Download The Silmarillion eBook JRR Tolkien Christopher Tolkien

Product details File Size 5068 KB Print Length 357 pages Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Reissue edition (February 15, 2012) Publication Date February 15, 2012 Language English ASIN B007978PGI

The Silmarillion eBook JRR Tolkien Christopher Tolkien Reviews

• Let's begin...
  
  First, I'm not what people call a "Tolkien purist" or a "Tolkien fanatic" or whatever. I read "Lord Of The Rings" only once (liked it a lot), "The Hobbit" only once (liked it, but less than "Lord Of The Rings"), watched the movies, and, only now, I stared "The Silmarillion" in the eye!
  
  And I loved it. With all my heart. The book is majestic, breathtaking, excting. Let me get to some points
  
  a. I completely understand those who not enjoy the writing style or the book itself, even thoso who KNOW that this is not a novel, but almost a history book of a fictional mythology.
  
  b. There is violence. A lot. A lot of violence. It's tragedy after tragedy after tragedy, after betrayal, etc. But there is no gore. There are no cheap George R.R. Martin moments here.
  
  c. The Glossary is amazing. All one needs to do, in order to rembember all the names that appear in the book, is to consult the glossary at the end of the book.
  
  d. I think one should understand the following, about the writer's writing style for Tolkien, EVERY WORD COUNTS. There's no verborragia, no filler. He is set on a mission to tell a fable, and he does so with economy of word, but with deep impact.
  
  The negative aspect of reading this book is that, day after day, I enjoy LESS the movies!
• I have just completed my second reading of The Silmarillion and was, again, astounded by the breathtaking scope of what Tolkien set out to accomplish. This is nothing less than a history of Middle Earth, from the creation of the world, to the end of the second age. (For the few who may not know, the events of The. Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place during, and constitute the end of, the third age of Middle Earth.) It is an epic work that Tolkien labored on for most of his life and, indeed, had not completed at the time of his death. His son, Christopher, set out to assemble the most complete and cohesive versions of his father's many drafts, and the result of those labors is this volume.
  
  The lion's share of this book, and the reason for it's title, is the history of the Silmarils, jewels of surpassing beauty that capture the essence of the long lost light of the trees of Valinor, from before there was a sun and moon. The story of their creation, subsequent theft by the dark lord Morgoth, and the many acts of bravery, heroism, sacrifice and betrayal involved in the quest to recover them, form the most compelling narrative of the book. And, make no mistake, it is very compelling at times. It can also be confusing and overwhelming at times.
  
  This is not an easy read. The sheer volume of character and place names the reader needs to keep track of is enough to turn many readers away. (In dealing with this, I found the version, with its easy access to x-ray and wikipedia references, invaluable.) The prose style can be off-putting as well, written, as it is, from on high. In a tale of this scope, there is little time for in depth character exploration and little thought of relatability. Though the tales are rich and fascinating, there is little danger that you will fall in love with any of the characters. It's not that kind of book.
  
  In short, this is not a book for the casual Lord of the Rings fan. For those wishing to delve deeper into the rich world of that story, however, this is essential reading.
• WARNING SOME SPOILERS
  
  I first read Lord of the Rings when I was ten years old. Since then I've been a passionate fan, reading the books multiple times throughout the years. When I was eighteen, I tried to read the Silmarillion; it took a few tries, but I finally got past the rather heavy, slow beginning and had reached the part where Morgoth and Ungoliant escape from Valinor with the Silmarils. Then I lost the book and couldn't find it for a long time. By the time I did find it, I had forgotten a lot of what I'd read and couldn't seem to get back into it. So I put it aside, and the book was lost during a move.
  I did purchase The Children of Hurin, which I loved and have read several times.
  
  But I finally read The Silmarillion last month and now I'm like, why in the WORLD did I wait so long? This book is seriously epic. Even the beginning, slow as it is, is pure poetic prose. The names are magic. And so much that I hardly noticed in LotR, because I didn't understand it, makes sense now. Beren and Luthien it's so much more than just a love story (and there's a heroic dog, too!). Earendil I always had a hard time reading through Bilbo's song about Earendil because it was so long and didn't seem to make a lot of sense. Now that I know who he was and why he built the ship and journeyed through perilous waters, I love the poem and the story behind it.
  And elves! By the time of LotR they are fading; you only get glimpses of who they really are or were. In The Silmarillion, they are full-on amazing. Tragic, stubborn, bull-headed, valiant, so many words to describe them. The human characters are awesome too. Hurin isn't just Turin's father; he is a mighty warrior in his own right, and faces Morgoth down and mocks him (with tragic consequences, unfortunately).
  This stuff is epic in every sense of the word.
  When I finished reading, I was reeling a bit from all the feelings it gave me. It was almost like experiencing Lord of the Rings for the first time, just this time I was older and able to appreciate it even more.
  This is absolute poetry from someone who knew just the right way to make every word sound like music. It's also an amazing epic from a man who had some kind of crazy busy imagination.
  
  The Akallabeth is epic too, but it's much more condensed and doesn't have the same weighty feeling of ancient history (though it too takes place long before LotR). It's valuable, though, because in it we learn about the Men of the West, where Elendil and Isildur came from, and also we see the first rise of Sauron after his own master's defeat. The Akallabeth has basically no elves; this is a story of men, of the rise and then terrible fall of the Numenoreans. I can't say that I enjoyed it as much as The Silmarillion; but of course it would be hard to top that!
  
  In conclusion, I'm so glad that I read this at last; and though I sort of wish I'd read it sooner, the first-time experience of reading it was so amazing that I'm glad it was recent, as it still lingers in my mind. Go out and buy a copy of it, if you enjoyed Lord of the Rings. Persevere through those first chapters of set-up, and the payoff will be worth it. I promise.