The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Norton Critical Edition

Asha: Had to read it for school, enjoyed it very much.

United States on May 03, 2023

WeeMadA: nuova traduzione con altre aggiunte e nuove aggiunte alle traduzioni

Italy on Mar 04, 2023

Dawn Wessel: The book is in excellent condition and I received it well before the promised due date.

Canada on Mar 04, 2023

Dotty Hayes: I was not familiar with this epic until I heard of it in passing. Really appreciated this edition for the historical background and footnotes. Well done.

United States on Sep 10, 2021

anama: EIne sorgfaeltige Ausgabe des Gilgamesch Epos mit vielen Informationen und Variationen aus der verschiedenen Voelker Mesopotamiens. Die Uebersetzung ist fliessend und verstaendlich .

Germany on Apr 30, 2020

Stephen H. Ford: The more versions of The Epic of Gilgamesh the better—all are valuable, marking progress in understanding this culture.

Canada on Feb 29, 2020

Paulo LeitePaulo Leite: Quatro mil anos se passaram desde que foi escrito em argila, e mesmo assim o “Épico de Gilgamesh” continua fascinando os leitores contemporâneos, com seu líder Gilgamesh, rei de Uruk – primeira cidade histórica do mundo –, e seu companheiro – o “selvagem” Enkidu. O épico inicialmente chamou a atenção dos críticos bíblicos pela descrição do dilúvio – reportado muito antes do antigo testamento. Igualmente fascinante foi a abordagem do conflito entre deuses, a luta do homem com a natureza, e o reconhecimento de sua própria mortalidade; espelhando assim a eterna tentativa do homem em achar o seu lugar na sociedade e dentro do cosmos; muito parecido com os dilemas encontrados nos poemas de Homero, Hamlet e Eclesiastes, certo? Além de abordar importantes temas metafísicos, o épico narra a saga de dois amigos, Gilgamesh e Enkidu; a devoção recíproca, que persiste mesmo após a morte. Em suma, o épico contém tudo o que os leitores esperam de uma grande e intensa narrativa: paisagens fantásticas (em nossa imaginação), personagens exóticos, missões desgastantes, viagens difíceis, batalhas heroicas, seres sobrenaturais. Gilgamesh é, acima de tudo,...

Brazil on Oct 22, 2016

Careful Shopper: Ordinarily the Norton Critical edition would be my favorite edition of a work, given all the additional materials offered, and this one is a fine entry in the series, worth five stars. I happen to prefer for scholarly purposes the Andrew George single volume edition, George being the scholar with the fine two volume critical edition of the text. But this one is quite fine and very helpful, and at a number of points I prefer the translation (to the degree I can make an informed judgement--based largely on the two texts mentioned).

United States on Jul 08, 2016

Elle: Translating the epic of Gilgamesh is even more difficult than other examples of ancient literature, simply because we do not have a complete version of the story. That said, this translation does a great job of presenting a coherent narrative, by blending together the most complete versions that do exist. The reader is aware of what episodes are missing from what versions, but overall the emphasis is on readability, and it pays off. I found myself getting caught up in the 4000-year-old tale, which still has the ability to move and excite even now.

The additional tales of Gilgamesh and the scholarship and criticism presented in this edition were also helpful in gaining perspective and context.

United States on Sep 07, 2015

Dave_42: The Norton Critical Edition of "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is a fairly recent translation of what is currently the oldest known epic. The epic was translated by Benjamin R. Foster. The book also includes "The Sumerian Gilgamesh Poems", translated by Douglas Frayne, and "The Hittite Gilgamesh", translated by Gary Beckman. In addition, there is "The Gilgamesh Letter", several essays discussing the epic, and an Introduction section which helps those who are new to the Epic with their first reading. The translation uses the "standard version" associated with Sin-leqe-unninni as its base, and supplements it with parts from other versions where there are gaps. There are also comments in the text to help the reader follow the passages easier.

An area of weakness of this book was in the area of editorial comments. For example, Mr. Foster states in the introduction:

"There is no evidence that The Epic of Gilgamesh began as an oral narrative performed by bards or reciters and coalesced into a written text only later. In fact, the poem as we now have it shows many signs of having been a formal, written, literary work composed and perhaps performed for well-educated people,...

United States on Jul 20, 2004