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georgiarybanks's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
1.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Miscarriage, Murder, Misogyny, Slavery, and Sexual assault
ferociablejbear's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
esther_habs's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kisaly's review
2.0
Books of the World: Andorra. Plot wasn't bad, but unfortunately the writing was...
antonellasoria's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Es un poco aburrido y está escrito de manera muy simple. A mi yo de 12 años que estaba obsesionada con Egipto le habría encantado.
missnicolerose's review against another edition
4.0
#readtheworld Andorra
I'm admittedly a sucker for Egyptology and this was a nice, easy read. Set in Ancient Egypt at the time of the creation of the Great Pyramids, The Teacher of Cheops follows the story of Sedum, from his conception as a slave through his life as an accountant and teacher. Sedum's nemesis is that of the high priest and vizier to the Pharoah, Ramosi. If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, Ramosi is basically the Egyptian version of Little Finger, playing the long game and manipulating everyone for his own benefit.
Sedum proves himself to be a worthy opponent of Ramosi, through sheer intellect and humility. I enjoyed the little prologue that ties Sedum to the Greek philosophers.
Was this the best written book? No, but it was enjoyable and had some nice little twists and turns.
I'm admittedly a sucker for Egyptology and this was a nice, easy read. Set in Ancient Egypt at the time of the creation of the Great Pyramids, The Teacher of Cheops follows the story of Sedum, from his conception as a slave through his life as an accountant and teacher. Sedum's nemesis is that of the high priest and vizier to the Pharoah, Ramosi. If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, Ramosi is basically the Egyptian version of Little Finger, playing the long game and manipulating everyone for his own benefit.
Sedum proves himself to be a worthy opponent of Ramosi, through sheer intellect and humility. I enjoyed the little prologue that ties Sedum to the Greek philosophers.
Was this the best written book? No, but it was enjoyable and had some nice little twists and turns.
spiraldots's review against another edition
1.0
Originally written for my blog
So, this was my pick for “Small Country” in the #Readtheworldathon challenge as the author is from Andorra and I couldn’t find any other book available. It’s historical fiction about Egypt and I love historical fiction so figured it would be a good read.
I was wrong. I was very, very wrong.
I almost put this book down in the first few chapters as it starts off with a graphic sex scene between a child slave and a man who snuck into her tent. No, the man did not rape her as this child slave was very happy and willing to have sex for the first time with this complete stranger. At that point I lost all respect for the author and his writing and only continued to see how much worse it could get.
That was the worst part, but the rest of the book was not much better. I found it incredibly boring, badly written and I’d definitely say this is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I only finished it because of my challenge to read something from around the world.
I do not recommend this book to anybody. If you are trying to read around the world and want to read something from Andorra then I recommend leaving it until last in the hopes that something else will become available because this is trash. I don’t say that very often about books (indeed usually when I don’t enjoy a book I recognise that there will still be plenty of people that will enjoy it) but I can not in any good conscious recommend a book that believes a child slave would willingly consent to sex with a random stranger. The author is disgusting and should be ashamed of himself.
So, this was my pick for “Small Country” in the #Readtheworldathon challenge as the author is from Andorra and I couldn’t find any other book available. It’s historical fiction about Egypt and I love historical fiction so figured it would be a good read.
I was wrong. I was very, very wrong.
I almost put this book down in the first few chapters as it starts off with a graphic sex scene between a child slave and a man who snuck into her tent. No, the man did not rape her as this child slave was very happy and willing to have sex for the first time with this complete stranger. At that point I lost all respect for the author and his writing and only continued to see how much worse it could get.
That was the worst part, but the rest of the book was not much better. I found it incredibly boring, badly written and I’d definitely say this is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I only finished it because of my challenge to read something from around the world.
I do not recommend this book to anybody. If you are trying to read around the world and want to read something from Andorra then I recommend leaving it until last in the hopes that something else will become available because this is trash. I don’t say that very often about books (indeed usually when I don’t enjoy a book I recognise that there will still be plenty of people that will enjoy it) but I can not in any good conscious recommend a book that believes a child slave would willingly consent to sex with a random stranger. The author is disgusting and should be ashamed of himself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
clarereadstheworld's review against another edition
2.0
My entry for Andorra is perhaps surprisingly a historical novel set in ancient Egypt, but there isn't much choice for Andorra, with a population of only 770 000, its hardly surprising there aren't many authors who originate from this small country. Nevertheless, Albert Salvadó is one of the country's few published authors, so I read it.
.
Set in ancient Egypt, with a level of historical detail which made it seem very convincing at least to some like me who hasn't studied the Egyptian empire since primary school, the novel focuses on the building of the pyramids. We follow the life of Sedum from the moment of his conception, to his death. Through the life of this ambitious slave, who through his whit and intelligence tries to improve his lot in life we learn a lot about the beliefs, traditions, culture and life style in ancient Egypt.
.
There is also a lot of politics, scheming and hidden agendas. Through is privileged position close to the pharos family Sedum is in prime place to observe all the cunning and double crossing plans. The closer Sedum get to the Pharaoh, the more power and freedom he has, but there is also greater danger.
.
I read this book really quickly, in less than a day, which shows just how easy to read the writing style is. Actually I found it a little too simplistic, and felt the writing lacked depth. The novel reminded me a bit of skipping stones, jumping on from one event to the next without ever actually going into much detail. Overall the story and historical context are interesting, but I felt let down my the writing style.
.
Trigger warning : sexual violence. This books starts with the rape of a 13 year old girl (which is presented as sex scene and OK because she is turned on by the event. It's not OK.)
.
Set in ancient Egypt, with a level of historical detail which made it seem very convincing at least to some like me who hasn't studied the Egyptian empire since primary school, the novel focuses on the building of the pyramids. We follow the life of Sedum from the moment of his conception, to his death. Through the life of this ambitious slave, who through his whit and intelligence tries to improve his lot in life we learn a lot about the beliefs, traditions, culture and life style in ancient Egypt.
.
There is also a lot of politics, scheming and hidden agendas. Through is privileged position close to the pharos family Sedum is in prime place to observe all the cunning and double crossing plans. The closer Sedum get to the Pharaoh, the more power and freedom he has, but there is also greater danger.
.
I read this book really quickly, in less than a day, which shows just how easy to read the writing style is. Actually I found it a little too simplistic, and felt the writing lacked depth. The novel reminded me a bit of skipping stones, jumping on from one event to the next without ever actually going into much detail. Overall the story and historical context are interesting, but I felt let down my the writing style.
.
Trigger warning : sexual violence. This books starts with the rape of a 13 year old girl (which is presented as sex scene and OK because she is turned on by the event. It's not OK.)