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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
[86/166]
I don't know if you can really read the Epic of Gilgamesh "for funsies"... because of the constant holes in the text, the repetition, and the general need for context, not to mention the meandering plot, this was more of a "thing I wanted to have read" than a "thing I wanted to read". Now that I've read it, I'm happy to say that Enkidu and Gilgamesh are married, and that this is some dope mythology. I would love more context generally and the last part with the flood feels really muddled (???) but I feel like it was just too deep. Like a hypothetical flood appearing in many religions based around the middle east. Is there archaeological evidence for a flood somewhere...???
I don't know if you can really read the Epic of Gilgamesh "for funsies"... because of the constant holes in the text, the repetition, and the general need for context, not to mention the meandering plot, this was more of a "thing I wanted to have read" than a "thing I wanted to read". Now that I've read it, I'm happy to say that Enkidu and Gilgamesh are married, and that this is some dope mythology. I would love more context generally and the last part with the flood feels really muddled (???) but I feel like it was just too deep. Like a hypothetical flood appearing in many religions based around the middle east. Is there archaeological evidence for a flood somewhere...???
I just reread tablet 1-11 after reading the essays included in the back. I’m glad I did! It was great to read it before and after.
love the new translation. Read each tablet and then the intro aloud to River as part of her second grade English class, and she loved the story.
My copy was just about the translation process, not the actual story
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
I read only the Standard Babylonian translation which was good!
Very fragmented, but that's what you get for something which is so old.
Very fragmented, but that's what you get for something which is so old.
being able to read a story that was literally dug out of the earth feels very out of touch but still so in and so human that it's sort of crazy.
my favourite parts obviously were the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and there relationship did have a homo erotic queer punch to it which I did not anticipate but loved but maybe when it was written or rather carved that was not a thing the concept of not being able to love another man "like ones wife" was not as strange as we know it today. the story also definitely served as a template for homer and judeo-christian-islamic mythology and later on inspired the relationships of achilles and patroclus, and jonathan and david. but another interesting thing for me personally was the contrast between him (gilgamesh) wanting to die and not seeing the point in living and also wanting to live forever because of how much death in itself is scary to him and everyone, also the conversation around death itself were very powerful and mortals being mere particles of dust that cannot escape their fate feels very real to me personally and something that I can grasp on.
gilgamesh's love for enkindu was most definitely the driving force of this epic and this in its core will be a love story for me, it's a story of love and how is drives to despair and madness and grief along with taking you on fights with godly creatures and beautiful descriptions of the nature world and gods.
I also loved and almost hated or was merely disappointed upon encountering themes that still continue on in literature today and that should not have come as a surprise in contrast to how much it did because we humans as a race have always been the way we are only the mode of communication or the language has improved or changed.
overall 10/10 experience would recommend
my favourite parts obviously were the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and there relationship did have a homo erotic queer punch to it which I did not anticipate but loved but maybe when it was written or rather carved that was not a thing the concept of not being able to love another man "like ones wife" was not as strange as we know it today. the story also definitely served as a template for homer and judeo-christian-islamic mythology and later on inspired the relationships of achilles and patroclus, and jonathan and david. but another interesting thing for me personally was the contrast between him (gilgamesh) wanting to die and not seeing the point in living and also wanting to live forever because of how much death in itself is scary to him and everyone, also the conversation around death itself were very powerful and mortals being mere particles of dust that cannot escape their fate feels very real to me personally and something that I can grasp on.
gilgamesh's love for enkindu was most definitely the driving force of this epic and this in its core will be a love story for me, it's a story of love and how is drives to despair and madness and grief along with taking you on fights with godly creatures and beautiful descriptions of the nature world and gods.
I also loved and almost hated or was merely disappointed upon encountering themes that still continue on in literature today and that should not have come as a surprise in contrast to how much it did because we humans as a race have always been the way we are only the mode of communication or the language has improved or changed.
overall 10/10 experience would recommend
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
The meat of this book is really the context and analysis provided by the editor more so than the text of the Gilgamesh poems. It is necessary because of how fragmented the texts are, the text's antiquity and the cultural gap for most english readers. The editor does a good but possibly too thorough job here, but also provides a clear and readable Gilgamesh narrative. The story itself is interesting as it pertains to mythology and religion that would be recognized around the world such as the Deluge or Great Flood story.
This rating is for the Dalley translation from Oxford. One of these days I’ll peak at the Mitchell.