"Children of Húrin" has been published...

[Pearly Di]

Prim, I didn't think the Time review was that bad. I've read a lot worse, from the snobby British intellectual elite who still sneer at Tolkien, post-movies.

I was very pleased to read The Independent review.

I wrote about the Newsnight clip on my Live Journal and an abridged version of my write-up follows:

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BBC Newsnight had a 10 minute feature on The Children of Húrin on Monday night, around 11pm.

This included two brief clips from an interview with the Prof himself, filmed in 1968 but never broadcast before. In this old black-and-white footage, Tolkien was talking about the Elves and "their fight with the devil in the North of what is our world" - he meant Morgoth, of course.

I've got a CD of Tolkien reading passages from LOTR, which is lovely (LOTR sounds so fabulous when read aloud!), but in this old footage he was actually quite difficult to listen to: he had a rich, comfortable voice, but spoke rather indistinctly. I had to replay the footage twice because I found it so hard to hear what he was saying. Makes you wonder what it must have been like to have attended his lectures!! His long, rambling sentences were a bit Treebeard-like. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear him go "hoom, ha, ah now, that is a bit hasty".

Oh, and the BBC opened this tasty morsel of a featurette with one of my favourite scenes from TTT:EE: Éowyn's lament at Théodred's funeral. :):):)

Now, that showed a lot of care and thought ... they'd deliberately chosen a clip from the film trilogy that was about death and mourning, in order to make the connection with the bleak sadness of the Húrin family saga. I was impressed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6564953.stm

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

Where was that, Brian? I went to the Time article, but couldn't find any link to comments.

I dislike the Time review. It reminds me of the bad old days when the films were coming out—well, that part was okay , but all the writing about Tolkien from people who were Too Cool to Care really stung sometimes.

Sorry for the confusion.

I wasn't referring to the Time review, but the UK Timesonline review.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 613657.ece

Comments at the bottom. Expandable.

BrianIs AtYou

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm finding more and more subtle differences from the original Narn as I go. I haven't gotten to the part that was mainly covered in the Silmarillion yet; I expect more deviations in that part. But I really do believe this was a worthwhile endeavor. I do think that it succeeds on the level that it needs to, as a stand-alone story comprehensible to someone who is not steeped in Tolkien lore. I don't think that it has any more "glimpses" into Tolkien's wider world then does LOTR itself, and that someone who does not know who Ulmo is is not going to be any more lost then someone reading LOTR would be who does not know who Fëanor is.

And Alan Lee's artwork is utterly marvelous. Particularly the black and white drawings (my avatar is from a scan from part of a drawing of the elf-maiden Nellas who befriends the young Túrin and looks over him from afar).

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Goldberry pre-ordered the deluxe edition for me so I have to wait a few more weeks before I can read it. It's just as well. I'm currently reading Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien by Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans. I'm going to hear Dickerson speak tomorrow evening.

[Primula Baggins]

I noticed on a publishing site this morning that Children of Húrin has at least temporarily displaced the new Harry Potter as the #1 selling book at Amazon.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Here's a link that may interest you, TolkienEstate.com, which includes a very nice explanation of The Children of Húrin as well as answers to some FAQs, including these two:

Are there any plans to produce similar editions of the other two « Great Tales » of JRR Tolkien's mythology ?
Sadly, neither The Fall of Gondolin nor Beren and Lúthien were ever developed extensively and sufficiently enough by J.R.R. Tolkien to publish them in similar form to The Children of Húrin. Even though - for instance - an illustrated edition of these tales might be possible, the existing texts have already been published, and would remain incomplete.

Why an illustrated edition ?
We have always admired the work of Alan Lee, ever since he was commissioned to illustrate The Lord of the Rings at the time of J.R.R. Tolkien's centenary. While preparing the story for publication, Christopher decided that to have the book illustrated from first publication would also underline its essential quality as a story rather than a scholarly work.

(Feel free to trout me if this has already been posted in this thread, but I didn't see it when I scrolled back through the last few pages. )

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks for posting that information, Tom and Prim.

As a bit of sidenote, you actually get to the Tolkien Estate's new website by going to www.tolkienonline.com, an url that I think most of us are familiar with.

[Alatar]

My deluxe edition just arrived! Pretty....

[TORN]

Received mine (regular edition) yesterday . . . but my son just stole it so I guess I'll have to wait . . .

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I finished reading it last night. I am very pleased with this book, overall. I think that Christopher Tolkien took the right approach in striving to maintain as much of his father's writing as possible. After all, J.R.R. Tolkien is the author, not Christopher Tolkien. I think that any effort to expand the ideas that Tolkien left nebulous into a fuller-formed narrative would have resulted in awkward changes in tone and that the quality of the work would have suffered. That is evident from the awkwardness of the Introduction written by Christopher, and from a few awkward transitions that he obviously inserted. Also, I feel that the portion of the the Wanderings of Húrin at the end feels tacked on, and I would actually prefer that it not have been included. That is a minor quibble, though.

Despite my intimate familiarity with the story, I really tried to read it with the eyes of someone new to this Tale, and I think it really succeeds on that level. I think that the references to people and elements not fully explained in this book are not so much of distraction as they are glimpses into the wider universe from which the Tale is but a part, and like in LOTR I think those glimpses enhance the work rather then detract from it.

And Alan Lee's artwork is stunning. Probably my favorite Tolkien-related artwork ever. Particularly the pencil sketches.

[Andreth]

A few preliminary thoughts from my first reading.

I, too, love the Alan Lee artwork!

It was good to read a more complete story. The flow from section to section does not seem particularly awkward. I do like the "epilogue" with Húrin and Morwen. It is a way to tie things up. While the "Wanderings" would have been a nice addition, I think it would have detracted from the main story which is about his children. Also, it would have introduced more Sil material that would have confused many first time readers. And while I don't care for Túrin's role in the Second Prophecy, including it would have kept the book from being a total downer.

I miss the extra material on the Dragon-Helm, particularly the taunting scene at Nargothrond.

Including the material from Túrin's childhood keeps him appearing like a total jerk. Nienor comes across as a rather shallow character. And every time I read about Morwen's pride, I want to scream!

In fact, Túrin's pride contrasted with Beren and Tuor's relative humility is very interesting. I'm sure you regulars have discussed the role of pride in the Legendarium before but if anyone would like to have another go round, I'd happily participate.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I would definitely be game to participate in that discussion!

[Andreth]

Is that an okay? If so, I will try to pull some material together to start something next week?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Looking forward to it. And Andreth, don't be put off if the response is fairly slow. This board has a bit of an Entish quality to it. I sometimes think we should make "don't be hasty" our motto. But I know that there are people that will make excellent contributions to such a discussion, over time.

[Primula Baggins]

Andreth, I'll look forward to reading the discussion, though I don't usually dig in and participate—I mostly learn things!

I do want to assure you that you're welcome to begin any topic that interests you, at any time. No need to ask!

[Andreth]

Thank you for your encouragement. And I understand about being Entish. I tend to be an idea person rather than a doer but I will work on an outline which should help.

[Inanna]

Looking forward to the discussion, Andreth.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Very interesting review of The Children of Húrin from a Christian perspective.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/ID24Aa01.html

[TORN]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/books ... iction.htm

[axordil]

Interesting review, V-man. I agree with much of it...but I think the reviewer oversimplifies JRRT's attraction to the pagan elements of his mythos too readily. The Narn is more than a cautionary tale...and Morgoth doesn't just sit back and let Túrin self-destruct. There are psychological depths to the characters (sometimes made flesh--what is Glaurung but Túrin's own self-mocking thoughts incarnate? OK, a dragon, but you take my meaning.)

The reviewer is quite correct in that JRRT saw the futility of taking arms against evil (sorta like the war on terror...). That doesn't mean there is nothing on the other side of the equation worth admiring. Even without the notion of salvation in the works, in JRRT's world view, there is still the impulse to resist evil, to defend those one loves, and to carry oneself well, even if that carriage is tantamount to a funeral procession throughout life. Futile it may be to resist Morgoth, it is at least interesting, even compelling, to watch those who know it and do it anyway.