Wow! WHAT a heart-thumping adventure I had the day I read this spectacular collection of twelve adventures of Gilgamesh. Based on seventh century B.C. Assyrian clay tablets that recorded the legend of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) sometime between 3200 B.C. and 2700 B.C, this epic is actually the oldest recorded story in the world. It is also the first Flood story, ultimately told in the Bible and other ancient texts.
The testosterone flows in this first of all buddy stories. Not content with the excitement of waging constant war and building new towers in his glorious city of Uruk, the mighty King Gilgamesh dreams of a friend, sent to him by the gods, someone like himself. That man is the Wild Man, Enkidu, formed out of clay by the goddess of beginnings. First, Gilgamesh and Enkidu wrestle for dominance, and then they declare their devotion to each other. The two set out to kill the monster Huwawa, Guardian of the Cedar Forests. When Gilgamesh spurns the advances of Ishtar, the goddess of love, she is furious, and sends down to earth the Bull of Heaven, which Gilgamesh and Enkidu also kill. In revenge, Ishtar sets out to eliminate Enkidu, an action so monstrous that it sends a grief-torn Gilgamesh into the wilderness to seek the secret of immortality. His journey and final acceptance of his own mortality is told so brilliantly, with such humor and true insight, that it will get you and your kids discussing the true meaning of life.
Bold, colorful, full-page illustrations, outlined in fuzzy black lines, are full of energy and heart. While the story is a bit racy in spots, that can be a good thing. Get those boys reading! They will be fired up to compare and contrast the life of Gilgamesh with other legendary larger-than-life heroes, such as Hercules, Odysseus, or King Arthur.
Reviewed by JF.
THEMES: ADVENTURE AND ADVENTURERS. FOLKLORE. HEROES.
- McCaughrean employs her supple style in this version of the oldest recorded story in the world.
- Booklist