The Silmarillion
by Aleksandar Micovic
The Silmarillion's cover.
The book itself is really a collection of intertwined stories depicting the beginning of Middle Earth (and life), and some of it’s major events. In other words, it’s the kind of story you’d get if you mixed the bible with history. A bible, because it clearly shows how life began, and who it’s creators were. A history book, because it retells the major events that shaped Middle Earth. Sounds pretty boring , huh?
Well, screw what it sounds like! This book is a work of art. I don’t care if you love fantasy or not, there would have to be something wrong with you to deny this book of being anything less than the masterpiece it is. The paperback may be small, but The Silmarillion is HUGE. Tolkien has really created something wonderful. There are vast generations and generations of names, places, and events. In fact, it’s so HUGE that there is an appendix in the back that lists all the names and places in the book (I swear, it must be a good 30 pages, or more). I constantly found myself keeping my bookmark in this appendix while reading. Don’t let that scare you, though. The only thing you need to worry about is if your imagination is big enough to take in Tolkien’s world.
Going back to The Silmarillion itself now. It does not have a single clear-cut story. It does not even have a single engaging plot. Instead it has many stories and many plots. And best of all, they all intermingle in some way or another. If you’re a Lord of The Rings fan, you’ll be interested in the coming of men, how the dwarves came to be, who Sauron was, and who the first dark lord was, to name a few. All of them are great. However, one of my favourite stories is that of between Lúthien and Beren. You want action? Adventure? And for the ladies, love? And I’m not just talking about any love. This is the kind of love story that will bring the burliest man to his knees weeping. Well, the story between Lúthien and Beren is all that, and more. However, this is just one of the many minor stories in The Silmarillion. Hah, I can’t believe I used the word minor. Every story just feels so damn huge and epic. It’s just that The Silmarillion revolves around Fëanor’s silmarills. Those are the three precious (more powerful than the One Ring, for you Lord of The Rings fans) jewels that Fëanor himself crafted. I don’t want to give away anymore, though. You can guess that someone probably either steals them or something else. I won’t give it away. I want you to experience The Silmarillion for yourself.
I could go on and on about this book, but I’ll stop here.
With that, I have a confession. I may have been a Tolkien fan, and a fantasy fan, and I may have gotten to this book eventually, but they aren’t my reasons for reading it. Blind Guardian, my favourite band, has an album entitled Nightfall In Middle Earth, and it’s entirely based on The Silmarillion. In an effort to understand the album’s lyrical content, I read this book. Every song is so much more beautiful now, thanks to that decision.
All in all, you’ll be doing yourself a favour by picking this book up. I don’t give linear reviews (4/5, 5/5, stuff like that), but if I did, there would be no scale to hold my score. Do not listen to anyone who says it’s a dry read. Their imaginations aren’t large enough. And there is a quite of bit of people who think this book is quite boring. Remember, don’t listen to them. I assure you, it’s not. I mean, I don’t often give praise for something unless it’s good. Really good. And I couldn’t have made up all the stuff I just said. In fact, I’ll prove it to you, with this closing sentence:
I look forward to the day that I begin reading it again.
Comments
While incareracted (please don’t think little of me for that fact) there was very few books to read. I picked this one up in the library (I’d watched the LOTR movies and attempted with much boredom to read the actual novels).
The LOTR series, as books didn’t seem much to me. But reading this I understood why. Becuase with a book you have to have a linear plot, everything has to be orderly and tidy even when it’s not. To write a book you have to make sacrifices.
The Silmarillion really isn’t a book though. It a life work, depicting the mind, and fantasy of Tolkien in great detail, having took decades to weave (and not even being finished).
It’s been some years since last I read it, but for each victory I felt an upwelling in my heart, for each tragedy I weeped, and at the turning of the ages, I longed for things lost to the past.
Tolkien’s ability to take us, and like a river of emotion, sweep us off our feet is illustrated oh-so-effectively in the Silmarillion.
Indeed, the word “epic” does not do it justice.
-Jim