Egypt’s sun god Ra was rising in the eastern sky to cast his vibrant rays on the white walls of Pharaoh Amenhotep III’s grand new house. A newborn, about to arrive at sunrise in Pharaoh’s Harem, would foretell of exceptional heavenly influences.
The mother, Princess Attah of Mitanni, was twelve summers old. Her diminutive frame carried the belly of a hippopotamus. Gaunt and exhausted from slow labor, her birthing was half a moon cycle early, the baby large.
Maja, Attah’s only slave, tried to comfort her princess with damp cloths and soothing words as Attah suffered strong and rapid thrusts. Maja overheard two women sitting on their cots watching her princess struggle.
“The foreigner slept with Pharaoh but once, and is bearing his child. Luck is with her. She hasn’t even learned to speak in Egyptian yet,” one said.
Read MoreThe Glassblower, by Petra Durst-Benning, is a little slow to get into, but the story of the Steinmann sisters and their struggles in glassblowing soon drew me in. With the death of their father, Johanna, Ruth, and Marie have lost their last parent and their income. Life becomes frighteningly uncertain, and the young women face near-starvation.
One sister ponders an offer to become involved in the wholesale end of the glass trade. Another chooses marriage. The third accepts a penurious wage at a glass factory.
The young women’s lives are marred with dissension and loneliness as they struggle to survive. Their work ethic proves their greatest asset. Daily, Johanna walks hours to reach the town where her new job places her in the path of an evil man. Marie, in secret, dares to blow glass, an art practiced only by men. Beautiful Ruth leaves Germany, but not before aiding her sisters in ways no one could have dreamed.
Read MoreThis soup is prepared in approximately 20 minutes and matches the taste of the original classic very well. You don’t need the ovenproof bowls as the broiling step is eliminated!
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