Memoirs of Cleopatra


Wow.

Just Wow.

I read the book and it's akin to being sucked into a time space warp which gently deposits you to Cleopatra's time. The author's imagery was so vivid that it felt as if you're walking Alexandria and Rome yourself. I finished the 937-page book in 2 days. I just had to get to the end, regardless of the fact that I already knew what happened.

Cleopatra has always awed me since my early adolescence. Here's a woman, not really traditionally beautiful, but powerful and desired by the world's most powerful men. The book just lent me a women's view of what could have transpired during those tremulous times. History has rendered Cleo a whore. History written by men, of course. But what if she wasn't a power-monger, what if she really loved, and what ifher mistakes were all calculated ones to protect her beloved Egypt?
You have to give this girl the credit. She did hold on to Egypt, and always had its interest at heart. She brings more ammunition to the overused "Girl Power" mantra, probably because she's the original Spice Girl, if you consider it. :) I wouldn't mind being a modern Cleopatra. Save for the snakebite at the end. I prefer old age, if you don't mind.

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