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chehr's review against another edition
3.0
I received The Cairo Codex through the Goodreads.com giveaways.
After reading The Cairo Codex, I can say that it was not what I expected. I have read several books where the main character in the present, in this case Dr. Jenner, reads a “diary” of someone in the past, in this case Mary. Therefore I had certain expectations before I started reading this book. In similar books the time spent on both the character in the present and the character in the past are usually fairly equal. However, that was not the case with this book. This story relates heavily on the present; sections of the past being few and far between.
The sections of the past were not presented in chronological order, but in order of the relevance to Dr. Jenner’s story. This I found a little more difficult to follow then if it were chronological. I would have to stop and figure out were this section fit in with the over all story in the past before I could continue on. This wasn’t that difficult, however, it did make the over all book seem like a slower read.
I also found the story a bit disconnected. As if there were two completely different stories trying to be one. The story of the “diary” didn’t seem to have any relevance to Dr. Jenner’s life. Dr. Jenner was not a religious character, and because of that I didn’t feel that she had any crisis of faith. A crisis of faith that moved the other character’s emotionally and motivated them into action. As she is the main character the reader does not get to experience that crisis. Seeing things from her point of view doesn’t allow for that insight into what this information can do to a person.
Toward the beginning of the book quite a bit of time was spent on the schools, girls, religion and politics of Egypt’s and Dr. Jenner’s life. Then later on some of these topics, especially the girls, become an after thought. I didn’t understand way these characters were brought into the story, and to me they seemed quite important, to never come back to them. I would assume that it was to give the reader a better understanding of life in Egypt, but it just seemed that they were forgotten.
Now it may seem to you that I wasn’t a fan of this book. Other than the few observations that I have made, I did enjoy the story. I was shocked by the way things turned out in the end in the “diary”. It was a different take on the situation than anything else that I have read or heard of. I really connected with the women of this book; felt for them the way a good book makes you feel.
After reading The Cairo Codex, I can say that it was not what I expected. I have read several books where the main character in the present, in this case Dr. Jenner, reads a “diary” of someone in the past, in this case Mary. Therefore I had certain expectations before I started reading this book. In similar books the time spent on both the character in the present and the character in the past are usually fairly equal. However, that was not the case with this book. This story relates heavily on the present; sections of the past being few and far between.
The sections of the past were not presented in chronological order, but in order of the relevance to Dr. Jenner’s story. This I found a little more difficult to follow then if it were chronological. I would have to stop and figure out were this section fit in with the over all story in the past before I could continue on. This wasn’t that difficult, however, it did make the over all book seem like a slower read.
I also found the story a bit disconnected. As if there were two completely different stories trying to be one. The story of the “diary” didn’t seem to have any relevance to Dr. Jenner’s life. Dr. Jenner was not a religious character, and because of that I didn’t feel that she had any crisis of faith. A crisis of faith that moved the other character’s emotionally and motivated them into action. As she is the main character the reader does not get to experience that crisis. Seeing things from her point of view doesn’t allow for that insight into what this information can do to a person.
Toward the beginning of the book quite a bit of time was spent on the schools, girls, religion and politics of Egypt’s and Dr. Jenner’s life. Then later on some of these topics, especially the girls, become an after thought. I didn’t understand way these characters were brought into the story, and to me they seemed quite important, to never come back to them. I would assume that it was to give the reader a better understanding of life in Egypt, but it just seemed that they were forgotten.
Now it may seem to you that I wasn’t a fan of this book. Other than the few observations that I have made, I did enjoy the story. I was shocked by the way things turned out in the end in the “diary”. It was a different take on the situation than anything else that I have read or heard of. I really connected with the women of this book; felt for them the way a good book makes you feel.
diannel_04's review against another edition
2.0
I thought the book was okay but I felt it was misrepresented. It was made to sound like an archaeological thriller and really it was just a romance novel with some archaeology thrown in.
There are many other reviews written about this book that go into detail but I couldn't be bothered.
There are many other reviews written about this book that go into detail but I couldn't be bothered.
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