As an interlude – here is a book I just couldn’t bring myself to finish – ‘Pharoah’ by Wilbur Smith. Now I know this may be an unpopular opinion – apparently the book is a Number 1 bestseller and lots of people love it, but I just could not fathom it.
I love historical fiction as much as the next person – I am a massive fan of ancient history, but this just seemed like really badly written ancient historical fiction. I think the first mis-step for me was that on about page ten, I had to get a pen out and start correcting the punctuation. Being a teacher, that sort of thing really bugs me – I know it’s not the author’s fault, but I honestly believe there is a special place in hell reserved for people who publish books with spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes. Just grrrr….
My second annoyance with the book was the gratuitous violence – but also the lack of it. Let me explain. On one page, the author describes the fate awaiting pregnant females who are tortured by the disgusting new King in quite some detail. On the next, he glosses over the fate awaiting our imprisoned hero with ‘terrors too horrible to mention’. So which is it? Lots of violence, or some glossing over?
Another thing that bugged me is that the conversation just seemed really stilted. No one seemed to talk properly to one another. The main character, who I think was meant to be appealing and heroic just wasn’t – he seemed to spend lots of time admiring himself, talking in cliches and recalling things that had happened in previous books, without explaining what those things might be in enough detail for me to feel connected to the character. In short, I think I lost the will when I got to page 60(ish) and encountered the line “Then I introduced him to my magic fish.” I think it was that line that made me decide it wasn’t for me.
So, I have chosen another book for this prompt – one that I know I enjoy and can get behind. Funnily enough, it is also about ancient history…
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