A review by sulaluna
Inanna by Diane Wolkstein

4.0

Definitely will read this again. And again. I am most intrigued by the story, "The Descent of Inanna," in which we meet Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld. Diane Wolkstein's interpretations are especially helpful. Of Ereshkigal, Wolkstein writes, "This underground goddess, whose realm is dry and dark, whose husband Gugalanna is dead, who has no protective or caring mother, father, or brother (that we know of), who wears no clothes, and whose childhood is lost, can be considered the prototype of a witch--unloving, unloved, abandoned, instinctual, and full of rage, greed, and desperate loneliness." Oh my god. That chilled me to the bone. "In many ways," Wolkstein continues, "Ereshkigal is the other, neglected side of Inanna." Chilled and blown away.

This first reading was introductory for me, leaving me with a longing to dive deeper into the stories of Inanna and Ereshkigal, Inanna and Dumuzi... and into mine.