Inanna

Starred review from January 25, 2016
This book by Echlin, best known for her novels (The Disappeared), is both exacting scholarly work and presentation of exquisite poetry from about 1800 BCE; a stunning hybrid story-cycle and reference text. Echlin's careful and considered translation of the stories and hymns of Inanna revivify the Mesopotamian goddess cum complex myth-figure. But it's Echlin's prefaces to the translated works, along with her included list of gods, replete introduction, glossary, list of source texts, and concise bibliography, that will make this a volume highly prized by both scholars and casual readers. Though aspects of Echlin's approach to the translation build on the work of other scholars, her translations themselves are derived directly from the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature and Other Sources. Echlin discusses her methodology and intent in her introduction, and her respect for and appreciation of the work itself is deeply evident. "My guiding idea in this translation has been to preserve the power of the poetry," she writes. "I have tampered as little as possible with the original. I have worked on these stories with deep pleasure, knowing that literary invention cannot be held still by translation. Inanna is in constant motion." This vivacity is well-evidenced in Echlin's superb translation, which should be considered an essential text.