By Ankita Bhargava
Contains minor spoilers for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit
A book that you've probably heard of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Another book that you may have heard of the Hobbit. A book that you may not have heard of is the Silmarillion.
The Silmarillion is a collection of stories written by JRR Tolkien about the world of Lord of the Rings, but edited and compiled into a cohesive story after his death. The book contains stories such as the creation myth of Middle-Earth, Sauron's predecessor Morgoth as well as some explanations for things that happen in Lord of the Rings, such as who Gandalf really is, and how the rings of power were created.
However, you don't need to have any knowledge whatsoever of either the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit to read the Silmarillion! The book is able to stand on its own, with a distinct plot and storyline. The book doesn't reference anything from either the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit, so you are able to completely enjoy the book if this is the first work by JRR Tolkien that you are reading. If you have read the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit, there are still many characters that you will be able to recognize, such as Lord Elrond, or Sauraman.
I would not recommend this book to people who did not enjoy Lord of the Rings. The way that language is used is not appealing to some people, and both books were written in a similar fashion. For people who have only read the Hobbit, that book was originally designed to be a bedtime story, and wholly unconnected to the rest of Lord of the Rings. As such, the writing and characters in the Silmarillion are very different from the ones in the Hobbit. I would also not recommend this book to people who are huge fans of first-person. This book was intended to act as a series of myths for Middle Earth, and so it has many passages like this:
"and a sound arose of endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights"
It sounds very pretty when it is spoken out loud, but it is quite ostentatious and less fun-sounding than either of his other books are. Compare that sentance to this, from the Hobbit:
"He liked visitors, but he liked to know them before they arrived, and he preferred to ask them himself."
I'd give the Silmarillion a 9/10. Overall, the stories were very engaging, and the author had a good mix of action, exposition and quieter scenes. However, the way he writes is very archaic and becomes confusing at times. JRR Tolkien also has a tendency to use a lot of characters, which does get confusing quickly. There were parts where I had to reread a section to figure out what happened, and especially in this book there are a lot of characters with similar names (Finwë, Fëanor, Fingolfin and Finarfin, to name a few). However overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of high fantasy.
I remember reading this book in 6th grade and being confused from the beginning to the end. I quit halfway because there were too many characters to keep track of. However, I still think that the author did an excellent job describing the setting. I might pick this book up again this year. Nice review of the book!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this book but it sounds really interesting! I like fantasy and I might read this book some time. I thought your point about language was really interesting. I think it is easier to read books with simpler language but the complicated language also helps with the setting. I also thought it was interesting that this book was written as a series of myths. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but this article makes me want to read The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings, so that I can read this book. I know you said that's not necessary, but it just feels right. But, yes, this has definitely piqued my interest. It is interesting to find less well-known work by a well-known author, I think... Anyway, good job!
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