Quote:
Originally Posted by Connallmac
I read The Silmarillion back in high school and I thought it added a lot to my appreciation of Lord of the Rings. It really helped me to appreciate the Elves and their long and bittersweet history, as well as their relationship to Men.
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The problem with a lot of folks is that they came to the Silmarillion expecting a linear narrative with a continuing cast of characters, ala LoTR, and it isn't.
I tell folks to imagine they are sitting in the Hall of Fire in Elrond's house in Rivendell, listening the the loremasters recount tales of the Elder Days. The tales will vary in style and tone, according the the tale and the teller. Some will be present and immediate, and others will be distant and remote, echoes from distant times before speaking peoples walked the surface of Arda.
Personally, I loved it, but I'm one of the folks who may have spent as much time in the Appendices of LoTR probing for back story as I did reading the books.
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Dennis