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Title: The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien ISBN: 0-618-13504-9 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: April, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.42 (486 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: For the serious fan only
Comment: I will start by saying that it took me a while to read all of The Silmarillion. Of course part of that is that I was reading it when I was too young. That being said I think that it is a wonderful book. However, because of the way it was written and later edited, it is not a book for casual Tolkien fans.
The stories in the Silmarillion predate the Hobbit by millennia and are like other mythological stories; they add a depth to Middle-Earth, but are rather dry in their telling. Tolkien worked on the Silmarillion off and on from its inception around the time of the First World War to his death. From what I read he never imagined it to be published, yet I think Christopher Tolkien did an admirable job in piecing together his father's notes to show just how much detail, just how rich his father thought Middle-Earth was.
And all of this, from Tolkien's essays on Sir Gawain and the Green Night to the Hobbit to the Lord of the Rings to the Silmarillion all show his love for Language. He created his Middle-EArth to show how Language grows with the telling of stories; good and bad, dry and dynamic. We have what we have and it all must be taken as a whole, not as individual pieces.
Looking at it that way one can truly see the genius of John Ronald Ruel Tolkien.
Rating: 5
Summary: Tolkien's Masterpiece, and Our Great Good Fortune
Comment: Yes, this book is hard to read. Anything is hard to read when your eyes are red and puffy and flowing with tears. Early in his life, JRR Tolkien delved out of his mind and experience a literary jewel of unsurpassed brilliance. He faceted and polished it with genius for the rest of his long life. The Silmarillion has the scope and substance of the Old Testament, combined with the glory and tragedy of the Illiad, the Odyssey and the works of the Bard.
Neither Feanor, nor Dante, nor the inspirited recounters of our own Story ever created something more beautiful or enduring. And yet, this epic tale of the history of a World, and of its many peoples, is told in language so spare that not a single word could be excised without grievous harm.
O! to have heard the Music. O! to have gazed upon the Light of the Trees. O! to have seen the Silmarils. O! to have been in the company of Fingolfin when he contested the might of debased Morgoth. O! to have witnessed the beauty and constancy in love of Luthien.
My heart breaks for something that never was.
Rating: 3
Summary: Long and exhausting..
Comment: I was incredibly excited to begin with this book as i'm a pretty big fan of Tolkien. When i got it from a friend i immediately started reading it, hoping that it would enlighten me on the history and creation of Middle Earth.
I am amazed at the language and storyline Tolkien has come up with, it was beautifully written and is very complex.
However, the thing that i find disappointing in this book, is that, as many have stated, the amount of energy you spend to read it. It eventually wears you out and leaves you quite confused and not to mention, really tired for most of us. But I do give my respect to the master storyteller and I admire and praise him for the book's intricate tapestry of storyline and history.
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Title: Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien ISBN: 0345357116 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 August, 1988 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien ISBN: 0345340426 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 September, 1986 List Price(USD): $29.96 |
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Title: The Hobbit (Leatherette Collector's Edition) by J. R. R. Tolkien ISBN: 0395177111 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 24 October, 1973 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Histories of Middle Earth, Volumes 1-5 by J.R.R. Tolkien ISBN: 0345466454 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $32.97 |
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Title: The Book of Lost Tales 1 (The History of Middle-Earth - Volume 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien ISBN: 0345375211 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 22 April, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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