The Tablet of Destinies
Published on 16. November 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
128 pages
978-0-14-199845-9 (ISBN)
Description
An immersive and mesmerizing narrative that reimagines the Mesopotamian myth of the Great Flood
A long time ago, the gods grew tired of humans and decided to send a flood to destroy them. But Ea, the god of fresh underground water, didn't agree. He advised one of his devotees, Utnapishtim, to build a quadrangular boat to house humans and animals, and saved these living creatures from the Flood.
Rather than punish Utnapishtim for his disobedience, Enlil, King of the gods, granted the mortal eternal life and banished him to the island of Dilmun. Thousands of years later, when Sinbad the Sailor is shipwrecked and arrives on that very same island, the two begin a conversation about courage, loss, salvation and sacrifice.
A long time ago, the gods grew tired of humans and decided to send a flood to destroy them. But Ea, the god of fresh underground water, didn't agree. He advised one of his devotees, Utnapishtim, to build a quadrangular boat to house humans and animals, and saved these living creatures from the Flood.
Rather than punish Utnapishtim for his disobedience, Enlil, King of the gods, granted the mortal eternal life and banished him to the island of Dilmun. Thousands of years later, when Sinbad the Sailor is shipwrecked and arrives on that very same island, the two begin a conversation about courage, loss, salvation and sacrifice.
Reviews / Votes
A universe of blood, violence, and magic . . . A vigorous rendering of the remote past * Kirkus * Stimulating . . . Calasso's style calls to mind [Italo] Calvino's dreamlike fabulism . . . and Parks's translation is beautifully rendered and gripping, maintaining Calasso's dreamlike tone . . . Calasso vividly creates a world of gods and humankind that is unfamiliar, poetic, and memorable. This slim volume packs a potent and thought-provoking punch * Publishers Weekly * The 11th volume of the late Italian writer and polymath's investigation of ancient religion interprets Mesopotamian mythology to tell the story of Utnapishtim, an eternal figure who saved life on Earth from a catastrophic flood sent by vengeful and murderous gods * The New York Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 192 mm
Width: 125 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
102 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-199845-9 (9780141998459)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Persons
Roberto Calasso was born in Florence in 1941. An author and publisher, he began working at Adelphi Edizioni from its founding in 1962 and continued as director for fifty years. The Book of All Books is the tenth part of a series that began with The Ruin of Kasch and includes the international bestseller The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony as well as Ka, K., Tiepolo Pink, La Folie Baudelaire, Ardor, The Celestial Hunter and The Unnamable Present. He died in Milan in 2021.