The Silmarillion

I bought The Silmarillion a long time ago in paperback, settled down and started to read. I gave up after a few pages feeling bored and confused. What was this? It was like reading the Bible. I just couldn't get into it. However, a few months later I tried again. Still didn't like it. And then later I tried again. Once more I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. Bored, bored, bored. In the end I gave my paperback to charity. Many years later I decided I would try The Silmarillion again. This time I bought it in hardback, thinking that I could guilt myself into reading it as I'd paid so much for it. I knew I was having difficulty reading the first chapters so I forced myself to read two pages a day (not an ideal way to enjoy a book!). Then something magical happened. I found myself enjoying it. By the time I had reached chapter 6 "Of Feanor and the unchaining of Melkor" I was completely gripped and couldn't put the book down. I didn't want it to end. I actually felt quite bereft when I'd finished it. The stories of Feanor and his sons and the Silmarils, the fall of Gondolin, the love story of Beren and Luthien, the tragic story of Turin Turambar all completely enthralled me. It is difficult to put into words how completely captivating and engrossing these stories are. How one man had all this inside his head is beyond me. I have one tiny gripe. Why on earth isn't Thangorodrim and Angband on the map included in the book? It's like leaving Mordor off the map of Middle Earth in LOTR. It's essential. In the end I bought Karen Wynn Fonstad's map book 

Truly a book you must read by Tolkien! You will be spell bound and will have trouble putting it down.

This book is essential above all others in understanding TLOTR movies and show. This book was written posthumously, wherefore it ties up all the loose ends not covered in the movies and show. It's not the most enjoyable read I have to admit. It reads more like a textbook rather than a novel, tying several stories into one book. However, I did read it all through and I'm glad I did. I read the main chapters first, then went back to the smaller stories. I totally recommend this book. Especially if you're just starting out with the books or if you want to understand everything better overall, I'd read this 1 first.

There are no Hobbits in J. R. R. Tolkien's Silmarilion. This may appear to be a trivial observation but it is an observation worth considering when reading Tolkien's works. Tolkien, it seems, wrote in two styles. He had a "low" style that he used in The Hobbit. This was a familiar, wryly humorous style, perhaps too deliberately written for children in places to be entirely successful as a children's story. The other style is a grand, epic style, more suited for the affairs of kings, elves and great battles. The Lord of the Rings was a mixture of these two styles. It began in much the same style as The Hobbit, but as the story became more serious and the danger of the Ring and its pursuers more acute, the style became darker and more serious to match. By The Return of the King, with its tale of the great War of the Ring, the style became almost entirely, but not quite, the grand style. There were always the hobbits to return the story to a more down to earth level. The Silmarilion is written entirely in the grand style. The stories are epic tales of gods, elves and men fighting against the first, and far mightier, dark lord Morgoth. There is little room for the sort of humble details of everyday life found in The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings. The characters are all kings and heroes of ancient times, not humble gardeners. This is not to say that The Silmarilion is not a good book to read. It is an excellent book, and Tolkien is, in his way, comparable to the great composers of national epics like Homer or Vergil. That was indeed his intention when he began writing these stories of the Elder Days and to some extent he did succeed. There are actually five parts to the Silmarilion. The first part is called the Ainulindale and tells of the creation of the world by Eru, the One, who the Elves call Illuvatar. Illuvatar first creates the angelic powers or Ainur, and teaches them to sing to a melody He has made. This song was a vision of the world and many of the Ainur longed to dwell in that world so Illuvatar created it and sent the Ainur, or Valar to complete the work of creating and ordering the world. This they did against the opposition of Melkor, the mightiest of the Valar, and one who sought to rule the world for himself. The next section is called the Valaquenta, is simply a list of the chiefs of the Valar and their names, and attributes. There is not a narrative here, but it is useful to read it as a guide for later The middle and longest section is the Quenta Silmarilion, or the Silmarion proper. This is the epic story of the Elves in the First Age of Middle Earth. The Silmarilion tells of the awakening of the Elves in the dark times when Melkor ruled Middle Earth. The Valar go to war against Melkor to save the Elves and he is defeated and imprisoned. TheValar then offer to take the Elves to their home, Valinor, far in ...

The Silmarillion will be one of those books that you will continue to study long after you complete your first read through. It is a true tapestry of story telling and hidden wonder. It's hardy reading. If reading were compared to having a meal, this work is truly an 8 course feast. I do not recommend it for the casual reader. It's a historical narrative with exhaustive details concerning migration family lineage and wars great and terrible that will make your head spin, but in a good way. When you reach the end you will be grateful for everything you have read. You will have a better understanding of the LotR and want more! Prepare a pipe of good "Old Toby" and a mug of your favorite tea and read for a while. You will not regret it.