My particular copy has an extensive introduction that's both more and less than a translator's preface; it's more in that it contains a both a summary of the events of the epic, as well as a historical background of the re-discovery of the poem, historical events in Mesopotamia, relation of the epic to the Bible and to Homer, and a brief overview of the deities involved (since most readers aren't as familiar with Enlil and Shamash as they are with, say, Zeus and Aphrodite). Unfortunately, this is less than a translator's preface in that 50 pages in, our writer admits that this isn't a translation from the cuneiform (which, in Sandars' defense, would be exceedingly tedious, I would imagine), but a straightforward narrative that avoids a line-by-line translation. I'm of two minds here; the first is that I would much prefer a straightforward narrative, as I'm aware how clunky translated poetry can be, particularly with regards to meter. On the other, it's a little frustrating to get something that may be taking liberties with the original text. (Of course, our writer promises to "[add] nothing that is not vouched for by scholarship, nor omitting anything of which the meaning is beyond doubt . . .")
The epic moves quickly and easily, but feels disjointed at times (Sandars notes the relatively sparse language of the original). Some of this could be chalked up to uncertainties in ordering (it's mentioned that there's disagreement among scholars whether a dream sequence should be prior to or after a confrontation), but much of it seems to be the narrative itself. I'm glad I read this, as it's an incredibly important work of literature, but I'd prefer Homer or Virgil. (Although the big advantage to this is length and ease of reading -- this can be knocked out in an hour or two)
