Book and Movie Reports by Ed

Book report: Gilgamesh This is a very short, but amazing, book. If I understood the numbers correctly, it was written around 1700 BC, in cuneiform writing on clay tablets in Mesopotamia. It was lost for centuries, then rediscovered in the 1800s when the area was excavated. It appears to be the first recorded story, predating the Iliad and the Bible. The language is simple but powerful. In fact, the language reminds me of the giant statues of the ancient world: immense, serene, strong. The story is about Gilgamesh, the larger-than-life king of the city of Uruk. His immense personality is a problem for the people of the city, because he does what he wants and takes what he wants, without regard to consequences. The people pray for help to their gods, who create Enkidu, a wild man who lives with the animals of the forest. Enkidu is like Gilgamesh in terms of physical strength, but his opposite in other ways. Enkidu and Gilgamesh battle, but then become best friends and go off to have adve