That One Escalator (Sasha)

If Mumbo Jumbo is the story of the interaction between Jes Grew and the Wallflower Order of the Atenists in the first world, and we can see the flare-ups of Jes Grew across our own history, then we can also see ideas of Jes Grew and Atenism in what was known for portions of the 20th century as the second world: the Soviet Union, the Soviet-aligned Eastern bloc, and areas such as the former Yugoslavia. As a historical side note this is why we no longer really say second-world, the communist states of the second world no longer exist. So now we talk about the first world and the third and I’m sure most of us have wondered at some point what happened to the second one.   Ishmael Reed mentions in his novel his belief that Marx secularized the teachings of Jesus Christ. This strongly implies Marxism and Western communism in general, to be Atenist modes of thought, even if, like the battle between the Teutonic Order and the Knights Templar, these various branches of Atenist thought...

In both Doctorow’s Ragtime and Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo , Egypt appears to play an important role in our understanding of the main plot. Note: probably some slight spoilers for Mumbo Jumbo ahead, as, while the pieces are all there, the book hasn’t put it together for us yet.   In Ragtime , Egypt is the ultimate destination of J.P. Morgan, where he seeks to find proof of the reincarnation of the fittest, and potentially a secret society of others who understand their power in this world. Morgan sleeps overnight in a pyramid alongside the long-dead Pharaohs, attempting to establish a connection between himself and them.   Ragtime also points out a wider trend towards Egyptology in the early 1900s, an obsession with Egypt and the rediscovery of that part of the Ancient World. The family gets Egypt-themed wallpaper, and so on.   In Mumbo Jumbo , we know that at least one secret society really does exist, the Wallflower Order. We also know that they too are ...