The Story of Gilgamesh

The oldest written story on Earth, retold for children

Godlike Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, has built a beautiful city, but is also a terrible tyrant. In answer to the prayers of his oppressed citizens, the gods create Enkidu, a wild man whose destiny is to first fight Gilgamesh, and then become his life-long friend. They embark on adventures together, but when they – together – kill the Bull of Heaven, Enkidu must pay the ultimate price. In his grief and fear of his own death, Gilgamesh goes on a journey to discover the secret to immortality …

This is a story about how a child with an extraordinary yet destructive power became a man of wisdom and strength. This child, like you, had a very special name: Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh lived in a different time and possibly a different place than you and I: he lived about 4,800 years ago, which makes his story sound old—ancient, even. He lived in a city called Uruk, which, if you look on a map, you will find in Iraq, a country full of stories that are never-ending. But if you think that Gilgamesh’s story is an old and foreign one, I can guarantee you that it’s not. Read on, and you will find that his story is not unlike the stories of your parents and grandparents, your aunts or uncles, or your favourite teacher. One day you yourself, as a grown-up of wisdom and strength, may remember Gilgamesh’s story; you may realize then that it is not unlike your own or your best friend’s, and you may want to tell the story to your children, just as I am doing now.

96pp
Published 13/03/2014
ISBN 9781782690238
Pushkin Children’s Special Hardback
200mm x 194mm
£14.99

About Save the Story

The Story of Captain Nemo is one of ten titles in the Save the Story series published by Pushkin Children’s in 2013 and 2014. Save the Story is a library of favourite stories from around the world, retold for today’s children by some of the best contemporary writers. The stories they retell span cultures (from Ancient Greece to nineteenth-century Russia), time and genres (from comedy and romance to mythology and the realist novel), and they have inspired all manner of artists for many generations.

Save the Story is a mission in book form: saving great stories from oblivion by retelling them for a new, younger generation.

The Save the Story series includes:

Don Juan by Alessandro Baricco
Cyrano de Bergerac by Stefano Benni
The Nose by Andrea Camilleri
Gulliver by Jonathan Coe
The Betrothed by Umberto Eco
Captain Nemo by Dave Eggers
Gilgamesh by Yiyun Li
King Lear by Melania G. Mazzucco
Antigone by Ali Smith
Crime and Punishment by A. B. Yehoshua