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dbhiguera's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting....great book to broaden your outlook on what we have been taught or spoonfed religiously. Great to broaden your views if you are open minded. You will see that the bible does not necessarily have its origins where we may have been taught. Also, good to see how ancient Sumerians brought their daily life; sex, weather, explanation of gods and social order into a very poetic form.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
I mean, isn't it a question everyone has: who will plough your vulva?
sumayyah_t's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful! This is one of those books that makes one wish for a time machine in order to her the hymns sang/chanted with the proper intonation. Excellent resource for anyone interested in Inanna/Ishtar/Diana/Isis.
grubstlodger's review against another edition
4.0
Having loved the Gilgamesh Retold version of the story with Inanna in, and wanting a little more Inanna action, I bought Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer.
Wolkstein brings the skills of storyteller and poet, Kramer his lifelong research on the Sumerian period and culture. Together, the two produce a book unlike any other I have ever read. The basic texts are religious in nature, there are parts of the Bible (especially Psalms and Song of Songs) that have their influence in these texts. However, the Bible never sounded quite like this.
The first section has Enki, the God of Wisdom battling the forces of the Underworld and Ereshkigal while a young woman called Inanna finds the Huluppu tree, brings it to her sacred garden in Uruk and longs to make a great throne and bed. She’s hampered by evil creatures colonising the tree but is later helped by Gilgamesh who uses his big chopper to cut the tree down and make the throne and bed. - It’s an odd beginning, our Goddess is at one of her weakest positions but she knows what she wants, power and sex.
The second is my favourite. Now established in Uruk, Inanna takes her miraculous boat of heaven to Enki, the God of Wisdom’s abode of Enlil. There she gets him drunk on beer (both bread and beer being considered feminine in Sumerian culture) and tricks him into offering her 79 Mes, and it’s this concept I love. A Me is an important cultural lesson, represented by an object and having the Me is essentially to become the God of the skill. The ones Inanna steals include priesthood, kingship and beer, but also coloured cloth and black cloth. When Enki sobers up, he realises what he does and sets monsters on Inanna, but her servant Ninshibur beats them up as she steers them safe into port. The notion of Me are fascinating but there’s something I find extremely enticing about a Goddess that simply takes the building blocks of civilisation, like a brazen female Prometheus.
The next section deals with Inanna thinking of her wondrous vulva. Initially she thinks the farmer will satisfy her but realises that actually it is Dumuzi the Shepherd King who can ‘plow my vulva’, ‘fill my lap with cream’ and ‘be my honey man’. Following the initial sensuality, he is made King through his relationship with Inanna (the same relationship Gilgamesh rejects in the Epic of Gilgamesh) and has sort of moved beyond Inanna in some way.
Inanna, being a little superfluous, decides to have a trip to her sister, Ereshkigal’s abode in the Underworld. She dresses in her nine finest and most symbolic bits of bling which she strips to get in. Once there she is killed and hung on hooks like a dead animal. Luckily, she has a backup, comes back to life and rises from the underworld. She can’t be stopped - she’s Inanna, bitch - but neither can she stop the demons from following her. She decides to set them on Dumuzi, because he’s been undervaluing her recently. The next section is Dumuzi trying to avoid the demons and failing and the next is Inanna actually feeling pretty bad about her actions and making a deal that he’ll spend half the year in the Underworld and those shall be the infertile months, essentially he becomes the Sumerian Persephone.
The next section is a bunch of hymns saying how great Inanna is and the pack half puts it all into context and discusses what we’ve read.
The poetry in this book isn’t as exciting as Gilgamesh Retold, the repetition feels a little more like straightforward repetition, there aren’t big spaces of blank page to emphasise loss or loneliness but this was all redeemed by the way the stories build on Inanna’s character, make her terrifying and endearing, a figure of power but also a trickster on the human’s side.
Forget all these Wispy Wiccans, we need some Inanna worshippers in full, lusty, fresh-limbed wonder.
Wolkstein brings the skills of storyteller and poet, Kramer his lifelong research on the Sumerian period and culture. Together, the two produce a book unlike any other I have ever read. The basic texts are religious in nature, there are parts of the Bible (especially Psalms and Song of Songs) that have their influence in these texts. However, the Bible never sounded quite like this.
The first section has Enki, the God of Wisdom battling the forces of the Underworld and Ereshkigal while a young woman called Inanna finds the Huluppu tree, brings it to her sacred garden in Uruk and longs to make a great throne and bed. She’s hampered by evil creatures colonising the tree but is later helped by Gilgamesh who uses his big chopper to cut the tree down and make the throne and bed. - It’s an odd beginning, our Goddess is at one of her weakest positions but she knows what she wants, power and sex.
The second is my favourite. Now established in Uruk, Inanna takes her miraculous boat of heaven to Enki, the God of Wisdom’s abode of Enlil. There she gets him drunk on beer (both bread and beer being considered feminine in Sumerian culture) and tricks him into offering her 79 Mes, and it’s this concept I love. A Me is an important cultural lesson, represented by an object and having the Me is essentially to become the God of the skill. The ones Inanna steals include priesthood, kingship and beer, but also coloured cloth and black cloth. When Enki sobers up, he realises what he does and sets monsters on Inanna, but her servant Ninshibur beats them up as she steers them safe into port. The notion of Me are fascinating but there’s something I find extremely enticing about a Goddess that simply takes the building blocks of civilisation, like a brazen female Prometheus.
The next section deals with Inanna thinking of her wondrous vulva. Initially she thinks the farmer will satisfy her but realises that actually it is Dumuzi the Shepherd King who can ‘plow my vulva’, ‘fill my lap with cream’ and ‘be my honey man’. Following the initial sensuality, he is made King through his relationship with Inanna (the same relationship Gilgamesh rejects in the Epic of Gilgamesh) and has sort of moved beyond Inanna in some way.
Inanna, being a little superfluous, decides to have a trip to her sister, Ereshkigal’s abode in the Underworld. She dresses in her nine finest and most symbolic bits of bling which she strips to get in. Once there she is killed and hung on hooks like a dead animal. Luckily, she has a backup, comes back to life and rises from the underworld. She can’t be stopped - she’s Inanna, bitch - but neither can she stop the demons from following her. She decides to set them on Dumuzi, because he’s been undervaluing her recently. The next section is Dumuzi trying to avoid the demons and failing and the next is Inanna actually feeling pretty bad about her actions and making a deal that he’ll spend half the year in the Underworld and those shall be the infertile months, essentially he becomes the Sumerian Persephone.
The next section is a bunch of hymns saying how great Inanna is and the pack half puts it all into context and discusses what we’ve read.
The poetry in this book isn’t as exciting as Gilgamesh Retold, the repetition feels a little more like straightforward repetition, there aren’t big spaces of blank page to emphasise loss or loneliness but this was all redeemed by the way the stories build on Inanna’s character, make her terrifying and endearing, a figure of power but also a trickster on the human’s side.
Forget all these Wispy Wiccans, we need some Inanna worshippers in full, lusty, fresh-limbed wonder.
jenny14's review against another edition
4.0
Inanna is a badass. I quite enjoy Sumerian myth. A good read in tandem is [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1424472532s/830.jpg|493634] by Neal Stephenson - the way the novel works with Sumerian mythology is both well-integrated and highly thought-provoking.
nicole6559's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting to see how Sumer mythology plays out, and to see how their gods are.
abetterjulie's review against another edition
5.0
The poetry is wonderful, but the interpretations at the end by Diane Wolkstein are amazing. This is an empowering look at an ancient religion where a goddess found power in herself and learned to accept and utilize her shadow-self. I'm so glad I bought this book!
mirandanoble's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
I was hella emotional reading this. So much power and divinity in femininity! And a lot of sex which was a surprise. This will definitely be a fun book to discuss in class. Overall, a short read about a powerful goddess full of passion and spunk and love!
tri_lo_bite's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
This was my third stop on my quest to read the religious texts of the world, and like my other stops along the way I’m not going to give a star rating.
This one was a little outdated. Or, we’ll, a lot. Most of the stories and hymns in this book were translated before Enheduanna’s name was found, so she doesn’t appear at all, even if some (if not most) of the words are hers.
The translation was good and easy to read. I liked hearing Inanna’s descent again a lot.
I will say, I would have preferred a different layout to the commentaries and notes, but it was fine.
And the inclusion of various Sumerian art throughout the text was a nice touch.
This one was a little outdated. Or, we’ll, a lot. Most of the stories and hymns in this book were translated before Enheduanna’s name was found, so she doesn’t appear at all, even if some (if not most) of the words are hers.
The translation was good and easy to read. I liked hearing Inanna’s descent again a lot.
I will say, I would have preferred a different layout to the commentaries and notes, but it was fine.
And the inclusion of various Sumerian art throughout the text was a nice touch.