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A review by queer_bookwyrm
Among the Cursed and Divine by Nicole Bailey
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: (provided by the author) grief, loss, death, animal death, mild gore, animal sacrifice, coarse language, sexual content
Among the Curse and Divine by Nicole Bailey is book two in the Legend of Gilgamesh duology. Wow, Nicole really wrecked me with this one. I love how Nicole is able to take one of the most well known stories in the world and make it completely her own with rich, relatable, and flawed characters. She really poured a lot of her own grief into this story, and it is evident in every word. Possible spoilers for book one ahead.
We pick up with Gilgamesh and Enkidu not long after they defeated the Bull of Heaven and brought Inanna's retribution down upon them. Enkidu has been cursed to die in one year's time, and Gilgamesh is not handling it well. That is a major understatement of course. He is utterly consumed with premature grief. All he wants is to find a way to break the curse, but the gods refuse to intercede.
Finally, Enkidu and Gilgamesh go on a journey into the Divine Realm to try and find Gilgamesh's immortal ancestor in hopes that he will grant them immortality, thus saving Enkidu. Enkidu, too pure for this world as usual, rescues an orphaned lion, and names him Urmah. Gilgamesh is the grumpy dad who says he doesn't want anything to do with the cat, and they become best friends. Throughout the novel Enkidu and Gilgamesh struggle to come to terms with dying and grief respectively. It was like finding out a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness with no cure.
The lessons from the book are simple, but profound: treat every moment like it's precious, live each day to the fullest with your loved ones while you can, and don't linger on the future on futile pursuits. I cried so hard during the entire last 10% of this book. As always, Nicole is an expert at crafting characters you can't help but love, which means all the more devastation.
If you are familiar with the Epic of Gilgamesh, read these books. If you're not familiar with that story, but love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, read these books. Just read these books.
Among the Curse and Divine by Nicole Bailey is book two in the Legend of Gilgamesh duology. Wow, Nicole really wrecked me with this one. I love how Nicole is able to take one of the most well known stories in the world and make it completely her own with rich, relatable, and flawed characters. She really poured a lot of her own grief into this story, and it is evident in every word. Possible spoilers for book one ahead.
We pick up with Gilgamesh and Enkidu not long after they defeated the Bull of Heaven and brought Inanna's retribution down upon them. Enkidu has been cursed to die in one year's time, and Gilgamesh is not handling it well. That is a major understatement of course. He is utterly consumed with premature grief. All he wants is to find a way to break the curse, but the gods refuse to intercede.
Finally, Enkidu and Gilgamesh go on a journey into the Divine Realm to try and find Gilgamesh's immortal ancestor in hopes that he will grant them immortality, thus saving Enkidu. Enkidu, too pure for this world as usual, rescues an orphaned lion, and names him Urmah. Gilgamesh is the grumpy dad who says he doesn't want anything to do with the cat, and they become best friends. Throughout the novel Enkidu and Gilgamesh struggle to come to terms with dying and grief respectively. It was like finding out a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness with no cure.
The lessons from the book are simple, but profound: treat every moment like it's precious, live each day to the fullest with your loved ones while you can, and don't linger on the future on futile pursuits. I cried so hard during the entire last 10% of this book. As always, Nicole is an expert at crafting characters you can't help but love, which means all the more devastation.
If you are familiar with the Epic of Gilgamesh, read these books. If you're not familiar with that story, but love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, read these books. Just read these books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing