The Egyptologist

by Arthur Phillips

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of Prague comes a witty, inventive, brilliantly constructed novel about an Egyptologist obsessed with finding the tomb of an apocryphal king. This darkly comic labyrinth of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812972597
• ISBN13: 9780812972597
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

The twist isn't the point

This book is one of the best I've ever read, if not the best. I wanted to chime in with an observation, because I was surprised to see that so many people were disappointed by this book because they were able to figure out the twist early on, and knew what happened to the missing characters almost from the beginning. Here's why that surprised me: if you *don't* figure those things out, you miss the entire point of the book, and there's no way you can enjoy what the story is actually about. This book isn't about the mystery of Paul Caldwell. Rather, it's a masterful exploration of self-delusion, self-deception, and how we create the things we need to believe about ourselves in order to get through our lives. Some of the characters don't realize they are lying to themselves. Some do (or do they?). But to a degree, they all (as do we all) see things that aren't there. My book club read and discussed this book. Three of the members thought this book was about the mystery, and didn't like it. Three thought it was about an exploration of how we filter and create our own realities, and loved it. By the end of the discussion, the first three said that now that they'd heard what the other three saw in it, they wanted to go back and re-read it again; they said that what we saw was a much more interesting side to the book, and that while they hadn't seen it at first, they wanted to explore it after hearing us talk about it. So, based on their experience, I'm writing to pass that on to anyone who is on the fence about the book due to reading these reviews...If you go into this book looking for more than a mystery, you'll find a great read. If the themes I've talked about don't interest you, you may be disappointed. But otherwise, I think you'll find a lot to think about here.

Remarkably good

I haven't read Prague, so I can't really make comparisons between that book and The Egyptologist. All I really can do is say how immensely I enjoyed this book. With just the right kind of ironic humor, Arthur Phillps tries to capture the life of an egyptologist, Ralph M. Trlipush, in the latter pater of the year 1922. An eccentric old man named Barnabas Davies dies, with the intent to find, and compensate, illegitimate children he has scattered all over the world. The investigation leads to one Paul Caldwell of Sydney, Australia, born in the early 1890's and vanished mysteriously in the Egyptian dessert in the First World War. Who was Paul Caldwell? And who is (or was) Ralph Trilipush, the supposed English professor of Egyptology at Harvard University and engaged to the American heiress, Margaret Finneran? Through diary entries and letters, the author follows two stories: Trilipush's, as he prepares to uncover the tomb of an ancient Egyptian pharoah named Atum-hadu; and that of an Australian detective, Harold Ferrell as he recounts his story from a retiring home in the 1950's. The various perspectives each of these two narrators have on the events contained herein are fascinating. Personal bias really and truly does have an effect on the way we view the world. "Just how secret is secret enough?" is a question Trilipush poses on the matter of Atum-hadu and his buried tomb; but that same question might easily be asked of Trilipush's own life. Ralph gives us marvelous, self-centered accounts of growing up in Trilipush Hall in Kent, which, as the reader will find, are untrue; might also his account of discovering the tomb prove to be a fabrication? There are also mixed accounts of Trilipush's education, as well as his sexuality. The more one plunges into the story line, the more one finds that the stories of Ralph Trilipush and his Egyptian king are remarkably similar. Both seek to achieve immortality through a "third birth." This book is filled with Egyptian lore and trivia, as well as the fictional account of the life of Atum-hadu. On the flip side is the story of Trilipush's fiancee, Margaret Finneran, and her father, who owns a department store chain in Boston. Both of these characters keep secrets from Trilipush which threaten to destroy the relationship between the egyptologist and the American girl. What I thought was marvelous was the deprecating way in which Trilipush describes Howard Carter, who at the moment this narrative takes place uncovers the tomb of Tutankhamen. Lord Carnarvon is secretly called "Lord Cashbags." I also loved the comments Trilipush makes about American tourists and the Egyptian natives. There is, of course, the highly-touted "mystery," which can easily be solved. But the mystery is NOT the point of this novel. This excellent book is a detailed account of a man struggling with his own identity.

A Profound Archaelogical Dig into the Human Psyche

This was the first book that I had read by Phillips, so I had no preconceived notions prior to reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed the dark humor and Phillips' style of allowing the characters to reveal their own weaknesses and darkest, innermost secrets through their writing. This is, after all, written as a historical account, piecing together letters and journal entries from the various characters in chronological order to tell the story, but it comes across as something so much more personal to all involved. I will not disagree with those reviewers who have complained that the "mystery" was too easy to figure out. But that did not detract from the book; rather, I enjoyed the sense that I had throughout the read that even though I knew what the truth must be, I had to keep reading just to see if things were really as I feared - because the truth was deeply disturbing. This took nothing away from the book for me - in fact, it enhanced it. Anyway, the outcome is not quite as obvious as others have suggested, since there are multiple possible explanations up to the end. Even in the end, Phillips does not come right out and tell us the secrets, but allows us to draw our own conclusions. The characters are funny, outrageous, fascinating. Ferrell's dim-witted self-importance and Trilipush's attempt to portray the high-class British facade, even as he regresses into utter filth and squalor, are often humorous. In addition to all of this, the most enjoyable, and gut-wrenching, part of the book for me was the profound human desire of acceptance that is unveiled - how neglect, mistreatment, and disappointment can mold an innocent young person into a deeply troubled adult. I recommend this book to those who enjoy historical novels, as well as mystery-lovers. This one is certainly creative. I further recommend the audio recording of the novel even over the book, as the narrators do a great job in nailing down the personalities of the characters, and they truly bring the story to life.

Multi-layered Mystery

I read the author's highly regarded first novel, "Prague" and did not care for it (Just not enough snap). I decided to give Him another try with "The Egyptologist" as I have always been fascinated By ancient Egypt. I am glad I did as this is a wonderful book that wraps the mystery of the ancients with a mysterey envoloving 1920's archeology. I won't rehash the plot here as that has already been done. But what makes this such an enjoyable read is the multi layered plot along with the complex chacaters. You can also tell the author has done his research on ancient Egypt and the 1920 period. The surprise ending is topping on the cake. Overall I found this book to be an interesting and satisfying read.

A Clever Tangle

Letters, diaries, and journal entries are used to winning effect in Arthur Phillips' second novel following the much-praised "Prague." Let's get this over with-I hated "Prague". Really hated it. But "The Egyptologist" could not be more different. This is a delightful book, full of complex, flawed, unreliable characters who keep you glued to the page as you try to figure out what in heaven's name they're up to. Add lots of interesting archeological and ancient Egyptian lore, good 1920's period settings, and a great ending, and you have quite a treat in store. As Howard Carter is discovering King Tut's fabulous tomb, Ralph Trilipush is over the next sand dune digging for the tomb of King Atum-hadu, whose hieroglyphic [slick stuff] (translated with great vigor) obsesses him. Ralph is staking his professional reputation and his fiancée's considerable fortune on finding this tomb, and in fact, may have knocked several people off to get to it. At least, that's the belief of an intrepid Australian detective who is traveling the world looking for a murderer, or maybe a serial murder, or maybe even Ralph Trilipush. The layered construction gives Phillips plenty of opportunity for narrative shenanigans and he relishes them all. I try to avoid comparing books, but the satisfaction I got from "The Egyptologist" reminded of the pleasure of reading A. S. Byatt's "Possession." No, the books are not similar and no, this is not another "Possession", but Phillips has the same respect for his readers' intelligence and he expects you to be able to hang on for the hairpin turns. The result is a smart, teasing, clever, and highly enjoyable novel.