GILGAMESH, A NOVEL
Published : in Sydney, Australia by Picador in 2001Published : in Great Britain by Atlantic Books in 2003
Gilgamesh is the oldest written work known to man, and the parallels of the
characters in this story echo the saga. A strange and unusual novel, but worth
reading nevertheless.
A strange and unusual story about an immigrant English family living in
outback Australia, trying to survive against overpowering odds. After the
death of the father, and the mother’s decline into senility, the two girls are left
to fend for themselves. Their lives are changed forever when they are visited
by their cousins from London. The one is an Armenian, who brings an exotic
taste of the unknown.
In her innocence the one sister is seduced, and after the departure of both
men, she gives birth to a son. Persuading herself that somehow she will follow
her lover back to his country and show him his child, she manages to get to
England and travels on to Armenia with the boy, Jim. Arriving in the early
1940’s at the start of the Second World War, the mother and child’s initial fear
and wonder at the strange lives colliding with theirs changes to love and
understanding as they are absorbed into a society and culture utterly different
from everything they have left.
Following the faintest of traces of the long-lost lover and unaware of the forces
pulling them apart whilst at the same time linking them together, she
continues to search for him. The child is growing into a strange, self-sufficient,
fey little man, old before his time, and gradually she comes to realise that
unseen forces militate against her finding happiness in Armenia.
When her London cousin Leopold arrives unexpectedly to rescue her from the
clutches of the secret service and the Russians, Emily is persuaded that her
only chance of survival is to return to Australia. Her lover has died and her
odyssey is over. In telling her the story of Gilgamesh, the world’s most ancient
saga, Leopold explains that the legend is a story about growing up, as she
has had to do through her journey to Armenia. Persuaded to return to
Australia to face the challenges of her life and family, she finally finds the
peace and happiness for which she has been searching.