Provoked by Gilgamesh

This humorous and idiosyncratic collection of letters forms the unusual story of Gilmour Walker, a middle-aged man who, desperately afraid of dying, sets out from his home, somewhere on the Nova Scotia shore, to find a way around death. His inspiration for the mission is his reading of the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, in which the hero also embarks on a quest for the secret of everlasting life. Following what he believes are the modern equivalents of Gilgamesh’s destinations, Gilmour visits such surprising places as Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and Death Valley. Yet this is no ordinary pilgrimage. Gilmour’s eccentric flow of thought can switch from Gilgamesh to Henry Miller playing ping pong naked or a rejection of Auden’s thesis in The Enchafèd Flood. Moreover, the letters are accompanied by the caustic comments of an editor who finds Gilmour and the entire journey appalling, comments that caused Gilmour to abandon the project for many years. Now the letters appear for the first time, along with the comments of the rogue editor — the two creating an outrageously funny mashup.