Customer Reviews

Gilgamesh the Hero

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We believe Gilgamesh was a historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the River Eurphrates in what is now Iraq, who lives around 2700 B.C.E. "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is the oldest recorded story in the world, having been originally carved on twelve stone tablets, which have broken apart in the past four thousand years. These twelve tablets, written in the Akkadian language by an author named Shin-eqi-unninni, were found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria (668-627 B.C.E.) at Nineveh (the library was destroyed by the Persians).

In "Gilgamesh the Hero," Geraldine McCaughrean creates a free adaptation from a variety of translations of those tablets. Each chapter reflects what is found on one of the twelve tablets (the order of which is still open to interpretation). Young readers will learn over how Gilgaemsh, the hero who saw all, became friends with Enkidu the wild man, slays the Bull of Heaven, survived the Great Flood, and seeks the secret of immortality. The chief narrative thread is the friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and how the latter's death teaches Gilgamesh to be a kinder, better ruler who "walked through darkness and so glimpsed the light."

McCaughrean is able to have it both ways with her retelling of these ancient myths. She maintains the classic nature of the epic while telling the story in a way that makes the ancient story accessible to young readers in today's world. The illustrations by David Parkins are in this same mode, complementing the stories nicely. In retelling the story, McCaughrean makes the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu the backbone of the story, as it should be,

While the classical mythology of the Greeks and Romans continues to attract the most attention, "Gilgamesh the Hero" makes the necessary argument for remembering these ancient stories as well. Asking young students to compare and contrast the epic of Gilgamesh with the Twelve Labors of Hercules or Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece would certainly be a worthwhile classroom activity for a unit on myth. Comparative mythology is becoming the approach taken in classrooms more often today, and "Gilgaemsh the Hero" reminds us that we can look backwards from Greek mythology as well as forward to find stories from other cultures to learn about.

I am grateful to Ms. McCaughrean for her distillation of this story. I have been reading various translations and a couple of retellings of the Gilgamesh story for the past thirty years or so, always enjoying the story but always with a sense that I was missing something. Finally, with this retelling I "get it." The elements of the story finally fall into place. Excellent.

This is a beautifully written version (with illustrations that really capture the ancient ambience of the story) of the oldest written story in the world. It deals with the themes common to all great literature (friendship, mortality, aspirations, love) in a way that makes sense to young people. The struggles and achievements of Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumerian king, illustrate the enduring concerns of mankind over time and lend perspective to man's search for meaning today.

This is also a wonderful read-aloud book that would make a great introduction to a unit on philosophy, comparative religion or humanities for the home-schooling parent. My children (11 and 12) loved this book as much as I did.

My class was studying Mesopotamia, 3rd grade by the way, and we needed a reading group book. This was the obvious choice. In the end we had at least five versions of Gilgamesh. None compared to this. We loved it. We had as many lessons on writing style as on the book's content. The writing is eloquent/poetic. It's not dumbed down at all. My students' parents said they liked this version better than the one you're forced to read in highschool. We had discussions on the book's themes: friendship, heroism, quality of life and immortality. We tried to decide if Gilgamesh was a tragic hero. These discussions just flowed. They weren't in my lesson plans. We discussed metaphors, similies, repetition and rhyme, all of which are used with such brilliant style, we cried and laughed and debated and we were late for lunch each day, reading this book. Students began to compare Gilgamesh to Hercules and even MACBETH (as last year we read the Shakespeare for kids series, during our Renasissance study.) They are still quoting this book, i.e. "Never to have met Gilgamesh, that would have been never to have lived at all." It was full of everything good writers do, superb foreshadowing and we even wrote character analysis and essays on friendship, etc. We loved it so much , we made a webpage. Check out [...] I put stickers over the singing lady's butt, but I can't recommend this book highly enough, especially for children aged 10-12. I purchased 25 copies!
Ms. Waller , Montclair, N.J./Edgemont Montessori School

This book is going to challenge some readers, and may even offend others... but it should be read by those who want to understand our civilization's cultural background.
It is bold in its imagery, subtle in its literacy, and straightforward in its effect. It tells tales of events that are later echoed in the Old Testament and does so without downplaying their legitimacy.
I teach world history to sixth graders, and though it might be beyond some of them, I would recommend it to my 11- and 12-year-olds without hesitation. My students are already aware of biological and cultural aspects of the Ancient World, so I doubt many would be offended by the graphic nature of the story and illustrations. More importantly, I think they would understand the greater themes that are championed by the text.

I had read John Gardner's version previously and highly recommend it as a more complete translation.
McCaughrean has not included every adventure of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but has rendered a beautiful version to introduce readers to Gilgamesh and his BFF Enkidu. His trip to the Underworld is left out. She only makes a passing reference to his being 2/3 god and 1/3 man, my favorite Gilgamesh trait.
The language is beautiful. I found passages so beautifully expressed that I had to read them out loud to my household.
The illustrations add to the book. On the pages with the description of The Great Flood, the waves of the water are under the text. The image of Gilgamesh in grief is as strong an illustration of grief as one can find anywhere.
The book only took a couple of hours to read, but it lingers, like the memory of a gourmet meal, deeply satisfying.
I will look for additional books by Geraldine McCaughrean. That has to be the ultimate "good review" of an author.

I teach my children at home and we are currently covering ancient literature. I had read Gilgamesh before and knew it would be a bit too much for a younger reader (prostitution for example), and yet I didn't want to cut and paste the story to make it acceptable for a young reader. Enter Geraldine McCaughrean's version.

We read Geraldine McCaughrean's version and were very thrilled with it.

Her writing is vivid and captivating, "A single scream of terror hung in the air: it had the color of red dust, and settled on Gilgamesh like blood. At the third stamp, the walls of Uruk wavered like sheets of water. Enkidu was forced off his feet and struck his head against the parapet. Pain paralyzed him. It seemed to sing through his skull and unstring his spine."

McCaughrean covers the entire story even including the prostitute, but tells it in such a way that you might understand without the details of the encounter.

This is by far the best introduction to Gilgamesh for a young audience that ever there was. It will be easy to encounter the more complete version of Gilgamesh at a later time and not be intimidated by the story.

Gilgamesh the Hero. Author: Geraldine McCaughrean Illustrator:David Parkins. 96 pages. 2003.

I picked this book up in the Children's section of a local library one day while I was looking for books to read with my daughter who was three at the time. The book was in the Folk Tales and Myths section. The last time I had read the story of Gilgamesh was at university.

Gilgamesh the story dates from before the seventh century BC. There are several translations and versions of this epic. The version used in this book is the 12 tablet Sumerian version. The translation is faithful to the original and very readable. It works equally well for adults and toddlers.

The story resonates with emotions and experiences on many levels. My daughter thought of it as a super-hero adventure story with great feats, great friends, and epic journeys. All of this is in the story and as such there are parallels in the Odyssey, Beowulf, the Chronicles of Marco Polo, the Viking Sagas and many other stories.

The adult reader will notice parallels from the Bible especially in the story of the flood. Which leads to the broader question for the reader whether the Bible collected the story of the flood from Gilgamesh or vice-a-versa. The main plot occurs after Gilgamesh finally finds a friend who is his equal, who is compatible with his abilities and interests. The death of his friend Enkidu about a third of a way into the epic drives the remainder of the plot and adventure as Gilgamesh seeks to deal with his loss and come to grips with his own mortality. We see a man bereft and in the grip of PTSD as he seeks solace in action. He attempts to run away from his problems.

In the end Gilgamesh will find the immortality he seeks and the re-union with his great friend Enkidu. He finds immortality in this saga so worthy were his deeds but also in the normal way in the memory of his children and grandchildren. All of which can serve as thought provoking about our own eternal memory.

The book has excellent illustrations and can be a conduit for discussion with children about feelings and events such as loss, travail, and the personal search for authenticity. Thos who have a strong religious faith may be intimidated by the inclusion and roles of the Sumerian belief system but rather than shy from it uses it as an opportunity to discuss matters of faith and belief.

This is a fantastic book. I look forward to re-reading with my daughter over the years to come as each reading will peel back another layer of meaning and import as she grows up and journeys to adult-hood. It is one of those few books whose meaning changes with your experience. While our technology, faith, social structure and mode of living may have changed since 3,000 BC when this story was being written down ... as Ardant du Picq noted in his book "Battle Studies" the human heart and condition remains unchanged. Reaching forward through the eons this book will make that relevant connection.

Our whole family enjoyed reading this retelling of the ancient Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh. The style is engaging and detailed enough for older readers but fast-paced enough to keep the attention of the early-elementary crowd as well- however, it does contain some rascally characters, including the Babylonian gods, and some parents may be uncomfortable with their suggestive behavior. Overall, it is a good glimpse of the Mesopotamian culture.

For those who are not familiar with Gilgamesh's story, he is a restless, energetic king of Uruk who goes on a quest for immortality. Through his struggles and triumphs he learns to care for his people and enjoy the life that is given him. He also meets Utnapishtim (better known to the rest of us as Noah) and hears the Babylonian version of Noah's flood.(This is one of numerous, ancient accounts of a world-wide flood, and bears striking similarities to the biblical story.) I enjoyed the many illustrations, but they were too 'messy' for my kids!

While this rendition is classified as a children's book, the text translation is too mature for children under the age of 13. Also, there is too much text with the pictures. It looks like a children's book by the cover, but is not appropriate for children when you open it.