Cover of Motel of the Mysteries

Book 1979

Motel of the Mysteries

3.65 115 readers shelved it

Publisher
Hutchinson
Language
English
Published
1979
  • Humor
  • Modern Civilization
  • Antiquities
  • Anecdotes
  • Fiction in English
  • Egyptology
  • Tutankhamun
  • Motel Life

An arch and witty tale purporting to be the dissertation of some future archeologists' discovery and exploration of the "Toot and C'mon Motel" (any resemblance to a Holiday Inn and the Egyptian pharaoh is entirely intentional.) In the process, they get just about every detail wrong, surmising it to be a necropolis - does the "Plant That Would Not Die" symbolize eternal life or… wait a minute, isn't that just the ubiquitous plastic philodendron in every room? - and along the way cast doubt on what we really think we "know" about ancient Egypt. It's all enhanced by Macaulay's detailed and meticulous pen-and-ink sketches. Hilarious and memorable.