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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Ellen Rachlin’s Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands is set in Mesopotamia during the late third millennium BCE, where Enheduanna, born Ana, is sent by her brother King Rimush to take power as the high priestess in Ur, a city shaped by unrest and resistance to the Akkadian rule. Her journey turns violent when she is seized by forces loyal to a rival claimant who rejects her power and is bent on using her as a symbol of opposition. After surviving brutal captivity, she enters Ur, determined to establish control through temple leadership and political direction while facing hostility from the priesthood and networks loyal to her enemies. As rebellion spreads under Yahatti, who moves to weaken her influence, Enheduanna must secure loyalty among a divided population while redefining her role in a city where power is never settled.
Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands is a sweeping and gorgeous historical novel set in the Akkadian period with true, immersive detail. Rachlin's period construction shines through in the temple economies depicted with grain allocation and metal tracking, and ceremonial rituals linked to divine representation and royal legitimacy. Rachlin doesn't give Enheduanna an easy ride, and because of this, we see her grow into herself. I love Etana, who is defined as much through his action and loyalty as the horrid Yahatti is vicious and destabilizing. The settings are textured and visual, from the giparu in Ur that serves as both residence and administrative center, to the Ekur in Nippur with its ritual movement within sacred space. Readers who have enjoyed the likes of Michelle Moran and Margaret George will delight in the fresh voice of Ellen Rachlin. Very highly recommended.
