The Silmarillion

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A video discussing why you should read The Silmarillion. Many have said it better than myself, but I hope my passion for this collection of wonderful stories can be seen. Why You Should Read The Silmarillion Then of course as time draws closer to the Third Age, learning about Aragorn's ancestors was a real treat. Although working out that he was kiiiiinda related to Elrond made things a bit weird, if you follow me. There are also a lot of echoes of other myths and legends, and of deeds made familiar through The Lord of the Rings. There's definitely a sense that life is circular, and history often repeats.

Tolkien devised the history, mythology, culture, and languages (he was an early conlanger) of the many races of Middle Earth in intricate detail, and he was a devout Catholic. There is often a sense of the sacred and profane (“ The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light.”), but there’s not even passing mention of temples, priests, prayers, rituals, sacraments, or holy texts. The elves come closest, but even so, I find it odd that there are no invocations in the darkest times - on the eve of battle or beside the dying - or thanksgiving at the happiest. Come on! This is GREAT stuff. :) And we even get to the ending of the First age, the ending of the Second age, getting the full story of Sauron's corrupting the Kings of Men, inflaming their desire to be immortal just like the Elves and ending with the utter destruction of their kingdom, their island, their Atlantis. :) The Silmarillion just strikes a chord within me. Whilst I understand how much of the beginning can be seen as dry, I love how this world is constructed, and then so many of the latter stories apart such emotion within me. Beren & Luthien, The Children of Hurin and more! I must admit that I love stats and family trees, so the amount of detail seems like ti was made for me!Valaquenta (the bulk of the story, chronicling the rise of the Elves and then their fall from grace, the deeds of Melkor (or Morgoth), the greatest of the Valar that fell to darkness, also the master of Sauron (how awesome is that?!); and there’s also the coming of men and their part in the war that followed) Y por supuesto, mención al estilo narrativo de Tolkien, que es muy delicado y meticuloso. La mejor forma para describirlo es como si este autor tuviera delante una lámpara hecha de cristales y dedicara todos sus esfuerzos a describir cada uno de sus cristales y la forma en que la luz juega con ellos, como son prismas de colores que van creándose en este baile, recreándose en cada uno de sus tonalidades y matices. O como si estuviera hablando de una hermosa cascada y cada uno de sus gotas de agua mereciera su plena y total atención. Hoy esto se ve perfectamente en los primeros capítulos, donde se crea la tierra y conocemos a los dioses. Están escritos con una belleza y una narrativa sin parangón, de una forma poéticamente sutil y preciosista que impacta y es imposible de definir de una manera que le haga justicia. Tanto énfasis en el detalle podría ser soporífero y pesado en cualquier otro autor. Pero en el caso de Tolkien la experiencia resulta de una belleza abrumadora y cantarina, otro motivo más para adorar esta lectura.

Oh woe-begotten spirit, fall now into dark oblivion, and forget for a while the dreadful doom of life."

The book also includes several shorter works: the Ainulindalë, a myth of the Creation, and the Valaquenta, in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Alkallb?th recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings. even tho the paper don’t agree with me on this… it was self mutilation!!! She has no idea how “attached” The detail is so rich and its history so compelling that it so easily comes alive for me. If you want to know more about Middle Earth, the info is there. You just have to find the book that tells it. If you're looking for more beyond The Lord of the Rings, this is that book.