96
4
227 * 299
06/01/2017
15+
Son of the noble heifer, Ninsun-la-bufflesse, and King Lugalbanda, Gilgamiesh is two thirds divine and one third human. A giant with unparalelled strength, he’s the king of Uruk. But he’s such a tyrant that Anu, father of all the gods, asks the goddess Aruru to create a duplicate of Gilgamesh capable of measuring up to him. So Aruru creates Enkidu, a hairy colossus who lives with the gazelles and is totally ignorant of humans until the day he comes across La Joyeuse, a courtesan charged with taming him. Enkidu establishes a deep friendship with Gilgamesh and accomplishes all sorts of feats – which end up displeasing the gods.
The legend of King Gilgamesh, which dates from the time of Mesopotamia, is one of the oldest known legends. This version (scheduled to be in two volumes) is a splendid story of friendship between two beasts from the initial confrontation (a clash of Titans) to a brotherly complicity. After spending one week with La Joyeuse, Enkidu clearly becomes more open to emotions and Gilgamesh, after contact with his hairy double, becomes more human.
It’s all told with a great respect for the nuances of the soul – the two giants have their petty weaknesses, expressed amusingly and with affection – all in a perfectly thought-out scenario. The language has all the majesty that one expects of a legend (and humor, too) and the superb illustration is spare, sensitive, fabulousy lit and well-composed
