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Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 811.54
EAN: 9780618275649
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0618275649
Label: Mariner Books
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 128
Publication Date: July 08, 2003
Publisher: Mariner Books
Studio: Mariner Books
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Editorial Review:
Herbert Mason's best-selling Gilgamesh is the most widely read and enduring interpretation of this ancient Babylonian epic. One of the oldest and most universal stories known in literature, the epic of Gilgamesh presents the grand, timeless themes of love and death, loss and reparations within the stirring tale of a hero-king and his doomed friend. A finalist for the National Book Award, Mason's retelling is at once a triumph of scholarship, a masterpiece of style, and a labor of love that grew out of the poet's long affinity with the original.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - My First Introduction To Gilgamesh and Postmodern Poetics (from Ahadada Books)
I picked up this book back in the early 1970's from a little card shop in 140 Village Shopping Center, Westminster, Maryland. The owner and his daughters were almost my family because I came back again and again to the small "classics" rack they had on the back wall of the shop, and I sometimes fantasize that they stocked the racks with me in mind. There I found cheap paperback editions of Shelley and Milton and Pope among others, and one day I noticed this wonderful book and bought it with my spare ... Read More
Rating:  - Gilgamesh for Dummies
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an important literary work to study. For us, it provided the opportunity to contrast our Biblical worldview in stark contrast to the flawed, self-seeking, and non-covenantial gods in the epic. The examination of mortality and the afterlife also attempts to give an alternate explanation of the Biblical worldwide flood.
Mason's version of Gilgamesh is a wonderful starting point for the beginning student of classical literature. The text is easily attainable while ... Read More
Rating:  - False teeth
The well meaning Mr. Mason does not represent the Epic of Gilgamesh well in his verse narrative. In fact, it is not a translation of the Epic, rather has he cooked up his own version of somebody else's translation. He did this in times when few knew much about Gilgamesh, and made many novices belive it was the Epic. I have even heard of a small country where the most prominent philosopher translated Mason's narrative into the native language. The literature professor entered it into the curriculum for ... Read More
Rating: - Read this again and again
Mason's translation of the epic can be easily read in one sitting, but it is worth savoring and pondering passages filled with beautiful imagery and timeless meaning. This is a simple story of hubris, friendship, and loss. It is a tale of accepting both the limitations and beautiful power of being human. I have read this translation yearly, and I plan to continue to do so, to remind me of the univeral pain but ultimately triumphant power of the human spirit.
Rating: - Nothing needed to be said
Words fail. I love this book, this translation, especially. It's not verbose; it relies on detail to express pathos. The lack of embellishments enhances the story and characters. I'm afraid to talk about this book too much. Simply elegant, and heartbreakingly honest.
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