Martel-Harper Challenge - Second Quarter, 2009 - Completed!!

This is the first challenge that I've completed on time in a few months. And I completed it two months early!
The idea of the Martel-Harper Challenge comes from the list of books that Canadian author Yann Martel has sent to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Martel sends him a new book and a letter about his choice every two weeks. The challenge is to read two of the books from the list every quarter. The list is incredibly varied, as you can tell from the books that I have chosen from it. You can find the list, and read more about it at What is Stephen Harper Reading.
The two books that I read for this quarter were The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman and Gilgamesh, a translation by Stephen Mitchell. I had planned on reading Maus for last quarter, and reading the Bhagavad Gita this quarter, but because I didn't get Maus finished in time, the Bhagavad Gita gets pushed back.
These two books were so completely different, I can't really say whether or not I prefer one over the other. They were both books that I have wanted to read for some time, so I am glad that this challenge pushed me to do that finally. And for the next time around I will be sure to read the Bhagavad Gita, and another interesting choice off of this fascinating list.

Gilgamesh translated by Stephen Mitchell

Gilgamesh is the original epic poem, the first written piece of human literature. It is the story of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and his struggle with power and against death. I have never managed to read it before, and I picked up this copy, translated by Stephen Mitchell, because that is what is suggested by Yann Martel, in his letter to Stephen Harper on the subject. Yes, that's right, this book is my second read for the second quarter of the Martel-Harper Challenge. (Here is the full list and Martel's explanation.) Martel sends Harper two different copies of Gilgamesh, but I will only be discussing this translation, for now. (Here is the letter that Martel sent along with a copy of the book.)
The introduction that Mitchell provides is a lengthy description of the entire story, and it provided an excellent background for the reading. Yes, it told the entire plot, but I don't feel that Gilgamesh is something that can be spoiled by knowing the plot ahead of time. And once I got into the reading, I was swept up into the story. It really provides a fascinating look at life in ancient Sumeria. Of course, it cannot necessarily be taken as an accurate picture, because it is a story, after all, but simply the descriptions of the gods, and the temples, and the city of "great-walled Uruk" are revealing. Not having read any other translations of this work, I can't really compare it, but I really enjoyed this one, and would recommend it for anyone looking at reading this ancient tale.
This is also the third of the many, many books I plan on reading for the Really Old Classics Challenge. Soon really old classics are all I'll be reading!

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

The Complete Maus consists of both Maus I and II, bound together in a hardcover volume. I wanted to read them both together, to get the full story, and I am very glad I did. Maus is the story of Art Spiegelman's father, Vladek, and how he survived the holocaust. In the graphic novel, Jews are drawn as mice, Germans are cats, Poles are pigs, French are frogs, and Americans are dogs. The drawings make the material more unrealistic and yet they also draw us in more to the fact that though it seems unreal, this really happened.
Vladek survived the holocaust mainly through luck, but also by taking advantage of the situations he finds himself in. His wife, Art's mother, also survives, but ends up committing suicide more than 20 years later. The novel is not just about the holocaust, but it also documents Art's efforts to get his father's story. He does not have a very good relationship with his cantakerous father, and the novel shows how he has a difficult time being fair to his story. It gives the work more depth, and makes it that much more real to the reader. So much has already been said about this book, but I had never gotten around to reading it. I am so glad I did, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has ever considered picking it up.
This book is my first read for the second quarter of the 2009 Martel-Harper Challenge. As I have described in previous posts, this challenge follows the list of books that Canadian author Yann Martel sends to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In his letter to Harper about this choice, Martel says that we sometimes need to be ripped apart in order to find our own stillness. The story of the holocaust certainly does that, and Maus is an incredible way of telling that story. I am also trying to read some of the books that another book blogger, Dewey, read throughout her book blogging years. This is for the Dewey's Books Challenge. She reviewed Maus back in January of 2006. And of course as a graphic novel it counts for the Graphic Novels Challenge - also the New Author Challenge, as I have never read Art Spiegelman before.

Martel-Harper Challenge - Second Quarter, 2009

The Martel-Harper Challenge follows the list of books that Yann Martel sends to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to read. Martel sends Harper a new book every two weeks, along with a personalized letter about why he should read that particular book. So far, Harper doesn't appear to have read them, or at least he has not responded. But we can read along!
I have participated in this challenge since the last quarter of 2008, I think, so this will be the third time for me. I am still not sure I will be able to finish for the first quarter. I have Maus (#12) sitting on top of my stack of books, but I may not get to it in the next couple of days!! We shall see.
The goal of the quarterly challenge is to read two books from the list. My list:

• Gilgamesh (either # 41 or #42 from the list, I'm not sure which translation I'll pick up)
• The Bhagavad Gita (#5)

Hopefully I will get to Maus before the month ends (I have three more days!), but if not, it will certainly be on this list.