Cleopatra

Saara El-Arifi has taken the well known historical figure of Cleopatra and created an insightful and interesting glimpse into her life. Simply titled, ‘Cleopatra’, the story, part fact and part myth, is written as a reimagining of the life and times of Cleopatra during her reign over Egypt.
The book is interwoven with factual places and figures, but uses Cleopatra herself to narrate her journey as the newly crowned Pharaoh of Egypt. Using this writing style, El-Arifi has been able to invite the reader to imagine Cleopatra in a more personal and insightful way. The result is a story that comes alive with the thoughts and feelings of the main character, and asks the reader to step into the historical world where one Queen fights to keep her place on the throne. I enjoyed the beautiful language and imagery, the story flowed well, and has an interesting ending which I didn’t see coming!
I think this book would be suitable for young adult readers and those who like to read a good historical fiction novel with a bit of magic woven in. There is some mention of sexual themes and death, but nothing too explicit.