The Egyptian

I was 11 years old and bored. The weekend at my uncle's house was utter misery. I asked my uncle for a book to read, and was handed "The Egyptian" by Mika Waltari. I thought it was the most boring book in the world after reading five pages.

Fast forward two decades or so, and someone tells me that the most famous Finnish writer is Mika Waltari. Unfortunately the only thing I know is that he wrote a book that I tried to read. After a strong recommendation by aforementioned person (who also happens to be Finnish) I borrowed the book from the local library and set to reading it.

Wilbur Smith, go hide under a rock! "The River God" cannot hold a candle to this book. The subject matter is quite similar - both stories deal with royal physicians in the time of the pharaohs, but Waltari's book make the characters come alive. This is a translation from the Finnish, but the book has not lost anything at the hands of the translator.

Fortunately for me, Mika Waltari has eight more books translated into English.