Having troubles with The Silmarilion?

Some Readers say "I’m having trouble getting into The Silmarillion. Have you got any tips?"

Well... there is no doubt after the relative simplicity of the prose in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, the rather more severe, ‘biblical’ style of The Silmarillioncan be an unfamiliar jolt for some readers.

There are several possible remedies:

Omit the first two sections and start reading ‘Of the Beginning of Days’. When you’ve finished the book, go back and read those two missed sections: ‘Ainulindalë’ and ‘Valaquenta’.Write brief notes on the characters mentioned and consult the family trees at the rear of the book.

If you have read The Lord of the Rings go back to just before the attack on Weathertop and read Strider’s summary of the story of Beren and Lúthien (p. 210). Then, go straight to the chapter ‘Of Beren and Lúthien’ in The Silmarillion.Read The Children of Húrin, which is almost written in the same depth and style as The Lord of the Rings but is an expanded version of the same basic story as ‘Of Túrin Turambar’.Some readers find the style of The Silmarillionhard to get used to. Try reading the final section, “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”.

This summarises some of the events of The Lord of the Rings but is written in the same style as The Silmarillion.If you are still encountering problems, get a copy of Unfinished Tales and read ‘Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin’, which is a part of a story from The Silmarillion but written in the same style and depth as The Lord of the Rings.

Several people have found that listening to Martin Shaw’s unabridged reading of The Silmarillion helps them to go on and read the book themselves.

Most of all persevere because you will be rewarded for all your hard work with some marvellous epic tales!

Sources:

[page references are to The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition, 2004]

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