I just finished the newest Tolkien book, and was greatly impressed. I of course am a bit weird when it comes to such things, loving ancient languages and convoluted story telling. If I don’t watch myself, commas replace periods, and Dickens begins to look concise. Compared with the Silmarillion however, this book is a very easy and well paced read. But it is first and foremost a tragedy. Reminiscent more of myth than Greek plays, being that Tolkien’s inspiration came from the old legends he found lacking in his own country. Even so, it is fun to watch a great mind explore his world ever further.
Even though pieces of this manuscript are over ninety years old, and required the serious work of Christopher Tolkien to compile and edit the story, the work is thoroughly Tolkien. If you fell in love with the Lord of the Rings, than you will have no trouble feeling as though J.R.R. went right on to publish this book after the first three. I think that was the point that most concerned me. As fascinating as Christopher’s look at the editorial and rewriting process that went into the Lord of the Rings, I was not interested in reading a collection of old manuscript pieces. Thus finding this a continuous story was both a surprise and a relief.
It reads like a great tale, the heroes ride into battle, the enemy stands at the gates. In the case of this story, the enemy is far more cunning, and far better prepared than the reckless youth that ride out to meet him. Thus in the beginning of the story is the ending. Hurin defies the Valar Morgoth, and is cursed to watch his hubris work itself out upon his children. The doomed hero makes for the most interesting. He cannot find a happy ending, and no decision that he makes will save him from his fate. Instead it is the actions that he takes, and the choices that he makes that define his doomed existence. An entire palette of possibilities is open to the author that a traditional hero could not undertake. Turin, son of Hurin presents such a character, and though lovable, he is also pitiable.
Alan Lee again lends his talent to the world of Middle Earth, however, I did not find his illustrations well inspired. There were a few that seemed quite appropriate. While most seemed to be oddly chosen, and did not accentuate the story line at that point in the text. It is hard to evenly space such illustrations through the manuscript, however, Lee seems to have chosen grander, albeit, less narrative subjects for his paintings. They are breathtaking in brilliance and execution, but I did not feel inspired by them in the context of the story. There is one depicting the great worm of Angband, and one of Hurin in captivity, but on the whole I would have liked to see more poignant and narrative scenes.
The end of the tale does become a little confusing, as it must follow both Hurin and his sister, whereas the majority of the book is focused on Hurin. I got slipped up for one moment, though probably due to my lack of attention. Once the disparate elements of the story come back together, it has a wonderful conclusion.
If I have one piece of criticism, it is only that the titles of the chapters give away much of the plot. Like other tragedies, we know that most of the characters must die, however, we don’t know when. Thus having the chapter titled, The Death of …, takes a little bit of mystery out of the story. I think I would have preferred to let the foreshadowing of Tolkien’s writing give the sense of impending doom.
It is a wonderful example of the genius that is Tolkien. I highly recommend reading it an a few settings, and letting the mythology of the master sweep you away.
