"An Egyptian Journal" is a travelogue which shows that fantasies about a place and reality don't always mix. The book is by the British novelist William Golding, of "Lord of the Flies" fame. I hadn't read the book since high school, so I wasn't sure what literary similes I would find here. The author went to Egypt to find the ancient Egypt of his youthful dreams, but found that sometimes imagination has nothing to do with what really is. Sailing up and down the Nile in a power boat with his wife and a native crew, his presumptions of the place crumbled like an aging, weathered pyramid.

    The first problem Golding runs into is the language barrier. Commissioning a boat called the Hani which has a "crew" of six to sail down the Nile, Golding's ignorance of Arabic and the lack of English by all but one of the men sets him up for isolation. Initially, he can't even spend time socializing with them, which frustrates him because part of his goal was to get to know the people of Egypt.

    There are also cultural barriers: for example, "Egyptian time" versus "English time", where Golding wants to get going and make the most efficient time of things, versus his crew's attitude. For example, there was the time when the crew pulled into the harbor at six p.m. even though it was still light out, much to Golding's chagrin. The crew cited "river regulations" and "pirates" and proceeded to have a festive night. Golding, unable to share in the frivolity and frustrated with the slow pace, did not share in the same joyous mood.

    Much of Golding's account includes observations of the geological formations that border the Nile, as well as depictions of the workers that cultivate the stone masses for quarries. It is seems to be his belief that to some extent, England"s modernization of the area had been a good thing. For example, he believes that the means that the quarry workers use to harvest the stone is primitive and inhumane. He disapproves of the brute manpower to carry stones, and what appears to be a lack of hard machinery. But he lauds the water purification that had begun, care of the British, else all Egypt would be stuck drinking out of the diseased Nile River. The boat he was on was a motorboat, and his crew all Egyptians: in that respect, the boat trip was a metaphor of how the British used the Egyptians for the goal of modernization.

    Golding earnestly wanted to do the whole "get down with the people" routine by interviewing them and immersing himself in their culture, but because of his own reserve and language barriers, he doesn't seem to really succeed. This lack of communication rises to an anxiety which Golding communicates in a sedate way. Namely, he was supposed to be writing a book about Egypt with an emphasis on the people. Since he couldn't communicate efficiently with them, he felt at a loss not only with them, but the direction his book would take. This confusion is aptly shown throughout the book.

    Golding also recounts several land trips, visits to museums, and other landmarks. He visits the offices of dignitaries and the homes of people, trying to morph with the culture as best he can. With the help of an interpreter, he even attempts to communicate with the people he wishes to connect with. But he seems quite aware of the inadequacies that he runs up against. In the end, as he says, the book is more about him than about Egypt. But then, most travelogues are more about the author than the place that he or she visits. After all, it is the story of that individual.

    I personally found the book to go very slowly, almost like a dry textbook you have to read for school. Golding seemed to catalog his every experience, and many times the details read like a shopping list. It seemed to be as a result, as he says on the last page, "of trying to look at everything and having an opinion of nothing". However, considering that the author himself was frequently bored, and unsuccessfully searched to connect with his subject matter, the book is an accurate description of what he experienced. It was an honest opinion of how journeys sometimes don't always serve a fantasy, and how one can immerse himself deeply in a culture, but not quite cross the river of differences to fully embrace or understand it.