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jlj93byu
Rivendell
Oct 24 2018, 3:55pm
Post #2 of 8
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Just finished it, and yes, I read it all! I haven't read the book yet, though my copy is waiting on my shelf. It's been so long since I read "The Silmarillion" that your review provided a great refresher on that work and how it links to this new one. It makes me want to go back and reread it before reading this one.
I really enjoyed your pointing out some of the differences between texts that didn't have a clear explanation for why, and your insights into why. Your referring to letters and ruminations from Christopher Tolkien were insightful, as was your inclusion of his lament that the tale was never finished.
Thank you for taking the time to write such an insightful and thorough review!
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Valinor
Oct 24 2018, 4:55pm
Post #3 of 8
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You're welcome! And thank you.
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Your comments were very heartening. If I can help spark some additional interest in the First Age tales I am doing a good thing, and helping Christopher himself in his efforts "to try to give more prominence to the nature of “The Silmarillion’ and its vital existence in relation to The Lord of the Rings.”
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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squire
Half-elven
Oct 24 2018, 5:55pm
Post #4 of 8
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It seems like two articles in one.
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One is a scholarly article, drawing on your experience with "Arda Reconstructed", which documents every variation between the texts in the new books and their previous publication in the earlier books.
The other is a review of "Fall of Gondolin" as a book, commenting on its origins, structure, and usefulness and readability.
Both have a place, I would guess, in a venue like Journal of Tolkien Research. So I can see why you might have combined the two briefs, as it were, but they clash in several places, distracting or distancing the reader.
The lengthy opening recap of the publication history of Gondolin in earlier Tolkien books seemed more detailed than a specialist reader of a Tolkien Studies journal would need. But that's always a problem in writing about Tolkien at a more-than-just-fans level!
squire online:
RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'.
Archive: All the TORn Reading Room Book Discussions (including the 1st BotR Discussion!) and Footerama: "Tolkien would have LOVED it!"
Dr. Squire introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Valinor
Oct 24 2018, 6:31pm
Post #5 of 8
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It certainly is not a traditional review, and "grew in the telling" to paraphrase Tolkien. I give Doug Anderson credit for being willing to publish it as is.
I agree that the opening recap is not providing new information to a typical reader of a journal like JTR but I still wanted to give a sense of the importance of the new work in the grand scheme of Tolkien's work.
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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sador
Half-elven
Oct 28 2018, 3:25am
Post #6 of 8
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Regarding the apparently seamless transition from one source to the other you've mentioned - isn't this a regular technique of Christopher Tolkien's? He seems to use it quite often in HoME, and even in the recently published Beowulf.
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Khim
Bree
Nov 30 2018, 2:48am
Post #7 of 8
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[self-indulgent intro]
It seems ages ago since I last visited the Reading Room. Although I’ve participated in a minor way over the years, a lurker I remain, and not a devoted one. I must say I was pleased yesterday to note that a few of the faithful yet linger. The Squire and noWizardme continue to astound me with their insights and sense of community.
I just retrieved my copy of Arda Reconstructed, to be sure I was not mistaken regarding your authorship. I read it some time ago, but recall vividly how much I enjoyed it. I spent many years immersed in Tolkien criticism, but eventually moved on to other reading bucket lists. But recently Middle-earth floated to the top again, like a crate of fine pipe weed among the ruins of old Isengard.
I pre-ordered The Fall of Gondolin and read it as soon as it arrived (in September). I’ve kept up with Tolkien’s posthumous writings as they were published, beginning with The Silmarillion in 1977. I’ve read each work Christopher has prepared. I was lucky enough to attend classes with Verlyn Flieger in the mid-1980s, when Unfinished Tales was the latest thing, lamenting with her that it provided both the joy of discovery and a profound sense of loss at what would never be.
[material of questionable relevance]
I‘ve just read (rapidly, I admit) your review of The Fall of Gondolin, and found it both enjoyable and enlightening. I would guess I’m on the low end of the narrow spectrum of your audience. As an obsessive reader I’m a sucker for a moving tale, but I also have a limited ability to appreciate literary analysis. In that capacity I also consider myself a lurker. It’s likely (perhaps a certainty) that the Tolkien criticism I’ve read is equal in volume to the works he published during his lifetime, but I choose to admire practitioners, over over-thinking the particulars myself. With that to consider, along with my apologies, the significance of your contribution to my appreciation of Tolkien’s works will become clear following yet another digression.
I have a dear friend, an avid Tolkien fan, who could never finish Christopher’s scholarly breakdown of his father’s unfinished works. He studied biology; I have a degree in English Literature. I spent several years as an undergraduate in the humanities and also received a masters in Library Science, studying the organization of knowledge. I wonder if my friend would better appreciate the dissection of a rare amphibian, since he apparently has little interest in the dissection of rare literary artifacts. I also know a brilliant doctor, who considers Christopher’s editing too heavy-handed, and not worthy of his consideration. I often find myself defending Christopher Tolkien’s work and intentions to those, like him, who fail to fully appreciate his contributions to The Legendarium.
[FINALLY! my thanks to you for your astute diligence]
As a devoted J.R.R. Tolkien fan for over forty years I’ve enjoyed reading everything I could get my hands on. I’m eternally grateful that his son Christopher, the logical and qualified steward of his father’s writings, organized and published the trove of complex manuscripts bequeathed to him. And finally, I’m grateful to you for providing such cogent analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of his efforts. I’m afraid that in my eagerness to enjoy every scrap of lore, I fail to read the details critically enough.
In correspondence with Professor Flieger I’ve discussed the commonly held notion that Tolkien’s mythologies intentionally and accidentally resemble the scattered, incomplete, contradictory, and mysterious output of a lost people. A reality that mirrors Tolkien’s own fascination and frustration that he could never fully grasp the myths and stories of his ancient ancestors. And so it seems his son must face that same reality regarding his fathers invented history. And even more removed you struggle to put the pieces to that impossible puzzle together. Thanks.
I am Khim akin to Mim.
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Valinor
Nov 30 2018, 5:31am
Post #8 of 8
(2922 views)
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I will reply in more depth when I have more time but I wanted to say I really enjoyed reading your post and I greatly appreciate your kind words.
How wonderful that you has the opportunity to study with the wonderful Verlyn Flieger during that early time of discovery. I love her work and even more her kind spirit.
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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