Rating: Summary: Into the mind of the Master Review: J.R.R. Tolkien was a prolific writer -- not just in creating the sprawling sagas of Middle-Earth, but also in writing letters, notes, and introspective studies of literature and religion. "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien" is a surprisingly entertaining read, and an invaluable source for figuring out Middle-Earth's history, and Tolkien's writing.
His letters start off with notes to his beloved Edith, before they got married, when he was in the army. After only fifteen pages, correspondence with publishers starts (regarding the publishing of "Mr. Bliss"), and continues with details about his writing, illustrations, and plans for future writings. "[The created legend] should be 'high,' purged of the gross, and fit for the more adult mind of a land long now steeped in poetry," he writes at one point.
But letters to publishers are only some of the letters Tolkien wrote in his long life. Other letters are to his kids and his friends, detailing his trip to Italy, the Narnia books, his friendships, his career, the nuances of "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," "Beowulf," and explaining his thoughts on philosophy, religion, myth and his own writing -- even describing an aborted sequel to "Lord of the Rings" called "The New Shadow," which he abandoned as being "both sinister and depressing."
Do hobbits have pointy ears? Did Sauron create the orcs? Were the evil spiders inspired by a childhood tarantula bite? Was the Ring of Power "der Nibelungen Ring"? Tolkien addressed all of these in his letters. (And the answers are: Yes, no, no, and absolutely not!) Rumors are addressed, questions are answered, and Tolkien gives insights to his writings that -- obviously -- no one else could provide.
And unlike in a lot of compiled-letters books, Tolkien's own personality seems to shine through his letters -- intelligent, imaginative, immersed in his faith, work and family, and capable of being quite snippy when he wanted to be. His letter to Allen & Unwin about a "Dr. O" is particularly funny ("Coming home dead without a head... is not very delightful"). While Tolkien's style seems very formal at first, it's easy to get immersed in his longer letters. The shorter ones are usually quite short -- one is only two lines long, announcing that "I shall be murdered if something does not happen soon."
And while Tolkien answered intelligent questions with extensive responses, he didn't seem to like untrue rumors. When Dr. O claimed that the Ring was "der Nibelungen Ring," he responded dryly that: "Both rings were round, and there the resemblence ceases." Touche, professor. He also shows an endearingly humble attitude towards his work, even calling his charming drawings "ill-drawn."
J.R.R. Tolkien's letters are a gold mine for the devoted fan of Middle-Earth, and provide many insights into his mind and work. Even less devoted fans may be staggered by "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien."
Rating: Summary: An Essential and Absorbing Volume. Review: One of the greatest literary figures of modern times, Tolkien is principally known as a novelist, scholar, mythologist, poet, essayist and philologist. However an element of the man that tends to go unnoticed is the fact that, on the basis of this volume at least, he was one of the greatest letter writers of the 20th century. Whether the reader is an avid consumer of all things Tolkien, or is just looking for an enjoyable book, this collection of letters will not fail to delight. There is much intriguing information on his writings to be gleaned from 'The Letters of JRR Tolkien' but there is a lot more besides. Even if one were to skip all letters refering to Middle Earth there would remain a large and fascinating chunk of the book to explore. We knew that Tolkien's literary imagination was remarkable, but what is revealed here is the staggering depth and breath of Tolkien's thought on all matters. The letters deal with an immense range of topics: religion, language, politics, art, literature, philosophy, current affairs, theology, history - the list is endless and wonderfully diverse. His style is lively and never bland or cumbersome to read. Original ideas and phrases that stick in the mind, seem to flow from his pen without effort. The author that emerges from 'The Letters of JRR Tolkien' is a very human man, deeply religious, humble, affectionate and witty. This is a delightful volume, relevant to anyone who has the remotest interest in literature or indeed any aspect of human affairs. It will provide enormous pleasure through many readings and re-readings
Rating: Summary: One added feature of new edition: decent index Review: This book is certainly a must for any Tolkien fan. Many of the letters included here were written to fans of his works (though that includes people close to Tolkien, such as family members) and include details about Tolkien's ideas about middle-earth which aren't to be found elsewhere.The original edition of this book came with a very poor index, which was unfortunate for a book crammed with references to events and people in Tolkien's created world. This new paperback edition includes a very thorough and complete index, prepared by W. Hammond and C. Scull, who have edited some other nice recent Tolkien books, including "JRR Tolkien Artist and Illustrator" and "Roverandom".
Rating: Summary: Astonishing! A Collection of Genius! Review: This collection of letters written by J.R.R. Tolkien himself include tons of insight into the man behind the stories. He was really a great, down-to-earth, friendly man. Anyone who likes Tolkien's works or is interested in his biography should certainly read this wonderful book.
Rating: Summary: Excellent! Review: This is a must but for any fan of Tolkien. This book is both excellent and insightful. It has many different types of letters, whether it is a letter of advice to his son, answering a question of a fan, etc. It also has a handy index in the back. I have greatly enjoyed perusing through this.
Rating: Summary: Finally a book on Tolkien by Tolkien Review: What more can be said about Tolkien. After reading all of his published fiction, all of the textual reconstruction (most of it laborious but entirely fascinating) by Christopher Tolkien, most of the biographies of Tolkien, and the obscure works by Tolkien recently published, like Mr. Bliss and the Father Christmas Letters, I figured I knew all there was to know about the best author of the 20th century. At the same time, I had tons of questions about how Tolkien saw his work, how he reacted to its success and its abuse and especially about his philological foundations and the process that led him to create a world to give his invented languages a realistic setting. Until I picked up this book containing hundreds of his private correspondence, I figured that these questions were unanswerable. Not so, within these letters, Tolkein gives inexhaustivly interesting defenses of himself and his greatest literary works. From the letters where he aplogizes to his publisher for taking 10 years longer to finish the Lord of The Rings than he promised, to his angry reaction to the American film company and the BBC who produced dramatizations which severly distorted the plot and characters of his book, its all here. Tolkien answers the critical reviewers of his works. Tolkien challanges text critics to use their "literary scientific methods" to find where he paused in his writing of the Hobbit for 1 year. Tolkien answers fan mail questions about LOTR. Tolkien's lettes and telegrams to his son serving in S. Africa during the war. A brilliant letter from Tolkien to his other son on the question, "Can men and women be friends without sexual attraction". Tolkein's devastating response to a 1939 German company's request to translate the Hobbit into German and their query "But are you of Aryan descent?" Over and over again I was astounded by Tolkien's mastery of the lost art of letter writing, his vast, flavorful vocabulary and sheer omniscience of language - his overwhelming intelligence flows from every page. Tolkien never makes me feel as stupid as I am, relative to his genius, instead when I read him I find that he is mysteriously and unnervably able to express himself with perfect clarity down to the level of his audience, possibly his greatest ability and also possibly never equaled in modern history by any other literary figure. No other literary figure is as accessible as J.R.R. Tolkien. I also realized after reading this 400 page book, that I learned much more about the Hobbit and the LOTR than I did in reading the 12 volume set by his son Christopher on his writing. Indeed I would venture to say that this is the only non-fiction book you need to read to understand his fictional works. I will be selling my other books about Tolkien, freeing up at least a full shelf on my bookcase.
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