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The Buried Book, by David Damrosch
PDF Download The Buried Book, by David Damrosch
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Review
“An altogether compelling narrative of a crucial episode in cultural history. This is a book that vividly demonstrates why humanism matters and how it is enhanced by exercising an unconventionally broad reach.†―Robert Alter, author of The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, and Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley“The Buried Book is a thrilling intellectual adventure: a brilliant study of Gilgamesh, it is also a rich and complex narrative of colonialist adventurers, obsessed scholars, anxious theologians, and contemporary writers all caught up in the ancient epic's amazingly wide net.†―Stephen Greenblatt, author of Will In The World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare“David Damrosch's The Buried Book is a remarkably original, narrative analysis of the loss, rediscovery, and literary-spiritual values of the ancient epic, Gilgamesh. There is somber wisdom and wit in Damrosch's comprehensive story, which finds room for Philip Roth's The Great American Novel and the murderous fictions of Saddam Hussein. It is salutary to be reminded by Damrosch that ultimately we and Islam share a common literary culture that commenced with Gilgamesh.†―Harold Bloom, author of Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?
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About the Author
David Damrosch is a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. He is the general editor of The Longman Anthology of World Literature and the founding general editor of The Longman Anthology of British Literature. He lives in New York City.
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Product details
Paperback: 315 pages
Publisher: Holt (December 26, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805087257
ISBN-13: 978-0805087253
Product Dimensions:
5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.3 out of 5 stars
34 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,088,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The writing is good. He takes the reader from initial discovery to the Saddam era. The author breathes life into the dry subject of discovery and artifacts decoding. I took one star off for the excursion into Ethiopia. It added nothing to the story and wasted a chapter. The notes and bibliography are very good. For more on the subject are: Myths from MesopotamiaBy Stephannie Dalley 2008 reissued. She is a current day excavator in Mesopotamia. Robert Silveber's book - Gilgamesh the King, (is a tale that melds Gilgamesh into a Sci-fi tale).
The story begins in 19th century Iraq with the accidental discovery of the until then unknown Epic of Gilgamesh, and unlike most history books, works backwards in time slowly revealing the mystery of its origins and meaning - this chronology works well, not unlike an archaeological dig. The first half of the book is devoted to two unlikely and largely unsung heroes of the Victorian era who first found and deciphered the tablets, George Smith and Horzmud Rassam. Rassam is probably the most important and unique revelation of the book, as Damrosch restores an unfairly maligned scholar to his rightful place in history and perhaps some immortality. The second half of the book jumps backwards from the 19th century to when the Epic was written, discussing the history of the Assyrian kingdom, and the library where the tablets were buried. The tablets were buried around 700 BC when the city was sacked, and thus the Epic lain forgotten from that time until the 19th century. Had the city not been sacked and the tablets not buried, it is likely the Epic would have been lost forever, as most tablets from that period did not survive otherwise.This is a fun tale, both Smith and Rassam encompass dramatic lives as underdogs who rose from obscurity, overcoming Victorian prejudices of class and race. If nothing else the first half of the book is worth the price of admission, in particular Rassam's side adventure to Ethiopia. Damrosch's literary interpretation of the Epic (Ch. 6) provides valuable insights, such as the importance of cedar trees, making it less "foreign" (both in time and culture) and more universally human. I certainly came away with a new appreciation of the tales message of the quest for immortality.The Sources and Notes section includes an up to date guide of recent translations of the Epic, recommended reading before deciding which translation(s) to pursue.
The book itself is a good read. It is readable, enjoyable, and I dare say many can learn from it. It includes facts and events that are presented without being boorish or dry. Despite this, the book should not be relied upon as a historic account because the author presents his own biases and opinions mixed in with the actual facts of the stories. Each chapter of the book presents a different type of story that the author relates to the Epic of Gilgamesh. At times most obviously near the end of the book he begins to be less effective at convincing the reader of his comparisons.It is important to note that the author of this book is a Professor of Literature and not of History. When reading the book, it is not difficult to see this because the author takes liberties that a historian usually would not. He does a great job of creating an environment where an appreciation of the Epic (and the work it took to make it available) can be developed. Where he shows his hand, is when he infuses thoughts and opinions into characters and historical figures that are just guesses on his part, and presents them as fact. Unless there are tablets that state these things specifically, we cannot "know" what the thoughts and motivations behind certain people and characters were. We can make educated guesses but many motives are lost to history.The next problem I saw with the book is that the passages he includes from supporting works aren't the best possible for each scenario. This is most obvious in the final chapters of the book when the author attempts to parallel former dictator Saddam's book with Gilgamesh. When he presents parts of Saddam's work it is not relevant to Gilgamesh at all. Rather, he highlights "the raciest scene in the book" followed by the story of the rape of Zabibah. This seems rather out of place when trying to draw parallels.In other parts of the book, when recounting parts of the Epic of Gilgamesh the author concentrates on Enkidu's lovemaking with Shamhat the harlot as well as Ishtar's attempt at seducing Gilgamesh. One wonders why the author concentrates on scenes of this particular type for analysis. In addition, other parts of the book seem out of place. For example, there is an anecdote about Rassam's daughter that appears to serve no purpose. Why would the author single out one of his many children to write about when Rassam had several children. Why only Rassam's daughter, and not George Smith's children also?Despite these few minor complaints, this is a good and well written book. The insight into the history of the Epic is welcome.
I bought this book in order to read the story of George Smith, the young genius who assembled and translated Tablet XI of the Gilgamesh Epic but then, sadly, died just as his promising scholarly career was really taking off.Along with it, I got several more great stories, including:1) the story of Hormuzd Rassam, the Iraqi who made great discoveries for the British Museum but was never accepted by the British elite despite his archaeological and diplomatic achievements.2) the story of Esarhaddon, a paranoid Assyrian king, and his scholarly and ruthless son Assurbanipal, who assembled a great library and dismembered his enemies during a 40-year reign.3) the story of the Gilgamesh epic itself.4) the "search for the historical Gilgamesh".5) the way the Gilgamesh epic is still used by modern authors from Philip Roth to Saddam Hussein.I find Smith's story especially compelling, and I find it fascinating that we now have so much detailed information about the ancient Assyrian kings.
of course, one must first read Gilgamesh, in all translations---i prefer the original cuniform tablets, but the stephen mitchell translation will do. it's the oldest book in the world--- records the Flood 2000 years before the Bible and was probably inspired by an alien race that interacted with the ancient mesopotamian peoples of that age. But it is also a very great story in it's own right and is well worth reading. the story of it's discovery and translation is a treat.
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