violetzje's review against another edition
5.0
Like Mayflies in a Stream retells the first half of the Gilgamesh Epic from the point of view of Shamhat, the priestess of Inanna/Ishtar tasked to "civilize" the wild man Enkidu who will go on to humble the tyrant king Gilgamesh.
Short version: I've loved this book. It was a quick read, rich in atmosphere, easy to get into even if you're not at all into Mesopotamia. And if you're into Mesopotamia you'll be pleased to know that the book's portrayal is highly accurate and in accordance with current research. There's romance (well done), there's mention and vague description of rape (plot-relevant and based on the source material), there's a beautiful well-rounded female protagonist who uses feminity as her weapon (but this does not make her a sex bomb, and there's so much more to her!). Plot is fast-paced, consistent, and the stakes are ultimately high which forces the protagonists to make life-altering choices (yay!). The story is told in third-person narrator with changing point of views which are clearly indicated. All in all I highly recommend this novel.
Long version:
Upon my first reading of the Gilgamesh Epic itself, I thought to myself "wow, someone should write a book from Shamhat's point of view. There's probably far more to her than the poems allude to." And I was overjoyed to find out someone did indeed write that book, and wrote it well. I was thoroughly captivated by the writing style, drawing me in and keeping me reading so I finished the book far quicker than I usually would. Roberts manages to choose her words carefully enough to build a whole world in your mind, while keeping things going and interesting. There is no boring bit in the whole book, yet the world felt rich and real to me at the same time. Even if you don't know a single thing about Mesopotamia or the Gilgamesh Epic, you will not be lost. Roberts portrays customs and rites in such a natural, self-evident way that you feel in touch immediatelly. And if you do have a background in Ancient Near East Studies (as I have), you'll be pleased to hear that Roberts did her homework - every detail is well researched, words are used correctly. I grinned to myself everytime she referenced well-known bits of the original epic, or hinted at archaeological cases that still get told anecdotically in academia (such as the strange man-in-net-skirt).
The characters in Like Mayflies in a Stream feel alive and tangible. They've all got personalities that inform their behavior - especially so the four protagonists Shamhat, Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Zaidu. The problems they face feel real and justified, and their solutions are drastic to match. With the high stakes of the climax of the book, I feared the author may backpedal, but she pulled through and had her characters make the tough choices that such stakes demand.
There's romance in this as well. Aside from Enkidu and Gilgamesh, who Roberts purposefully portrayed in an ambiguous way (is the b still part of this bromance? A question asked by many a historian), the protaogonists experience romance as well - and a very pleasing disgruntled-bickering-comrades-to-mutual-pining romance at that. I loved it. And one hardly sees honest romance in this kind of "historic novel", if you can call it that - the usual assumption, especially among male scholars of the field of ancient near east studies, is that there was no romance in 2k BCE, men owned women, and women were no more than sexy lamps (or candles). As such, Roberts portrayal of a priestess of Inanna/Ishtar was truly refreshing: Countless male scholars have assumed a priestess serving the goddess of love+war must be whores. At all times. And vapid airheads as well. Roberts chose a different path of assuming a priestess of Inanna/Ishtar takes a vow of chastity that is only broken for the new year's festival, where the sacred marriage is re-enacted (100 points for research well done, as this choice reflects the latest debate on the topic of priestesses). I especially enjoyed the conscious choice to portray Shamhat as not only beautiful, but working to maintain that beauty as it is her job to be beautiful. I.e. Shamhat is trained to move gracefully, speak pleasantly, and paint her face to look pretty. Yet this does not diminish her personality or turn her into a vapid airhead (as it would had a man written this if we're being honest).
I can only applaud Roberts' choice to have a female protagonist use make-up heavily without making a big deal out of it, without having it vilify her, without feeding the stereotypes of "women who work for their beauty" we all read daily. It should not be this big a deal to write a female protagonist with three-dimensional personality who also wears make-up and jewelry, but sadly it is.
All in all, I loved this fast-paced well-constructed book. It could have been longer (i.e. more in depth) simply because I want to read more about these characters and their lives, but nonetheless the narrative left them at a good point in time (read: everything's resolved). I will definitely check out more by this author and recommend this book to everyone I know.
Short version: I've loved this book. It was a quick read, rich in atmosphere, easy to get into even if you're not at all into Mesopotamia. And if you're into Mesopotamia you'll be pleased to know that the book's portrayal is highly accurate and in accordance with current research. There's romance (well done), there's mention and vague description of rape (plot-relevant and based on the source material), there's a beautiful well-rounded female protagonist who uses feminity as her weapon (but this does not make her a sex bomb, and there's so much more to her!). Plot is fast-paced, consistent, and the stakes are ultimately high which forces the protagonists to make life-altering choices (yay!). The story is told in third-person narrator with changing point of views which are clearly indicated. All in all I highly recommend this novel.
Long version:
Upon my first reading of the Gilgamesh Epic itself, I thought to myself "wow, someone should write a book from Shamhat's point of view. There's probably far more to her than the poems allude to." And I was overjoyed to find out someone did indeed write that book, and wrote it well. I was thoroughly captivated by the writing style, drawing me in and keeping me reading so I finished the book far quicker than I usually would. Roberts manages to choose her words carefully enough to build a whole world in your mind, while keeping things going and interesting. There is no boring bit in the whole book, yet the world felt rich and real to me at the same time. Even if you don't know a single thing about Mesopotamia or the Gilgamesh Epic, you will not be lost. Roberts portrays customs and rites in such a natural, self-evident way that you feel in touch immediatelly. And if you do have a background in Ancient Near East Studies (as I have), you'll be pleased to hear that Roberts did her homework - every detail is well researched, words are used correctly. I grinned to myself everytime she referenced well-known bits of the original epic, or hinted at archaeological cases that still get told anecdotically in academia (such as the strange man-in-net-skirt).
The characters in Like Mayflies in a Stream feel alive and tangible. They've all got personalities that inform their behavior - especially so the four protagonists Shamhat, Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Zaidu. The problems they face feel real and justified, and their solutions are drastic to match. With the high stakes of the climax of the book, I feared the author may backpedal, but she pulled through and had her characters make the tough choices that such stakes demand.
There's romance in this as well. Aside from Enkidu and Gilgamesh, who Roberts purposefully portrayed in an ambiguous way (is the b still part of this bromance? A question asked by many a historian), the protaogonists experience romance as well - and a very pleasing disgruntled-bickering-comrades-to-mutual-pining romance at that. I loved it. And one hardly sees honest romance in this kind of "historic novel", if you can call it that - the usual assumption, especially among male scholars of the field of ancient near east studies, is that there was no romance in 2k BCE, men owned women, and women were no more than sexy lamps (or candles). As such, Roberts portrayal of a priestess of Inanna/Ishtar was truly refreshing: Countless male scholars have assumed a priestess serving the goddess of love+war must be whores. At all times. And vapid airheads as well. Roberts chose a different path of assuming a priestess of Inanna/Ishtar takes a vow of chastity that is only broken for the new year's festival, where the sacred marriage is re-enacted (100 points for research well done, as this choice reflects the latest debate on the topic of priestesses). I especially enjoyed the conscious choice to portray Shamhat as not only beautiful, but working to maintain that beauty as it is her job to be beautiful. I.e. Shamhat is trained to move gracefully, speak pleasantly, and paint her face to look pretty. Yet this does not diminish her personality or turn her into a vapid airhead (as it would had a man written this if we're being honest).
I can only applaud Roberts' choice to have a female protagonist use make-up heavily without making a big deal out of it, without having it vilify her, without feeding the stereotypes of "women who work for their beauty" we all read daily. It should not be this big a deal to write a female protagonist with three-dimensional personality who also wears make-up and jewelry, but sadly it is.
All in all, I loved this fast-paced well-constructed book. It could have been longer (i.e. more in depth) simply because I want to read more about these characters and their lives, but nonetheless the narrative left them at a good point in time (read: everything's resolved). I will definitely check out more by this author and recommend this book to everyone I know.
aneides's review against another edition
4.0
This story is a (fairly) realistic novelization of the Epic of Gilgamesh that is told mostly- but not entirely- from the point of view of the priestess who has been sent to tame the wild man Enkidu. The premise is a good one and the author does an excellent job of fleshing out many details of ordinary life in Sumerian times. I mostly enjoyed the story but, as usual, have a few small gripes...
In the process of making the story more realistic, some of the mythic resonance of the original tale is lost, especially when the author uses modern idiom. Also, the pace of the story seems a little off, richly detailed and increasingly suspenseful for the first, say, two-thirds and then sort of petering out at the end. I was a little disappointed that there were no details about the two quests from the point of view of Gilgamesh or Enkidu... but events of those journeys are far from "realistic," which may be one reason the author chose to leave them out. I wonder how this story would do if written with more of a flavor of magical realism.
But those criticisms are minor. I think this story really is worth having a look at.
In the process of making the story more realistic, some of the mythic resonance of the original tale is lost, especially when the author uses modern idiom. Also, the pace of the story seems a little off, richly detailed and increasingly suspenseful for the first, say, two-thirds and then sort of petering out at the end. I was a little disappointed that there were no details about the two quests from the point of view of Gilgamesh or Enkidu... but events of those journeys are far from "realistic," which may be one reason the author chose to leave them out. I wonder how this story would do if written with more of a flavor of magical realism.
But those criticisms are minor. I think this story really is worth having a look at.
andrewfontenelle's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn’t familiar with the Epic of Gilgamesh, but enjoyed reading this retelling of the ancient tale.
yazerk's review against another edition
4.0
http://betweentwobooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-review-like-mayflies-in-stream-by.html
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