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J.R.R. Tolkien: The Silmarillion

There's a certain magic in the Silmarillian that really delighted me when I read it, but somehow when I try to point out the beauty of my favorite passages to my friends all the magic disappears. I dunno, maybe it's not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I liked Turin Turambar's tale even better than Beren and Luthien.
 
for me this book need to read as appendix for lord of the rings, and after her reading i got many things about middlearth history, but the text is really very advantaged different sings of heroes
 
Tolkien once said, “Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming a “sub-creator” and inventing stories, can Man ascribe to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall.” This is why, I believe, that it is with The Silmarillion that Tolkien achieves his philosophical ideal. I personally enjoyed the The Silmarillion over The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. The entire text flows with a certain rhythmical cadence, reminiscent of many of the old epics; Hesiod has definitely had his influence here. With so many characters, events, and settings, it may sometimes seem a bit challenging (and tedious) to follow (and remember) what’s going on, (especially on a first read!) but that’s all part of the detailed tapestry that is The Silmarillion. Reading The Silmarillion gives invaluable insight to the scope of Tolkien’s creation, at which I can only marvel. It actually sent shivers down my spine to read about the origins of Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul.
 
I really liked it, and I read it twice:the first time over vacation and the second after I saw Return of the King. The book was moving and interesting, even when I had to occasionally stop and mentally go over what had happened several times.
 
It's actually about the history of Middle Earth and it does not involve "the ring'' but it does involve other rings. One should read it, it's a great book, even if it takes a lot of time to finish. "The Unfinished Tales" come after this. That's great too.
 
Dawn said:
I'm having information overload! Too many places and too many names to remember. It's interesting stuff, but it may take me a while to finish. I wish I had a map and maybe a summary of events and a character tree.
Is it just me?
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No it's not just you.

I've been trying to read The Silmarillion for more or less 10 years and I always get stuck in the second chapter and I can't continue for some reason.

I think it's very very difficult to read even if you're used to reading difficult novels and other litterature.

But in my book (danish edition) I have a really nice map of BELERIAND and The Countries to the North and 5 family trees.

Maybe someone in here have a good idea to how I can get through it without getting stuck in the second chapter again.
 
TheMarine said:
It's a good read, even though it feels a lot like reading scripture.
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Exactly the way I felt. I just couldn't get through it though. Much too tedious. If I'm going to be this hard on myself when reading a book I'd rather it be the "Good" book.
 
One thing to keep in mind when you read The Silmarillion and many of Tolkien's other works is that he was writing in a style similar to that of the old Anglo-Saxon epics, like Beowulf, and also like that of the old Norse epics. He wanted to invent a history that could pass for real history. When you read The Hobbit or Roverandom or even The Lord of the Rings, the language is much less dense. It's not really fair to say that Tolkien was not a great writer...he was. With The Silmarillion, he was trying to achieve the style of the great epics of the past. That was the whole point.
 
I found the Silmarillion an easy read, though whenever I say this, people think I'm nuts. (Most likely true. :p) I love The Silmarillion. It is a beautiful book! However, a good companion that I highly recommend to this book is 'The Lays of Beleriand', book 3 in 'The History of Middle-earth' series. Skip the notes in it and just read the poetry! AMAZING. Its basically The Silmarillion in verse, only it wasn't quite finished unfortunately. It is still very beautiful and you will look at The Silmarillion in a different light. Another good one to read after TS is Unfinished Tales.
 
jcsoblonde said:
Another good one to read after TS is Unfinished Tales.
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I loved Unfinished Tales! I let my brother borrow it about 2 years ago, and I haven't gotten it back. It will be getting a reread when I do get it back! I also found The Silmarillion an easy read. I actually just reviewed it on my blog on Blogger (Bookworm's Oasis).
 
Yes I love Unfinished Tales! Hmm it deserves a re-read...but I'm on The Lord of the Rings right now so it will have to wait...I actually have a first edition of UT and TS! OH and another book I just thought of that is great with TS would be 'The Complete Tolkien Companion' by J. E. A. Tyler...I mean really if you are confused about names...or you want to know what happened to someone etc. its there.
 
I really enjoyed The Silmarillion too. At the beginning, I had trouble getting through the book, but after a while I got used to his writing-style in this book and I really love it. I haven't finished the book but hopefully I will be able to do it soon! I also have the Unfinished Tales with me, but I haven't started on that one.

My favorite part of The Silmarillion is actually the tales of the Valars. I found it really beautiful and captivating :)
 
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