Point of View

Wilbur Smith's novel, River God, is told in the first person format. The narrator is Taita, the slave of a noble family. His life is intertwined with theirs. Subsequently, when he recounts his story it also includes the lives of his owners, Lord Intef and Lady Lostris. During the last pages Taita explains that his motivation for writing the text (scrolls) was to record the heroic life of Lostris. His writing is supposed to be a form of lasting tribute. The author was inspired to write the novel after multiple visits to Egypt and tomb excavations.

Setting

The setting for River God includes all of Egypt, as well as the land at its southern border referred to as Cush. At the time of the story Egypt was experiencing great turmoil. The country is composed largely of deserts divided by the fertile plains surrounding the Nile River...