How to Read “Gilgamesh” (2019)
I&#x27;m not an expert but I&#x27;ve probably read a whole lot more Near East literature than, considered over a population of billions, nearly everyone. In English translation, but still. A half dozen volumes, I think, cover to cover? Maybe seven?<p>Gilgamesh is the only work out of all of that, that I&#x27;d recommend to pretty much anyone who likes literature. Egypt has a couple promising, if relatively late, tales, but both are only the beginning of the story, so it&#x27;s impossible to know if they live up to that promise. Most of the rest, across languages and cultures, are very much an acquired taste, if they&#x27;re enjoyable at all. Gilgamesh is simply <i>good</i>.<p>Next best would probably be the Old Testament, but the older tales there are mostly worse-told than Gilgamesh, and the best writing is relatively recent.