Thread: The Silmarillion: I knew I should not have given it away...

Looong time ago, I read the Hobbit.
After that I read the Lord Of the Rings (though I admit skipping the appendices). Thing is, at the time I was sick. Had the flu really, really bad. So I remember reading it, but I had no recollection of it, other than some fragments.

A year or so later I tried reading the silmarillion, but I couldn't get through it. It was as dull as watching grass grow. A big part of it is that I had no recollection of LOTR so not much of it made sense, and also because it is written as a history, rather than a story.

Some time ago, I remember holding it in my hands when culling my book collection, and thinking to myself: face it, you are never, ever going to read it. You might as well give it away. And I think I actually did that, because I can't find it anymore and it is not in my inventory lists.

Only recently I re-read LOTR (after having watched the movies for the umpteenth time) and this time I worked my way through the appendices. And the more I read, the more I wanted to learn about the history of the peoples of middle earth. I finished the last appendix yesterday, and thought it would be a good time to dive into the silmarillion... only to discover that I can't find it anymore and must have given it to the local librarian (along with a couple hundred other English books).



I guess I'll have to buy it... again...
It's a good opportunity to also buy 'The Hobbit' and 'The children of Hurin'.

I have all of the history volumes of middle earth. They are not really designed as a fluent read though. The editing in them is quite poor and often times you will see different versions of the same story. Christopher Tolkien doesn't do a very good job tying them together either IMHO. Still, they are enjoyable if you can handle that they are not well put together.

Yeah that is my main reason for not buying them.
What about the Children of Hurin? Is that one sick in the same bed?

Originally Posted by Bruno

Yeah that is my main reason for not buying them.
What about the Children of Hurin? Is that one sick in the same bed?

I apologize for taking so long to respond. So I find myself in a bit of an ironic situation. I went to look at "The Children of Hurin" so I could double check my answer before I posted (which I believe is yes it is in the same vain, though not bad if you treat it as short stories). The irony is I can't find it! I know I didn't get rid of it, it is just "misplaced" at the moment. I had a room that we used as a library until my daughter was born (2 years ago). That means it is in my basement "somewhere".

That is doubly weird, since I just found my copy of the Silmarillion.
Some time ago I catalogued all my books in numberd boxes. and I know I was in 2 minds about what to do with it at the time. I must have decided to give it away, and then packed it in instead.

Since I was not 100% sure I'd given it away, I unpacked every stinking box, only to find it in the second to last box

But at least I found it so I can see if I can bring myself to finish it this 3d time, having just read LoTR and its appendices.

Do not give up. Silmarillion is an excellent read and it gives you a lot of info from the LOTR history. I've read LOTR several times but not after seeing those movies; maybe i should put it to my books to read list. I remember reading Silmarillion as i was younger and it was surely worth it. Another to my endless list.
Another thing that makes all Tolkien books worth reading here is that he took some influences from our mythology, folklore and national epic Kalevala (on the contrary, that is the most difficult book to read).

I read The Hobbit many years ago and followed with LOTR but couldn't get through it. I'd had enough I guess. As for getting rid of stuff .... this is why I live in clutter. How many times have I given or thrown something away only to find I needed to buy it again three or six months later.

The thing with the silmarillion, I think, is that you need to have the knowledge of LOTR for it to make sense.

Btw, I am wondering: Now they will make a movie of the hobbit as well.
If that proves to be a box office succes, will they make movies of earlier middle earth history as well? The story of Beren? The end of the first and second ages?

The Silmarillion has since vanished from my memory, but I remember reading it right after reading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and I loved it. I can remember the tale of Beren and Luthien...but that's about it.

I think it is almost imperative to read it with LOTR fresh in your head.

Silmarillion has somewhere been compared to Old Testament in its difficulty, so it would be very interesting movie. However i find it hard to believe that it would ever come top selling.
Books like Silmarillion or Unfinished tales are more like chronicles or separate short stories without constant storyline.
Then again: Who knows what Peter Jackson is capable of. He's done some great movies like LOTR, Bad Taste, Lovely Bones etc and was producing District 9. I'm sure that he is the right man for a difficult task.