I have a friend who couldn’t past the first 50-100 pages, and can’t believe that I’ve read it more than once and enjoyed it.I also could’ve said ‘Eru.’ Either way, Gandalf is, of course, not a deity, merely one of the Istari. But Kathy trusts him, and that’s what’s important.
Ilúvatar, Eru, Gandalf. Tolkein as a devout catholic used them all as metaphoric symbols. Remember when Bill Cosby used the line “Why not pray to my friend Rudy? He’s not busy. ..You’ll get the same results.” Sometimes ya just gotta go with the biggest name recognition.
They might still be baffled. What throws a lot of people about the Silmarillion is that it reads more like a history book, not a story with a plot line. You don’t get to know and follow a group of characters in the same way as in Lord Of The Rings or The Hobbit. The lack of linear plot would make movies a challenge to construct. Not impossible, just a challenge.
Besides the Silmarillion, another (even dryer) read I’d recommend to all you LotR fans would be Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Tales.” When you understand exactly what it was he was trying to create in the Lord of the Rings, you’ll have a new appreciation for what a literary masterpiece it really is. Tolkien took all the best elements of ancient epics and fairy tales and incorporated them into a thoroughly modern novel in a way that only a scholar who had lived through Hell in the trenches and bomb shelters of both world wars could have. Exactly where it ranks in relation to other great works may be a matter of opinion, but anyone who dismisses LotR as escapist fluff is ignorant.
Kathy has lost a lot of weight.Roy’s beard. His beard? Who does he remind me of? I know! Popeye’s Grandpapey, when grandpapey was young and his whisker’s were brown.
Saw the Adventures of TinTin. Some amazing details in the graphic (background) details. And Hugo is still showing. Since New Year’s. …….. that,,,, that means I still have…time!
Yes, Tolkien’s faith inspired his writing, but he never set out a plan to build his stories around it. He actually wrote the stories to support the languages he was creating. He needed a world where they would be used. The Hobbit began as utterly unrelated to his tales of the Elder Days. The term Middle earth didn’t find its way in until LOTR. Then he had to sort of retro fit them to tie them all together. This included re-writing parts of the Hobbit for subsequent editions, so it would better match up.
wynot over 12 years ago
I’m with him (the guy, not Gollum).
scottartist creator over 12 years ago
I was tempted to make Kathy’s plea: “Ilúvatar, give me strength,” but I thought that might be more obscure…
scottartist creator over 12 years ago
I have a friend who couldn’t past the first 50-100 pages, and can’t believe that I’ve read it more than once and enjoyed it.I also could’ve said ‘Eru.’ Either way, Gandalf is, of course, not a deity, merely one of the Istari. But Kathy trusts him, and that’s what’s important.
Tue Elung-Jensen over 12 years ago
I see she is letting him keep the beard. Or is this a case of – I´ll just need a reason to shave it off in the middle of the night.
scottartist creator over 12 years ago
She gave him a month past New Year’s, so the day of reckoning hasn’t come yet.
jimcos over 12 years ago
Ilúvatar, Eru, Gandalf. Tolkein as a devout catholic used them all as metaphoric symbols. Remember when Bill Cosby used the line “Why not pray to my friend Rudy? He’s not busy. ..You’ll get the same results.” Sometimes ya just gotta go with the biggest name recognition.
RalphZIggy over 12 years ago
If they made the five movies out of the Silmarillion’s major parts, maybe more people would read it.
scottartist creator over 12 years ago
They might still be baffled. What throws a lot of people about the Silmarillion is that it reads more like a history book, not a story with a plot line. You don’t get to know and follow a group of characters in the same way as in Lord Of The Rings or The Hobbit. The lack of linear plot would make movies a challenge to construct. Not impossible, just a challenge.
tsandl over 12 years ago
Besides the Silmarillion, another (even dryer) read I’d recommend to all you LotR fans would be Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Tales.” When you understand exactly what it was he was trying to create in the Lord of the Rings, you’ll have a new appreciation for what a literary masterpiece it really is. Tolkien took all the best elements of ancient epics and fairy tales and incorporated them into a thoroughly modern novel in a way that only a scholar who had lived through Hell in the trenches and bomb shelters of both world wars could have. Exactly where it ranks in relation to other great works may be a matter of opinion, but anyone who dismisses LotR as escapist fluff is ignorant.
b0mb over 12 years ago
A movie for the Silmarillion would be difficult, yes. How about doing it in the style of a documentary though?
Dragoncat over 12 years ago
…and Roy is less than fifty weeks away from having a beard as long as Gandalf’s.
Dragoncat over 12 years ago
(SIGH!) I felt the same way about “The Adventures of Tintin”…Until… Let’s just say it was not playing in a theatre nearest me.
scottartist creator over 12 years ago
It’s at our local multiplex (the only one for 40 miles,) but Hugo Cabret came and went in about five seconds.
Happy, happy, happy!!! Premium Member over 12 years ago
as for people calling LotR escapist, who cares. it is simply a great story.
ecboston over 12 years ago
If you can’t escape reality in a book for a while & leave the pressures of the real world behind. What is the point to reading it?
Hunter7 over 12 years ago
Kathy has lost a lot of weight.Roy’s beard. His beard? Who does he remind me of? I know! Popeye’s Grandpapey, when grandpapey was young and his whisker’s were brown.
Hunter7 over 12 years ago
Saw the Adventures of TinTin. Some amazing details in the graphic (background) details. And Hugo is still showing. Since New Year’s. …….. that,,,, that means I still have…time!
scottartist creator over 12 years ago
Yes, Tolkien’s faith inspired his writing, but he never set out a plan to build his stories around it. He actually wrote the stories to support the languages he was creating. He needed a world where they would be used. The Hobbit began as utterly unrelated to his tales of the Elder Days. The term Middle earth didn’t find its way in until LOTR. Then he had to sort of retro fit them to tie them all together. This included re-writing parts of the Hobbit for subsequent editions, so it would better match up.