book of the week: JRR Tolkien
Back to JRR Tolkien! I have had the Silmarillion in my kindle library for a while (we also have the paperback version somewhere as he is still one of my other half's favorite authors). I was told that it was super long and super...dry. I found an audio version on youtube so I went with it. As it is basically a creation story in history book form, I can see why the people who loved the adventure action of his Hobbit/Lord of the rings. The first part seems a lot like a father quelling his rebellious children and distraction by giving them something else to ponder: first hearing and music, then vision (the preview of the world and its elves and man), and then the accepted creation-and the actual creation of the world; with all the spats and loving of a family that built it. One spirit found himself ousted by his rebellion and then created the evil and darkness in his envy and fear throughout the world. The fight between them lasted thousands of thousands of years, in all the ages, of elves and of men. And though there was been creations of elves, men and eventually dwarves and ents, and hobbits. On the opposite, the rebellious spirit took and had taken in many beings in his fold and under his command, such beings of orcs, beasts, shadowed, and dark magic.
The bulk of the book was of the tales of the ages in some detail of the environment and beings created and the jewels and wares they themselves found and labored over. The silmarils (of where the tilt came from) are 3 major jewels that was covered by many and seemed to create more strife than without it. Most of the book seemed, in its own right, an adventure in seeking and quelling the evil and darkness of the rebellious spirit and his followers. The battles came and went, the warriors of light fled, and hid and fought. Over and over it occurred, some ages of darkness found themselves stayed and the light streaming to overcome it. and some light had shown strong with the darkness trying to creep in; some in its way has come in both light and darkness. I also realized reading this part of the story, the spirits of the first part (who created middle earth) totally abandoned the people and environment they created and left them to the rebellious dark evil spirit who wanted middle earth as his own (he was their problem first and they let him flee and hid themselves in a fortress; to then only swoop in at the end to smite him and save the day). I found them to be likened to the poly gods of old. This book also had some fairytale/Shakespearean love stories/tragedies: heroes doing great deeds for the hand of their loves, one hero overcoming death for his love, and a brother and sister who forgot themselves and in love, only to remember again and kill themselves, a love in which one was saved by the sea and by the turning into a dove to fly to her sea fairing husband. Also, the noble eagles are awesome and seem to be the saviors of the land as they always come just in the nick of time to save the "heroes" and kick some evil butt.
The last part writes of the folly of men and a brief mention of the rings and their fate. While it was long and in perfect to Tolkien form (I had to re-read/listen and even ask with certain parts), all in all, it wasn't so bad. More like reading the myth and legends of all the old cultures and their beliefs.
