Gilgamesh

Revived a dormant awareness of how important this story is on many levels.

Very well written and easy to understand.

Great book for young and old

The story of Gilgamesh is certainly a strange one. He’s the king of a Mesopotamian city, who refuses to advances of a goddess or priestess, kills the mythical beasts sent by the gods to punish him for his insolence, and comes across a wild man named Enkidu out in the woods. As for Enkidu, he’s a wild man who acts as a foil to the more civilized Gilgamesh, even though they become best of friends.Regardless of the legend, Bernarda Bryson’s version is wonderful. She write the story very simply, without too many long words to complicate things and bore the reader. Since the original story was written in Sumerian cuneiform, it doesn’t make much sense to write the English translation with Shakespearean levels of prose, and this version is perfect for kids. The illustrations are wonderful too. They follow the style of the original clay tablets on which the legend was documented, without all the over-the-top bombardment of a lot of today’s children’s books.

Why this has gone out of print I do not know. This version of the story can be read to a child over the course of about 7-10 nights. Better than Zeman's version, this story fleshes out details that make the actions of the characters much more understandable.For example, when Gilgamesh rejects the goddess Ishtar, who has decided Gilgamesh should be her next husband, in Zeman's version you really have no sense why he rejects her. Marrying a goddess seems like a good thing, but for some unexplained reason Gilgamesh doesn't go for it. In Bryson's version however, she spells out Gilgamesh's reasons; Ishtar, once she has the attention of the one she desires, grows tired of the hapless soul and then she destroys them. Suddenly Gilgamesh's action makes sense.In another example, Zeman leaves out any reference to Ninsun, Gilgamesh's mother, while in Bryson she is an important character whom Gilgamesh seeks out for advice.This story is a wonderful tale. Bryson's retelling gives us insight into characters who lived 5000 years ago. She makes it possible to understand their to way of life. Where else can you read about heroes who bear bronze swords and seek out the man who survived the flood?

I'm teaching a Great Books class for 7th-8th graders, and have been trying to find a version of this story that is appropriate for this age group. We've read "Gilgamesh the Hero" before but I feel like it's childish in some ways but too adult in others. Bryson's version is perfect--the language is eloquent, the sentence structure poetic, and the illustrations really add to the whole feel of the book. I'm so pleased I found this version.