I came up with this because I learned from Tumblr that there’s apparently more than a hundred fanfics for The Epic of Gilgamesh on Ao3, and I think it’s poetic in a way how we’ve still never really gotten over the first story ever.
My answer would be Le Roman de Silence, from the early 1200s, which is about the adventures Silence, a boy who was born as a girl (that’s the author’s way of describing him)and who eventually becomes a knight. I just stumbled across it randomly but I fell in love with it after reading it the first time, and I think it’s beautiful how something 1000 years old can still be around and not have lost any of it’s capability for arousing our emotions.
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Frankenstein
did you know there is a retelling? “The Story of Silence” Alex Myers. it was a joy to read!
I used to love Homer’s Odyssey and the Metamorphoses by Apuleius, but recently I have also switched to more medieval stuff and I must say I love Ysengrimus.
Demian by Hermann Hesse, tho it’s not that old. This book is like a life mentor for me. It even piqued my interest in author himself and Germany. I even started to learn German because of the book.
Gilgamesh
For people wondering if they should read the epic of Gilgamesh, it has a bromance at the level of Achilles and Patroclus but just a bit more. Enkidu and Gilgamesh.
What’s the best way to read it? I have never been able to found a book or collection that has the complete work, just summaries.
I suggest Gilgamesh: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell
Such Bromance
But it is also a meditation on mortality, thus covering the rest of the Iliad, and a story of adventure and return, thus covering the Odyssey (yes yes, I’m talking very loosely). And a reflection on civilization vs wild nature, and a precursor to the flooding myth. And and and.
Do read it
I cannot forget Achilles! Best one!
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.
I’ve got to go with “Gilgamesh,” but I must admit I’ve never written any fanfic for it ;)
I’ve loved the Epic of Gilgamesh since I read it in college. I also love both The Iliad and The Odyssey and am currently reading Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey. But my all time favorite is Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.
Wasn’t he that rogue that raped and pillaged and then wrote his books in prison cause he got bored? Those were the most beautiful Arthur stories I read, I think
Beowulf
Wiglaf the OG ride or die 😤
Gargantua and Pantagruel! Banned by civil and church authorities alike for being a poignant and truly hilarious satire.
I might have to read it just based off that description!
I might have to read it just based off that description!
The Canterbury Tales
I feel like I’d enjoy that if I read it in full. About the only description of prank by rimming I’ve ever heard of. “Bawdy” seems about right.
For me, I suppose it would be Mallory’s The Death of Arthur. I audiobook-ed an abridged version and was surprised by just how much dramatic power it had near the end.
Also, even though I’ve lapsed as a believer, there’s a lot in The Bible that’s good on artistic grounds separate from religious significance. “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” or Psalm 23, for instance.
100% props to the translators, old and new of course. There are three languages in the original version. Three
Epic of Gilgamesh. I started with Illiad but I’ll be honest it’s looooong
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens. Read it once a year without fail on July 4th. Kidding… Christmas time of course.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is pretty epic