Tolkien: Man and Myth

Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 stars...an essential companion
Review: The truth is that "The Lord of the Rings" didn't just win in one poll, it won in several, and Tolkien himself won "author of the century". What really upset the literati was that he won again, and again, and again. Burned 'em up, it did. What this said was that "The Lord of the Rings" was not 'the greatest' book of the century, but it was the one people loved the most, the one they cherished and gave their children, the one that had the most meaning for them in the quiet places of their hearts. Which hurt the establishment even more, I expect, and which leads us to Mr. Pearce's book.

Part of the problem with writing biographical material now nearly 30 years after a seminal biography (and a dozen or more literary critiques) have come to press regarding one of the century's most popular writers, is that it's all pretty much been said. So don't be surprised when Carpenter's excellent and justly famous biography is footnoted many, many times. This isn't meant to be an entirely original biography. The biographical section does in 4 pages what Carpenter does in 40 - this book is about something else. Tolkien distrusted traditional biography and doubted very seriously that just because something happened to an artist that it was necessarily important to him or her. Tolkien's own list of the most important events of his life and art is pretty short...the Catholic Church and growing up in the pre-industrial English countryside. Not much there for a biographer to go on, seemingly. But Mr. Pearce wisely lifts these and a very few other aspects out of the white noise of every life and uses them to illuminate the life and work of a singular and impressive man. His unshakeable Catholic faith, his tireless devotion to his family, his love of the unspoilt countryside: there you have Tolkien in a nutshell. It's Pearce's assertion that many modern readers don't really want to hear all that. Often looking more for excuses rather than examples, they want to know all the cracks in the plaster. What were his indiscretions? His debaucheries? His infidelities? Was he gay? What is most important is that, even after losing both beloved parents in childhood, spending a difficult and poverty stricken youth moving from one shabby apartment to another, struggling to obtain an education, losing two of his greatest friends in the meat grinder of the Somme in WW1, making it home himself by sheer luck, he remained decade after decade a tireless and devoted father and husband, a fount of instruction for generations through his teaching, and the writer of one of the most entrancing and beguiling works ever to be written in the English language. He didn't devolve into a drunk or a wife beater as did many another self absorbed artist dealing with his "issues" or carrying around post traumatic stress. So where's the fun in reading about him then, you ask? Pearce's delightful book shows how Tolkien did it, how he lived the life he did, based on the things that were important to the man himself. And Tolkien ought to be allowed an opinion, don't you think?

Rating:
Summary: Likely to disappoint
Review: This book was written as a result of the Waterstone's (a UK chain of bookshops) survey of 1997 where LOTR was voted the "greatest book of the century". Many readers and critics responded rather - shall we say - negatively to this result. It seems that they did not think that LOTR was the "greatest book of this century" - in fact they thought that in many ways it was not a very good book at all. One of the objectives of Pearce's book is to refute these criticisms and to arm defenders of LOTR with useful ammunition when they come up against its detractors. Unfortunately, the best that Pearce can come up with is this ancient chestnut, precised thus: "Any flaws you think that you find in LOTR are not in fact flaws in the book but in yourself. You are not adequately equipped - spiritually, morally or intellectually - to criticise this book." This blatantly dishonest line of reasoning is an insult to the serious-minded and intelligent people who have found flaws in LOTR. It is also likely to embarrass those who use it when advocating the book's merits as it is so easily demolished. In this sense, Pearce betrays those readers who look to him with help in articulating the reasons why they consider LOTR to be "the greatest book of the century."

On the positive side, Pearce usefully recycles his previous research into G K Chesterton and provides an interestingly Catholic viewpoint on a Catholic writer. It seems a shame, though, that he doesn't make more use of the contact he had with Owen Barfield just before his death, as the Inklings material in this book adds nothing to what others have written previously.

To finish; this writer sides with those who consider LOTR to be a good book - it has many virtues, but its failings are also many, if not fatal. It is certainly not "the greatest book" of this or any other century.

Rating:
Summary: Tolkien: Man and Myth
Review: This is an excellent look into J.R.R. Tolkien's life. Joseph Pearce tries (and succeeds) to explain the works of Tolkien by looking at the beliefs the man held. This biography especially focuses on the Christian faith held by Tolkien and how that factored into the development of his philosophy on life and life beyond death (and hence into his fictional works). A very interesting read if one is curious about the man behind such wonderful literature like the Lord of the Rings. It also does a fantastic job of showing how friends and acquaintances helped encourage him to keep writing (particularly C.S. Lewis). Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Tolkien: Man and Myth
Review: This is an excellent look into J.R.R. Tolkien's life. Joseph Pearce tries (and succeeds) to explain the works of Tolkien by looking at the beliefs the man held. This biography especially focuses on the Christian faith held by Tolkien and how that factored into the development of his philosophy on life and life beyond death (and hence into his fictional works). A very interesting read if one is curious about the man behind such wonderful literature like the Lord of the Rings. It also does a fantastic job of showing how friends and acquaintances helped encourage him to keep writing (particularly C.S. Lewis). Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Full & Readable Account
Review: When choosing which biography to read on Tolkien, I chose this one because the author seemed to have great respect for Tolkien...so great that he was willing to take on the intelligentsia of England. As Pearce explains, in 1997 a poll was done in England to see what the best books of the century were. When "Lord of the Rings" turned up on top, the literary critics all over England (as well as the professors) were up-in-arms. They thought the craze for this work had come and gone. They thought that Tolkien only had a small, cult-like remnant left to his following (Tolkien's official biographer being among these scoffers). They condemned this work on many fronts.

And so another poll was taken...and another. But, no matter who did the poll and how, "Lord of the Rings" kept turning up on top. What horrified the "experts" even more was that Tolkien himself was voted as the best author of the century. What could possibly be contained in his works that led to such unanimous support from the people and such criticism from the experts?

That is what Pearce explores in this well-crafted biography. And, if you like Tolkien, you have to admire Pearce's approach from the beginning. He knew that Tolkien despised pop-psychology type biographies that tried to analyze an author's works based on his upbringing and life's events. Thus, while giving a sketch of Tolkien's life, Pearce respects Tolkien's wishes to not be dissected psychologically.

Rather, Pearce took on the rather large task of helping laymen understand how Tolkien's faith - a particularly Catholic faith - influenced his writings. When I first read "Lord of the Rings" myself, I wondered how one man (Tolkien) could come up with all the depth expressed in this work. (For instance, I was in awe of the depth of the idea that Sauron could never anticipate Frodo's journey to DESTROY the ring because Sauron was so evil that he couldn't anticipate selfless acts.) What Pearce helped me realize was that much of the depth came from Tolkien's reading the likes of St. Augustine and other church fathers. I believe that Tolkien himself would say that he stood on the shoulders of Giants in order to get anywhere near the understanding he portrays.

In addition to such fascinating accounts of how Tolkien's faith manifests in his work, Pearce has a particular knack for addressing subjects that a reader would be curious about...without ever going too far. In this book, he writes about such things as Tolkien's marriage, his work, his experience in WWI, his friendship with C.S. Lewis, his critics, and his advice to his son when his son was getting disillusioned with the church. In all these things, Pearce gives you a full picture while retaining a delicacy for the the people involved.

As someone who wanted an overview of Tolkien and an understanding of how his faith intersected with his life and work, I felt I had found the perfect source in Pearce's book.