A.C.E. Bauer’s Gil Marsh is a modern re-imagining of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Bauer takes the age-old legend of the young prince’s heartbreaking loss and epic quest for immortality and places it in a modern American high school, centered on the charismatic, handsome cross country star, Gil. When Canadian Enko arrives, Gil’s place as star is threatened for the first time in his life. But it doesn’t take long for steadfast, kind-hearted Enko to win over Gil and the two young men become best friends. Their friendship is cut short by Enko’s tragic death and Gil’s world is turned upside down with his anger and grief. Determined to find Enko’s grave in Montreal and hunt down the immortal man who crafted his beloved Enko’s heirloom ring, Gil runs away from home with little money, direction, or plan. Before long he runs into both con artists and thieves but also kind, helpful people wiling to assist a young man in need.
Gil’s search for answers and his quest for some kind of closure is told in sparse language. It retains a myth-like quality in the way in which time and action are telescoped to move the reader along through the story. Certain crucial plot events and exchanges are more fleshed out, but muchof the backstory and action is told by the narrator in a “story-telling” manner, removing the immediacy and connection that the reader could have felt if more parts of the book had been narrated in an “in the now” kind of voice. The sparcity of language, swiftness of the plot, and the overall distanced narrative style of this tale makes it an easy to read, accessible bridge-to-literature.
- Posted by Cori