One of the most well-known Finnish novels ever written, that almost every Finn who reads books feels compelled to read at some point in their lives. Finally I got around dragging this from the library, making my arm into spaghetti. What I appreciated the most, is that the writing makes you feel like you're reading an authentic ancient Egyptian papyrus. At least in Finnish, I mean. I was also thrilled to find out that this takes place in the reign of Akhenaten (the husband of Nefertiti and father of Tutankhamun), in my opinion the most interesting pharaoh known so far. Loved Waltari's portrayal of him. He also incorporated a huge amount of information about ancient Egypt, without making the story too heavy to read.

All in all, a nice and entertaining historical novel, but which is still at times a bit too long-winded and lacks that 'something' that would transfer this to the next level. I could give this four stars, but in my book it's pretty near perfection, so three will have to do. Maybe three and a half, if it was possible.

Even if you didn't like the book, there is some significance in Sinuhe's ponderings, no matter what the year is:

There is no difference between one man and another, for all are born naked into the world. A man cannot be measured by the color of his skin, or by his speech, or by his clothes and jewels, but only by his heart. A good man is better than a bad man, and justice is better than injustice--and that is all I know.