Disclaimer: This is a review, and as such will contain opinions, spoilers and (often) general shit talking. (If you talk about what you don’t like about a work, you learn a lot. When you think through a work with the stakes presented to you by the creator, by the context of the work, you learn a lot. I review things, not because I love to dislike things, but because dislike contains rich and vital information for the process of experiencing something, but I cannot access it without interrogating it.) So, if you don’t want to have this thing spoiled for you, or don’t know how to behave when a person on the internet, that you don’t know, has opinions that don’t line up with yours, this review is not for you. It’s also not for the author/creator of the work. Please and thank you.
The book presents life in ancient Egypt in a breezy, conversational narrative, focusing particularly on the experience of the middle classes and women.
Having been originally published some decades ago, I’m sure this style of writing about an academic topic was novel back then.
Though based in Mertz’s expertise and experience, this isn’t a dry history book, and the irreverent, conversational narration makes it feel more like a conversation with her.
Her goal is to bring back to life this ancient civilisation in fascinating detail and with keen insight. She transports you back thousands of years to immerse you in the sights, aromas and sounds of the day-to-day life of ancient Egypt.
She takes us on a tour of homes, workplaces, temples, and palaces, offering an intimate view into the life and mind of the ancient Egyptian.
She looks at the life of painters, scribes, pyramid builders, slaves, housewives and queens, offering insight into the tasks that were essential for life in ancient Egypt.
As she states in the beginning of the book, the point isn’t to delve into the academic side of Egyptology – there are plenty of other books that do that – the point is to open this topic up to everyday people.
I think it’s a great counterbalance for the portrayal of ancient Egyptian culture in media, which tends to be loosely based on historical fact and played up for narrative punch.
Sometimes research is mind-numbing, at other times it’s so, so delightful.
Like this book. I read it because I’m writing The Birth of Egypt and I love bringing those details to the story that make you feel like you’re there.
That means doing a lot of research, even when writing a fictional world that doesn’t aim to be historically accurate. Just accurate enough that it feels believable, savvy?
The sass of the writing in Red Land, Black Land just warms my sarcastic little heart. Delving into the everyday life of ancient Egyptians was exactly what I needed and this delivered.
Tbf, I would have read this just for fun. It was a bonus that it was for research. This is one of those books I can come back to again and again ❤️
Did I enjoy it?
Yes, it was an eye-opening and entertaining read, that brings you closer to the people of an ancient culture that was so different from—yet so surprisingly similar to—our own.
This book is unabashed in its opinionated and sometimes sarcastically dismissive delivery, and I know some of the more tightly-laced historical fans aren’t gonna like it.
But I did.
Is this going to be my only source for ancient Egyptian culture? No.
Like she says in the book, there’s a lot of stuff out there on the topic, but a lot of it disregards the humanity of the people we’re studying because a lot of our information is gleaned from a point of view of funerary rites and the afterlife.
I really enjoyed that she included some stories and myths, as well as the letters.
If you want an intimate trip to see the everyday life of ancient Egyptians, this is a great book.
Want to get more out of reading books?
Grab this FREE guide on how to start a reading journal, complete with review templates, reading trackers and bingo sheets.
Understand yourself better as a reader, engage more with the books you read & make space for creative self-expression. Get it now!
“When Sasha Barrett gets bitten by a snake on a mission, her squad captain’s quick actions not only save her life, but also make her realise something she may have known all along…“
