their children with the eye of santa (sauron) to be good when they arent looking
    • atticus finch is the same man at home as he is on the streets. the characters in this book would do well to follow his example!