So yes, I admit, I’m a sucker for Tolkien (maybe it’s the triple initials). I read the trilogy plus the prequel The Hobbit back in fourth grade, though I haven’t read all of them every year since then, like my brother has. And Tolkien’s most recent posthumous offering, The Children of Hurin, which was compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien, doesn’t offer a story on the level of the Lord of the Rings – it reads much more like The Silmarillion. Vast sweeps of historical time are covered in a paragraph, a style that evokes both Norse mythological story telling and the Old Testament Hebrew narratives. And the book borrows from an amalgam of Greek mythology: Zeus and Hera, as well as Oedipus. The story is compelling, once you get past stilted diction like “worsted” and “fey” and begin to fall under the familiar spell of lembas and Balrogs. And it has such lovely topics like suicide, incest, torture, curses, spells, swords with histories, bravery, and lots of dying – you know, the type of topics you’d expect from mythology.
One notable difference between this story and, say, the Hobbit, is that while writing this tale, Tolkien’s conception of dragons was more Eastern – more like a snake with a soft belly – as well as the dragon in this book is able to talk and has considerable psychological power, wielded through his eyes (very Medusa-like). If that doesn’t win you over, then surely the illustrations will (which in the book are a mix of black & white and color, with the color ones the only worthy ones).
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Dude, this is new to me. Had no idea the old man still had manuscripts still unpublished. I don’t know that I’ll ever make it The Silmiriliniinanan, but I adore the trilogy. I didn’t get to it till high school, which probably means I’m slow. I’m still plowing through Bell Tolls. I enjoy the master’s sentences, though sometimes the narrative isn’t the most compelling.
I have to say I haven’t read this one yet. I have read the trilogy, which most people have. However, I was also unaware that Tolkein still had manuscripts lying around. Any speculation on how many more are coming? It’s been awhile since the Silmarillion, and I was wondering how much more is suspected to exist.
His son Christopher said this will be the last posthumous manuscript. Apparently this was the only tale left with a great deal of text attached to the story, and plus, Christopher is about 80 years old and is unlikely to edit any other of his father’s papers.
Isn’t this exciting? It’s like being re-acquainted with a new friend. I’m not sure what took his son so many years to pull it together, but I’m glad it’s finally here!