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Post by Lily on Jan 13, 2006 16:23:44 GMT
I have it at home since one year - in German and English, but haven´t yet touched it. I think I am a bit scared to start it because some people told me that it is quite complex because of too many characters and names. It is also said to be boring at times. Is that true?
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Post by Raksha on Jan 13, 2006 20:40:47 GMT
I have it at home since one year - in German and English, but haven´t yet touched it. I think I am a bit scared to start it because some people told me that it is quite complex because of too many characters and names. It is also said to be boring at times. Is that true? Parts are a bit long-winded, and parts are fascinating, and heartbreaking. My least favorite parts were in the beginning, the description of the Valar and Melkor's disharmony, but the idea of the creation being a musical event is wonderful.
My biggest problem with the Silmarillion is keeping track of all the various Elf-tribes. I am never going to be able to remember the differences between the Laiquendi and Avari, my head aches on trying to remember the differences between Teleri and Noldor (the Teleri were mariners, and built ships, and eventually got whacked by the Noldor, though thankfully not all of them). And too make it worse, JRRT was a bit too liberal with the F-names in naming many of his Elves in the Silm. Feanor's unforgettable, but I still have trouble distinguishing Finrod Felagund from Fingolfin, except I know they're both related to Galadriel. And then there's Finwe and Finarfin and Finduilas...
The central tale of the unrest of the Noldor, Feanor's creation and quest for the Silmarils, and the fateful consequences of the latter, is wonderful, if sometimes tragic.
The Elves in the Silm are far more active than in LOTR. Some of them are mean and nasty or corrupted, and, well, there's Feanor. People still argue about him. There's Thingol and Melian, who took one look at each other and were so fascinated that they spent like 50 years stock-still, just staring (Thingol was an Elf, Melian a Maia)...And the unbelievably sad tale of the Children of Hurin (who didn't suffer quite as much as their father, but pretty close). And Morgoth, who makes Sauron look like a Boy Scout. There are glimpses of Galadriel, who was a tough-minded and very ambitious lady in those days (First Age and before). And you'll meet Shelob's mother, not to mention balrogs and dragons. And see, briefly, Elrond and his brother Elros, much younger than in LOTR. (Earendil, who is one of the pivotal characters in the history of Arda, is their father, though they never have a chance to know him; but his most famous exploits are explored in the Silm)
There's the tale of Beren and Luthien, the fascinatingly dark story of Eol and Idril and their son Maeglin. And there's also the story of the downfall of Numenor.
Try reading all of it, though perhaps not all at once. I think you'll like at least some of the stories.
RAKSHA
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Post by eggowaffles on Jan 13, 2006 21:09:18 GMT
The Silmarillion is a tough book, with dozens of characters, archaic words, and passages that are very decidedly dull. Still, if you read it as a mythology and not as a work of fiction, you'll probably find it hugely enjoyable. It's one of my favorite books. Take it in small doses, though. I made the mistake of trying to knock it out in three hours the first time, and ended up having to promptly reread it because I couldn't remember who anybody was. (And it's still taken me, what, almost a year to figure out the genealogy of Finwë's house? :
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