Gerald J. Davis

Just some short notes and thoughts on this reading:

I remember sitting in mandatory chapel at college and the Baptist preacher was going on about how all this new age religion is just a rehash of pagan beliefs and how nothing was new in religion -- except his religion. I am not Baptist or believer for that matter and let that that sermon go in one ear and out the other.

However, I remembered it while reading Gilgamesh. In the story we have a man made by god from clay. There is a woman, show more fallen from grace, who tempts a man who is pure in nature. There is a fall from the state of nature. There is a tree with a serpent. There is a man who is two thirds god -- made flesh of the gods. There is an ark and a flood. The man who built the ark was commanded to "...abandon all possessions and save his life. Tell him to disdain worldly riches and preserve life instead." The flood not only comes from rain but from waters under the earth. When the flood rains stopped birds were sent out to find dry land.

It is interesting how stories from geographically close regions are similar in nature. There are differences though...

Gilgamesh, himself, was no savior. He was a bad ass. He was Chuck Noris of his day... no more like Tanny Trejo's Machete. He could take on Chuck Norris and Beowulf while making a sandwich. He practiced droit du seigneur and even fought his closest friend over the matter. Gilgamesh lived like no mortal man could.

Finally, there is a line in every story that is just too good not to quote. In Gilgamesh it's:

"The stones rained down onto the deck of Ea's boat like a storm of pounding turtles."

Overall, it is a clear and easy to read translation that captures the larger than life Hero of an ancient time. A fun adventure. show less

I enjoyed this every bit as much as I did Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology. This translation makes the story of Beowulf accessible and still retains its sense of epic grandeur. Very glad I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway.

Translation was nice, readable, and poetic. The afterward and the postscript were academic papers on the technical aspects of the translation and origin, but not much (or not enough for my taste) about the cultural origins or impact of the various tales contained within.