Nefertiti-Michelle Moran

I have always been fascinated by Egyptian history. So naturally I wanted to read this book. Plus, Nefertiti was the queen of Egypt and became known for eternity because she became co-regent with her husband. She didn't have to wait for him to die to become a female pharoh. This in itself speaks volumes of the kind of person she had to be for her husband to give her such a title. I had known a little bit of history about Nefertiti (such as her co-regency) but I really did learn a lot about the Egyptian history at that time and it had a bit of the human dramatic flare with it. Now, it being historical fiction I know that while the events are real, the conversations ... probably not. We have no way of knowing that. But that is one of the things that I love the most about this book.

Michelle Moran put so much research into this book, and it really shows. I am in awe at how she made her conjectures and came up with a story that people would want to read (and if you are anything like I am...not want to put it down). One such example of this is based on an image of Nefertiti's sister Mutnodjmet. Nefertiti and her husband Akhenaten covered the walls of their new city, Amarna, with pictures of their lives. In one image the royal family is embracing the Aten (a deity that Akhenaten brought to supremacy), all except for Mutnodjmet. She is depicted standing off to the side with her arms at her side (the rest of the family had theirs arms raised embracing Aten for this deity was the sun). From this image Moran takes it that Mutnodjmet was not entirely happy with her sister's new Egypt. This is depicted throughout the book.

I also liked how the book is titled Nefertiti but it is from Mutnodjmet's point of view. While the tale is about Nefertiti and her time in history it really is about learning what it meant to be a part of the royal family (on both our part as a reader and for Mutnodjmet who was learning along the way). It was also about the loyalty to family and sister-hood while being loyal to yourself all the same. It was interesting to encounter the politics that went on during that time. The family dynamics of the Pharaohs and how a lot really was changed with Nefertiti (which we know because of how vain Nefertiti and Akhenaten really were). Even though Amarna was destroyed and later on Nefertiti's family were considered heretics, artifacts from Amarna's ruins tell us bits and pieces of Nefertiti's rein.

Some of the things that were changed that were most obvious was that Nefertiti became Pharaoh and then when her husband died she named her daughter queen to take the throne when something were to happen to her. The crown that a lot of people associate with Pharaoh's (the tall head piece) started with Nefertiti. Prior to that it was something more akin to what Cleopatra was known to wear. Egyptian art was transformed during Nefertiti and Akhenaten's time. Before them all Pharaoh's were depicted the same. During Nefertiti and Akhenaten's rein they were depicted as they were. Set apart from the rest.

I did enjoy the story all around and would like to think that the conversations were very much like they were back then, with the exception of Nefertiti. Before I read this book I didn't think of her as being as selfish and cold as she was portrayed in the book. I like to think of her has a strong independent woman who was cunning but with a little bit more heart; especially since she was considered the people's queen. More like what Mutnodjmet was portrayed as but with a bit more confidence through and through. Mutnodjmet got it in the end though. There were some things with the history that I would have a bit of a problem with but that's just because I live in a society were such practices are unacceptable ... and for good reason. And there were some parts of the book that I was able to go, 'oh yeah, I remember something like that,' especially where the black plague was concerned. All in all a good one to read.