Gil Marsh (review)

Smart, athletic, and well liked, Gil works hard to deserve his good reputation. After initial jealousy, he forms a deep friendship with an equally talented and good-natured newcomer, Enko. Soon Enko is diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia that takes his life; before he dies, he gives Gil a garnet ring, a family heirloom made by a supposedly immortal blacksmith in the countryside north of Quebec. A griefstricken Gil is wounded further by learning that Enko will be buried at home in Quebec and that Gil's parents won't be taking him to visit his friend's grave for a final goodbye. Gil sets off alone for Quebec on his own on a quest to find the grave and the maker of the ring, hoping that perhaps the man's immortality is real, and that he will have the secret to bringing Enko back. As a contemporary treatment of the Epic of Gilgamesh, this has the right bones, but as a piece of young adult literature, the bones are disappointingly bare. Gil and Enko's fierce closeness develops rapidly and the book tells more than shows the relationship's significance. Gil's open talk of the deep love he bears his friend is couched in terms that more often signal a love affair in contemporary literature, so readers may misunderstand the boys' relationship as one based on homosexual feelings rather than the deeply homosocial sensibilities of the original epic. There's still reward in following his journey, however, even if it ends in closure rather than success. Aidan Chambers' classic Dance on My Grave (BCCB 8/83) is a more nuanced exploration of the same topic, but reluctant readers will find the quick pacing and well-defined themes here accessible, and the book provides some clear curricular possibility.