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Curious
Half-elven
Sep 1 2010, 7:12pm
Post #1 of 22
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Did you read The Silmarillion in 1977? If so, what did you think *at that time*?
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Again, I'm asking what you thought in 1977, when it first came out, with no idea what to expect. I know lots of people have grown to appreciate it since then.
Personally, I was very disappointed at the time, 1 out of 5. Since then, I've moved up and down again. Right now I'm probably at 3 out of 5, but I've gone as high as 4 out of 5.
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weaver
Half-elven
Sep 1 2010, 7:54pm
Post #2 of 22
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I was very excited when it came out, as I had just read LOTR for the first time when the Sil came out. I worked in a shopping mall then, with a book store right next door and I remember how hard it was to wait until the end of my shift before I could go home and dive into it. And then, I was quickly overwhelmed by the content and style...it took a lot of effort to read it and most of the time I'd end up only getting a few pages into it before I mentally checked out or actually fell over. I forced myself to make it all the way through but recalled absolutely nothing, though I blamed my difficulties with it on me and not Tolkien...so I was disappointed, but more in me than the Professor!
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CuriousG
Half-elven
Sep 1 2010, 8:24pm
Post #3 of 22
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I love history as pleasure reading, and I loved Tolkien, so it was an easy and pleasurable read for me. I thought and still think it was perfect overall.
I did have some disappointments, but they weren't flaws, just things I didn't like:
- The Silmarils aren't recaptured for long and end up in the sea, sky, and earth. Still, I'm not sure what would have happened to them: wind up in the Valmar museum? That would have been anti-climactic, I suppose.
- A big flaw was that Maglor and Maedhros were somehow capable, just the two, of killing the guards and stealing the Silmarils, and then being let go by Eonwe. At the very least, they should have been captured and sent to Aman for judgment for this crime (plus so many others).
- I HATED it when Gondolin and Nargothrond fell, especially because they were inspired by Ulmo, but I guess that's called "pathos" and part of the tragedy of the Oath of Feanor that dragged everyone and everything down. Not a flaw, just something I didn't want to see happen.
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Kangi Ska
Half-elven
Sep 1 2010, 8:35pm
Post #4 of 22
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It had to do with that piece of blotter paper with a tiny picture of The One Ring on it:  but seriously folks...
I did read it in 1977, as soon as I could get my hands on it. It was not what I had hoped for. It was something completely different. I was not disappointed, I read it three times right away and have read and listened to it on the unabridged audio CDs since. My only wish is that the Professor had lived long enough to put the stories into novels along the lines of LotR.
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dormouse
Half-elven
Sep 1 2010, 9:53pm
Post #5 of 22
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I've given it a 'loved it', 4 out of 5
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.... because for perfection I would have liked it to be longer. ;-) But I was captivated and find some of the imagery and the language never leaves you. The light of the Trees - the flowers springing at the feet of Fingolfin and his host at the first sunrise, Cuivienen, Finrod's first encounter with men. Loved it then, still love it now.
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Donry
Tol Eressea
Sep 1 2010, 10:56pm
Post #6 of 22
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I was 3.
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Finding Frodo
Tol Eressea
Sep 2 2010, 2:49am
Post #7 of 22
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or maybe 1984. I was a freshman in high school and most of it went over my head. My favorite part was the Quenta -- I adored the Biblical tone. I could not follow much else very well. I do remember giving an oral book report on it, but have no idea what I could have said!
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Tim
Tol Eressea
Sep 2 2010, 3:12am
Post #8 of 22
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I was seven years old. My big thing then was Star Wars I hadn't even heard of The Hobbit yet. Though I'm sure I would have loved to have read it I've always been a book worm.
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Alcarcalime
Tol Eressea
Sep 2 2010, 9:59am
Post #9 of 22
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and loved it! I didn't know what it was about, but I already loved Tolkien. I know it was after 1979 because OhioHobbit lent me his copy and I met him in October 1979.
I had read LOTR a couple of years before and I loved getting more Middle-earth.
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Curious
Half-elven
Sep 2 2010, 11:52am
Post #10 of 22
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that it was very different from LotR?
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Sep 2 2010, 2:02pm
Post #11 of 22
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I rushed out and bought it as soon as it hit the bookstores
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and started reading right away. My reaction was "WTF?" (Or would have been if I'd used that kind of language at the time.)
I guess I hadn't been paying very close attention, because I was expecting a story out of the Second Age for some reason, a story like LotR starring Isildur maybe. The Music of the Ainur was pretty, but kind of dull. I plowed through it, and perked up a little bit with Beren and Luthien. Turin seemed like a re-write of the Ring of the Nibelung, including a dwarf named Mim. I got a little shiver of joy when the elves looked up at the end and saw the Silmaril shining in the sky, but that one moment of joy seemed like a small payoff for hundreds of pages of dull.
I've only re-read it once since then, and it was a little better, but not much. I much prefer the rougher versions of the stories in BoLT and Unfinished Tales.
I used my initial reaction as a scene in a novel, and posted that scene in the Fan Art forum here.
(This post was edited by Aunt Dora Baggins on Sep 2 2010, 2:02pm)
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RosieLass
Valinor
Sep 2 2010, 7:58pm
Post #12 of 22
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I read it soon after it was published.
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Though it might not have been 1977. I had to wait to read it until my aunt gave it to me for a Christmas present.
I don't recall having strong feelings about it one way or the other.
I think I was surprised (disappointed?) that it wasn't another epic narrative like LOTR, and that it had so little about hobbits in it.
The "creation" story was interesting, because of the biblical parallels. Fëanor and the Silmarils and his stupid oath was a fascinating and appalling story. I get chills when I think about Maedhros and Húrin and other particularly striking bits. On the whole, however, the book didn't just grab my imagination the way LOTR did.
I can't even swear that I finished it the first time, because a lot of it was unfamiliar when I went back to read it again a couple years later. I don't think I would have blanked that much of it out, even if I didn't love it.
I think of it now more as a collection of historical documents than as a novel. But I haven't been able to bring myself to read it again. Twice (or once-and-a-half) was enough.
And I have never been able to get into the History of Middle-earth series at all.
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Sep 2 2010, 10:55pm
Post #13 of 22
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I also picked it up as soon as it became available in 1977. I don't recall what I was expecting it to be like, but I do remember also being a bit confused by it. I liked it, but it was so - different, and somewhat difficult to get my mind across!
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Idril Celebrindal
Tol Eressea
Sep 3 2010, 4:35pm
Post #14 of 22
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Bought it when it came out in paperback-- I still have that copy, too! It was definitely not what I expected. I too thought The Silmarillion would be more like an expanded version of LOTR. It took me a couple of re-reads to appreciate it.
Count me among those who wish that Tolkien had written some of the central stories in the format of a novel -- the fall of the Trees and the exile of the Noldor, Beren & Luthien, the Children of Hurin, Tuor & Idril, Earendil & Elwing, and the downfall of Numenor. Christoper Tolkien's presentation of an expanded version of the Children of Hurin just whetted my appetite and made me wish for more.
Maybe we'll have the chance to read them when we take that train to Niggle's Parish.
(This post was edited by Idril Celebrindal on Sep 3 2010, 4:36pm)
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Curious
Half-elven
Sep 3 2010, 5:04pm
Post #15 of 22
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is that it just isn't the same without a side-by-side comparison with Tuor's story. It's all yin and no yang, or vice versa -- Is Turin yin or yang?
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Idril Celebrindal
Tol Eressea
Sep 3 2010, 6:12pm
Post #16 of 22
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You're definitely on to something
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It seems to me that Tuor is yin to Turin's yang.
Yin embodies coolness, tranquility, slowness, yielding; it's the feminine principal that's associated with water, the moon and darkness. Tuor's a great warrior, but he's not aggressive. He strikes me as being introspective. When he acts, it's usually with good reason or after deliberation. He comes from darkness (brought up in a cave by Elves from an early age). He's the focus of a prophecy of Ulmo, Vala of water and the sea, and it's on the sea that he ultimately meets his end. Tuor values learning and lives the patient, tranquil life of a scholar in Gondolin.
Yang embodies heat, agressiveness, hardness and swiftness; it's the masculine principal that's associated with fire, the sun, and daylight. Turin is the quintessential aggressive, hair-trigger warrior. He's proud, impulsive and hot-tempered and lacks self-awareness. Yet he has a strong protective instinct and can act with kindess; he values women and always treats them honorably. He embraces action over wisdom and ends up doing as much damage to his allies and kin as he does to his enemies.
I'm not trying to paint Turin as evil; merely lacking balance. It's true of Tuor as well. Both of their character flaws stem from it. Turin could have used a bit of his cousin's patience and caution at any number of points in his life, while Tuor could have used a bit of his cousin's brashness and tried harder to convince Turgon to heed the prophecy of Ulmo. In Tuor's case, it led to disaster but ultimately the fulfilment of prophecy; in Turin's case, it led to tragedy but also to great glory as the slayer of Glaurung.
I wonder if this lack of balance was the meat of Morgoth's curse on Hurin's kin?
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Curious
Half-elven
Sep 3 2010, 11:52pm
Post #17 of 22
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Tuor lacks balance? Needs a little of Turin?
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The Valar forbid! That's an interesting thought, but I'm not sure that's what Tolkien had in mind. Tolkien was not a Buddhist, after all.
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Alcarcalime
Tol Eressea
Sep 4 2010, 10:55am
Post #18 of 22
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We were talking about Tolkien and he said he had another book by him and would lend it to me.
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Kelvarhin
Half-elven
Sep 5 2010, 4:52am
Post #19 of 22
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when I was 13.
I was a bit disappointed at first, as I was hoping for more about the characters I'd come to love in LOTR. But as I'm a history buff, I soon got lost in the scope of it all and loved it. I've read it many times since.
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tennie75
Lorien
Sep 6 2010, 1:03am
Post #20 of 22
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really, I tried to read it in 1977. I made my then-boyfriend give it to me for Christmas or something. I started it and was surprised by the different "tone". Couldn't finish it. I did finally read the whole thing about 3 years ago, but not much made an impression. I just remember someone who cut off his hand to escape. Will definitely read it again, sometime.
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TolkienOtaku
Rivendell
Sep 6 2010, 5:20pm
Post #21 of 22
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Since I was born 11 years later...
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I did not have the opportunity to read it right as it first came out. When I did buy the Silmarillion in '04(or '05, can't remember precisely), I already knew kinda what to expect. So yeah.
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Sep 13 2010, 10:30pm
Post #22 of 22
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Ok, now you are showing our age....yes, I pre-ordered it..I was 17.
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Having fallen in love with The Hobbit and The LOTRs I was so excited to hear about this one last, long anticipated book. When I first tried to read it...it was too Old Testament for me and I did not get very far. Over the years I would pick it up and read selections. Then, about 10-15 years or so ago I decided to read it cover to cover. This time, as an adult, I enjoyed it for the "theological and philosophical" themes, the expanded history that the foot notes and appendices just hinted at and the additional stories that could someday, hopefully, be explored on film.
Today, I would rate it much higher than in 1977. My understanding and appreciation simply grew. This goes for the other texts issued by Christopher Tolkien. I can't say I have read them cover to cover but enjoy picking them up and randomly start reading.
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