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  Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

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  Described by the Boston Globe as "Meticulously researched and richly detailed..." Michelle Moran's novel of ancient Egypt should be exciting! Nefertiti is almost as widely a known name as Cleopatra, and in this fictionalized version of events, I plan to find out why!

  While reading this, be sure to find your copy of The Search for Nefertiti by Dr. Joann Fletcher as we will be reading that directly after the novel to see what modern anthropologists have to say about the great woman and the mystery surrounding her disappearance from historical records after a particular date. Did she die? Did she become pharaoh, masked by another name? Did she simply fall out of favor of Akhenaten?

  Also, if you enjoy this book/ this pairing of books, please look into our Egypt Books thread. There's a lot going on in there!

  A.K. Klemm started this discussion 3 years ago. ( reply | permalink )

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Thousands of years after the Pharaoh's ruled Egypt; this ancient civilization continues to fascinate the world. Were you drawn to Nefertiti by an interest in Egyptology? What aspects of Egyptian life are of interest to you?

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    Sherry Renee L 

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    I have always been interested in Ancient Egypt. I find it fascinating that after thousands of years we still can know about their civilization by their monuments and hieroglyphs.

    I would like to know what it was like to live in that time and what they worried about, what their concerns were, how they spent their days.

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    I agree... Egypt has always been interesting... hence the Egypt study!

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  History remembers Nefertiti as a great beauty. What other aspects of her personality are highlighted in Nefertiti? How does she use her stunning good looks to her advantage? How do they hurt her? Have you ever known a woman like Nefertiti? Overall, is this a positive portrayal of her as a Queen? As a sister?

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    Sherry Renee L 

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    I think the book shows her insecurity, she's a beautiful woman and queen and she still needs to be told all that time that she is wonderful, beautiful, and loved. As a sister: she's a terrible sister, she's selfish. Have I known a woman like her? Not really. I work with children that are like her, very needy.

    Her looks hurting her? She used her looks to her advantage by knowing what looked good and emphasized it, she was very dramatic with that. To hurt her, she's like anyone really beautiful - their beauty is all they have and they are insecure about that.

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    She was absolutely a terrible sister in this novelization. I'm only to chapter eleven and I'm already appalled at the way she's been treating her little sister whom she should be nurturing and pouring love into. Instead, she demands attention from her constantly as though it were the younger ones' job to nurture the elder.

    posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Is Mutnodjmet jealous of her sister? Is Nefertiti jealous of Mutny? How are the sisters different? What makes two people who are raised together turn out so differently? What do they have in common?

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    A.K. Klemm (edited)

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    I think Nefertiti is jealous of Mutny's goodness. Nefertiti has too many political ambitions and her sister sits there always being good and doing what is right. Usually in these moments Nefertiti dismisses her innocence, but I think its an innocence that Nefertiti wishes she could have kept. I think she is also jealous of Mutny's relationship with their father. Nefertiti and Ay only talk about political schemes... Ay and Mutny actually talk to each other as a father and daughter should - sometimes.

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Nefertiti knows she must convince Amunhotep that she is more than his mother's choice of bride. How does she do it? How does Kiya attempt to keep him? How do their powerful fathers make the rivalry between these two women worse?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    Nefertiti functions as the go-getter... all of Amunhotep/Akhenaten's dreams become reality when she is beside him. Kiya is the counter to that, she offer Akhenaten peace and relaxation, she listens to his poetry, and makes him feel warm and at home. In the end Akhenaten always chooses Nefertiti because she encourages his ambition and doesn't hinder him, she gets him the love of the people because everyone worships her so much. The rivalry is worsened because each family has their own political agendas. If Panahesi and Ay weren't so driven by thoughts of the throne, Kiya and Nefertiti might have become friends the way Tiye and the women of Amunhotep the Elder's harem were depicted in The Twelfth Transforming.

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  How are Nefertiti and Kiya alike? What is the nature of the Pharaoh's relationship with each? If you put his ambitions aside, which of them do you think Amunhotep loved more? Why does Nefertiti try so hard to outshine Kiya at every turn? Are her reasons personal or political?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    I still don't think his love for either was genuine. I think he loved the way the two women made him feel, and because they brought different aspects to their relationship with them, his love was not greater or lesser for either, just different. Kiya was home and comfortable, Nefertiti was Egypt and success. Kiya made him feel like a man, but Nefertiti made him feel like a god.

    posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  What is your impression of Amunhotep? Do you think he was responsible for the death of his older brother? His father? Is he a tragic figure in Nefertiti or a villain?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    I think a character can be both tragic and a villain. This depiction of Akhenaten reminds me of all the drawings, paintings, and sculptures you find of him... woman-ish, emasculated, pitiful in his grandeur. The things he lacks in his person, his self esteem, his paranoia... those things are tragic. But because of his tragic nature, he becomes a villain to himself, his family, and his people.

    posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  General Nakhtmin is taken by Mutnodjmet from their first meeting while she pretends to be uninterested in him. Why? What is the attraction between them? Why does Mutny deny it? What finally convinces her to admit her love for him?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    Poor Mutny and the power her family has over her to have her deny her own pleasures and feelings for so long. I liked this story of Mutny and this general. Every other story of Mutny she is forced to marry Horemheb - which I believe she was forced to marry in real life... I think Michelle Moran will have her marry him later in her life though, possibly in the sequel The Heretic Queen.

    posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Do you think Nefertiti's father, Vizier Ay, was a wise man or was he a slave to his ambitions just as his daughter was? Do you think he asks for an unfair level of loyalty from Mutnodjmet? Does she disappoint him?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    I think Ay was wise. And I think he was a slave to his ambitions. The man could have lived a successful, noble, and quiet life in a town as a wise man or mayor and had two happy daughters and many grandchildren... instead, he was obsessed with the throne and the royalty in his family. In the end, he became only smart and intelligent, but he gave up his wisdom along the way for his ambition.

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  When the Elder dies Amunhotep becomes Pharaoh of both Upper and Lower Egypt, meaning he is free to do as he wishes. Nefertiti is entitled to the dowager queen's crown but doesn't take it. What does she do instead? Why doesn't Nefertiti demand this symbol of all she has worked to attain?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    In this version of events Nefertiti actually becomes Pharaoh Smenkhare. No one knows if this is actually what happened. Some people think that Smenkhare was a much younger brother of Akhenaten. But this idea that Nefertiti became Smenkhare is also popular because she disappears from history so suddenly. Will we ever know what really happened?

    What is interesting is how often people forget that Hatshepsut named herself Pharaoh years before. The difference is that Hatshepsut became a man in dress and wore a beard in order to pull off her position. If Nefertiti became Pharaoh, she probably did so as a woman as depicted here, despite Smenkhare being a man's name - I think it was simply a name worthy of a god-king.

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Why do Nefertiti and Amunhotep oppose Mutnodjmet's marriage to the general? When Mutny lost her baby, did you think Nefertiti was to blame? How would a child of Nakhtmim and Mutnodjmet be a threat to Pharaoh?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    I absolutely thought Nefertiti was to blame because she was a selfish brat who would do anything to keep what she wanted. Mutny was just as worthy to be a pharaoh's wife as Nefertiti, as they shared the same father who was the previous Pharaoh's brother-in-law. Nakhtmim, as a general, had the love and respect of the people. It would have been easy for them to take over had they wanted to AND had a son to take the throne as heir if Nefertiti never produced one.

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  What effect does the intrigue and politics and positioning of court life have on Nefertiti and Mutnodjmet's relationship? What makes the sister's close? Would you say they are bound by love or obligation? Why does Nefertiti want to keep Mutny so close?

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    A.K. Klemm 

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    Definitely by obligation. I don't think Nefertiti loved Mutny in the slightest. Instead, Mutny served as a clutch and an ego booster. Nefertiti needed to be loved and worshiped at all times, and needed to be waited on at all times, in order to know her own worth. She was a terrible big sister. Their relationship would have completely shattered had they not been royalty.

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Unwilling to call on the army, Amunhotep makes a treaty with the Hittites. What is the result of this treaty? Why is Amunhotep so afraid of the army?

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Desperate for a son, Nefertiti asks Mutnodjmet to take her to visit a shrine to Tawaret, the hippo goddess of birth. What does the fact that Neferetiti calls on the old gods in times of trouble say about her belief in Aten? Why does she ask her sister to pray for her? Considering how powerful the Egyptians considered their gods, do you think Nefertiti had any concerns about denying the gods to advance herself and her family?

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Why does Nefertiti banish Mutnodjmet?

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  What does Mutnodjmet learn about herself when Ipu marries and takes a long journey away? How does this help her resolve any anger towards Nefertiti?

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  Nefertiti tells Pharaoh that she dreamed the scheming Panahesi would be High Priest of Aten to get him out of her own father's way. On page 386, Panahesi tries to use the same ruse to assure his grandson the throne. Is it a success?

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  How does declaring Nefertiti co-regent change Amunhotep's position? What does this mean for Nefertiti? For her daughters and family? Is this the ultimate victory it appears to be?

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  When the plague comes to Amarna (page 404) Mutnodjmet decides to stay instead of leaving for the safety of Thebes. Why? What would you have done in her position?

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  A.K. Klemm (edited)

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  What happens to Amunhotep? Do you think he deserved this fate? Does Nefertiti deserve what happens to her?

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  A.K. Klemm 

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  I just finished reading the sequel about her niece Nefertari who married Ramses the Great called The Heretic Queen. I enjoyed it and wanted to put in a good word for it here in case anyone happened upon this thread and was interested.

  posted 3 years ago. ( permalink )

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