Book Review: J.R.R. TOLKIEN: A BIOGRAPHY, by Humphery Carpenter

There's not really anybody I'd rather read a biography of than J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm not sure what this says about me, but there you have it. There's something about the idea of a mild-mannered Oxford don writing the epic adventures and complex world of The Lord of the Rings that has always intrigued me, and this paradox is exactly what Humphery Carpenter explores, respectfully and very well, in his BIOGRAPHY.

The book is admirably thorough, for Carpenter sets up each chapter as a slightly different take on Tolkien's life--in one chapter, we examine photographs of Tolkien for clues to his character. In another, we study his writing habits, his love of language, or a day in his life at Oxford. Or, a day in his wife's life in Oxford. The format itself is fascinating, and for somebody so seemingly difficult to study (outwardly, his life was quite uneventful) Carpenter presented his charge in a such a way that I felt wholly satisfied that all my questions about Tolkien, the writing of the Rings and the Inklings (of course the Inklings) had been answered. In fact, most of them had a chapter unto themselves.

If you read The Silmarillion and liked it, this one is for you.

RATING: 4

Book Review: THE SILMARILLION, by J.R.R. Tolkien

In short, THE SILMARILLION is the Bible of Middle-Earth. Epic battles, the struggles of certain chosen individuals, the creation of the world and more, all told in a beautiful "and so it was" sort of tone. True to form, even the names are difficult to remember (thank goodness for the "Index of Names": I read almost half the book before I discovered this handy tool tucked away in the back of the book)--think Finwe, Fingon, Finrod, Fingolfin, Finduilin and, my personal favorite, Finarfin.

But if I sound flippant, forgive me, because I mean absolutely no disservice to THE SILMARILLION. It's a doozie of a summer read, sure, and if you haven't read The Lord of the Rings AND The Hobbit several times, you probably won't care enough to make it past the first hundred pages--but if you loved Lord of the Rings enough to read it twice then please, read THE SILMARILLION, because it is an absolute work of art and it fills in all the gaps that The Lord of the Rings doesn't have time to touch.

Beginning with the very beginning of Middle-Earth, and ending approximately one second before The Lord of the Rings picks up, THE SILMARILLION covers a lot of ground and an awful lot of history. I was surprised by how vast the book is, and I loved reading the stories of Earendil and of Numenor and the Grey Havens, just as I loved learning more about Galadriel, Elrond and Sauron (who are, surprisingly, just about the only characters you'd recognize for LOTR who are old enough to appear in THE SILMARILLION). The book is all the backstory you could possibly want, and I tip my hat to Mr. Tolkien and his amazing imagination.

And about his imagination: one of the things I loved best about THE SILMARILLION was the way the history of Middle-earth ties in with the lore of our own, by way of stories that connect loosely with the myths we tell ("Atalante" seems a bit reminscent of "Atlantis", especially given the context). This connection shows up in the way that The Lord of the Rings leaves off (welcome to the Age of Men, and all that), but is even more apparent in THE SILMARILLION--I don't dare give anything away, but you'll see.

So, any of you who love The Lord of the Rings enough to read the whole series multiple times, who own all three extended versions of the movie and have considered naming your first born child either Pippin or Galadriel (depending, of course, on the gender of the kid), get out there and read THE SILMARILLION right now. If you haven't read the book, liked the first movie, but was too sad about Gandalf to watch the second one, don't bother. You'll be bored out of your mind.

RATING: 4

Book Review: THE HOBBIT, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Considering that THE HOBBIT is the prequel to Tolkien's many-paged masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, it's odd that this book makes a little more sense when read after LOTR. I liked Bilbo better this time through--because I knew what came of him later, it was fun to watch his transformation from a silly, proper little hobbit to a brave, wise, elderly one over the course of the series, and this was an improvement, because I didn't care for Bilbo much at all when I first read THE HOBBIT (I know, I know! Don't shun me, please!).

But the most interesting thing to me is the difference in tone between THE HOBBIT and The Lord of the Rings. LOTR is long-winded and elegant, reading like a passage out of some ancient text ("And so it was that he, Aragorn, son of Arathorn, first beheld Éowyn, daughter of Rohan, in full daylight and as he looked, he thought her cold" and so on), while THE HOBBIT is playful, reminiscent of The Chronicles of Narnia or of George MacDonald*, and I love that--Gandalf is not a stern forteller of doom in THE HOBBIT, but a mischievious wizard who eats the most, drinks the most and laughs the loudest out of all twelve dwarves (and a hobbit). This is an aspect of Gandalf that is hinted at in LOTR, and in a few wonderful scenes, realized, but mostly the tension and drama of the story require Gandalf to be close and focused, with little time for laughter and mischief.

Ultimately, I appreciated THE HOBBIT much more the second time through, with all the lovely tales of The Lord of the Rings as a backdrop, and it impressed me as one piece of Tolkien's incredible work--a merrier adventure, though still dangerous and tense, full of drama and intrigue and fascinating characters.

*Which brings me to an interesting point. If you love C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, I advise you--strongly, and urgently--to go out right now and borrow, purchase or steal a copy of George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin. MacDonald influenced Lewis to the point of being granted an appearance in The Great Divorce, as the ghost who comes to fetch the unnamed narrator at the gates of heaven, and his wonderful storytelling voice is present in both Lewis and Tolkien's writing--mostly in The Chronicles of Narnia and THE HOBBIT, but also in Tolkien's Roverandom. Ready set go!

(This is also interesting.)

RATING: 5

Book Review: THE LORD OF THE RINGS, by J.R.R. Tolkien

I know I am not the first to say so--and of course, I will not be the last--but I think that Tolkien was a genius, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS a masterpiece, a work not bound merely to the Fantasy genre, but one that crosses over into the ranks of great literature--a story so rich and complete in its history, that explores such grand and timeless themes as honor and loyalty and bravery, that THE LORD OF THE RINGS will not be forgotten, I think, for some time.

Reading the trilogy for the third time (and for the first time since all three movies have been released), I was struck by what a wonderful job the movies did of capturing the scenery and characters, and translating them into film--I was also struck by how many aspects there are to LOTR that could not be carried over to film without being cheapened, or robbed of certain intricacies, so I am grateful to the filmmakers for leaving these things intact, and out of the movies completely. As much as I complained that Tom Bombadil was cut, I find now that I'm glad to have him still whole in my imagination, with all his oddities and ambiguity. He is a three-hour film unto himself.

Another thing I noticed, in re-reading the books, was that I was able to concentrate more on the history of Middle Earth, to read the songs and stories and folklore more closely, because I am now so familiar with the story that I was not as bogged down in the description and scenery (of which there is plenty) as I read.

Part of what makes these books so great is the feeling that this immense trilogy, full of end-times forboding and huge, fate-of-the-world actions, is but part of a much longer, more complicated history--I've not read The Silmarillion, but I hear that it is a "brief" history of Middle Earth, complete with the back-stories of characters barely touched on in LOTR [note: I have now read The Silmarillion. My review is linked below], and it is definately on my list of books to read. (I also need to re-read The Hobbit, so you may have a few more Tolkien reviews coming your way.)

Tolkien's trilogy is incredibly textured, rich with various cultures and languages and history, but through it all runs a sorrow, the sadness of an era ending, as the Elves leave for the Havens and all the free people are threatened by a Second Darkness--and Tolkien upholds this sense of decay, but he also sustains a sense of hope, through all three books so that they are consistent and do not lag or lose steam, ever. Although there is a lot of walking through various landscapes.

It is my opinion that The Return of the King (Book 3) is one of the best books ever written, and so I would recommend that, if at all possible, you find a few uninterrupted days in which to read it--the first time I read it, I was recovering from surgery, which was perfect, but this time, I stole a few pages between buses and on my lunch breaks, which was not good at all. If you cannot manage enough time for the whole book, then at least set aside an evening for the Battle of Pelennor Fields, because that is, I think, the best part of the whole trilogy--though my love for Eowyn and Theoden makes me a bit biased, I suppose.

If you've put off reading THE LORD OF THE RINGS because it looks too big or daunting, well, stop that right now and go read it.

Best book ever. I will say no more.

RATING: 5