honestpuck writes
"I find it surprising that with the current popularity of the The Lord
of The Rings movies and subsequent rise in sales of the trilogy and
The Hobbit that so few bookshops stock more of the Professor's other
works. Fortunately this volume makes it easier. It puts four of his works in one, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom
Bombadil Leaf By Niggle and Smith of Wootton Major." The first and fourth of these I've read elsewhere (and enjoyed), so I'm glad to learn of the other two. Read on for honestpuck's capsule description of each.
Tales From The Perilous Realm
author
J.R.R. Tolkein
pages
192
publisher
Harper Collins
rating
9
reviewer
Tony Williams
ISBN
0261103431
summary
Excellent short stories and poetry from a master story-tellet
Farmer Giles of Ham
This is a marvelous tale of a reluctant, and accidental, hero and a dragon who doesn't quite live up to the stereotype. The style is a little old fashioned, making it seem more like the fairy tales of your childhood than even The Hobbit, with a dry sense of humour. That said, it also seems to be the hardest for a child to enjoy (my sample size is only two, however), though personally I liked it when I first read it and enjoy it still.. It is the longest of the four works and by far the earliest written and published, 1949.
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
The Adventures is a collection of 16 assorted poems, most are either partially quoted or referred to in The Lord Of The Rings. The poems are a mixed bag, ranging from the short and amusing "Oliphaunt" through to the more adult and wistful "The Last Ship" that closes the collection. All are enjoyable for the adult reader, some enjoyable for children.
Iâ(TM)ve never really liked Tolkienâ(TM)s verse when he tries to be serious, in this collection I only really like "Oliphaunt."
Leaf By Niggle
The shortest of the three stories, in this one Niggle, whose dreams far
outweigh his talent, sets out to paint the perfect tree and is caught up
in his own variation of the Pygmalion myth (though it is a tree that comes to life.) It is a marvelously written tale that unfolds
beautifully.
Smith of Wootton Major
My favourite of them all, a tale in which Smith voyages to the land of the faeries via a magical cake. Another story that revolves around the
dreams and fantasies in a life. This one is a perfect fairy tale and perfect for reading aloud to a small person, full of magic and charm and
whimsy it brings to mind everything I loved about The Hobbit.
Conclusion
While the three tales and 16 poems all have their differences there is
certainly a distinctive style across them all. Just a little
old-fashioned, a little formal - in fact almost exactly how you'd expect
an Oxford Professor to write fiction. This volume is worth reading, and
an enjoyable read but does not quite have the magnificence of language
in The Lord of The Rings nor the wonderful light touch of well-crafted
children's tale in The Hobbit. They are good short pieces, that sort of excellence is hard to craft into such short works.
Anyone who enjoyed The Hobbit will find this a wonderful volume. Tolkein
always talked of writing both The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings as a
way of creating truly English myth and fairy tales (he felt that Arthur
was too much a tale borrowed from the French). While both of those 'grew
in the telling,' this small volume gives us three marvelous (and English
in feel) fairy tales and some good poetry. A must for all Tolkein fans.
Tales from the Perilous Realm is harder to find than Tolkein's better-known works, but is available from online merchants including
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Sorry, just watched the DVD again, didn't see him. Anything other than the movie just isn't canon. :P
I think the reluctance of shops to stock Prof Toliens other material is because of the constant issues of his dad's notes and half finished tales that Christopher Tolkien dished out for so many years. I think the LotR is brilliant, but I haven't got time to read through anyones 'works in progress'.
"We shall party like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean." - HedonismBot
First post, in Elvish.
Hoist Number One and Number Six.
It should be noted though that the sales of his other books have risen. They obviously just havn't sold as much as the LoTR series.
Did anyone else read this as just a very long title? Goes to show that commas still have importance in the English language.
Think of a Jesus Christ figure prancing through the woods with golden curls who defeats his enemies through song... then you have Tom Bombadill. Truly, a king among middle earth men. :D
One of my favorite childhood memories is my dad reading The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings out loud to me and my younger brother. I'm glad other people are doing that with their kids also, and it's cool that there are more Tolkein stories to delve into. :)
The Simarillian is a must-have for anyone interested in Tolkien's world. It was actually his FIRST work, predating the Hobbit, but people told him it wouldn't sell. It was an ongoing work and his son (Christopher) edited and published it after his death.
It goes through all the history from "In the Beginning there was darkness" sort of Genisis to the final history of Aragorn and Arwen. There you learn about where Gandolf comes from, what the Wizards really are (same tier of age as Balrogs, interestingly) as well as Soron's predecessor, Melkor.
Repeat VERY GOOD BOOK TO HAVE!!!!
Murray Todd Williams
Less we forget Tolkiens translation of the Pearl Poet's, 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'? That poem kicks ass (atleast as far as a poem can kick one's ass, that is)!
Serious Tolkien readeres will probably be interested in Christopher Tolkien's "History of Middle-Earth" and the other publications which have been released.
Everyone else probably will have comparatively little use for them. If you haven't read the "Silmarillion", I wouldn't even bother picking them up; on the other hand, if you want a "first-hand" look at how the Lord of the Rings was constructed, "The History of Middle-Earth" is very insightful (and will give you a lot of extra-geeky trivia to throw around).
I have read "Smith of Wotton Major" and "Farmer Giles of Ham", and to throw in my two bits I think they're both wonderful stories. "Farmer" is at times outright hilarious, as the above reviewer indicates the humor is dry; I found it thoughly entertaining.
"Smith" is another matter. I think it's a wonderful story, too, but it's a "fey-story" in the old sense, which means it's actually a little creepy at times. I loved it as a child, but found it a little disturbing. Recently reading it (~8 months ago) I thought it absolutely beautiful, and decidely bittersweet.
Another story not in this collection that's very recommended for both whimsical adults and any child is "Roverandom", which is a wonderful fantasy about a lost toy dog who ends up in the company of wizards...
dont forget _The Silmarillion_ and _The Lays of Beleriand_. The Silmarillion is required reading for anyone interested in the culture and mythology of Middle Earth. Besides, _The Silmarillion_ was Tolkien's life's work and the trilogy was based on the stories in this tome.
I remember reading a couple of months back that some researcher requested someo f Tolkein's papers from the Oxford archives, and found within it a line-by-line translation of Gilgamesh, in Tolkein's own hand, with his comments. The article said that the translation was to be published this summer. I can find no reference to this on the web, however.
Anyone else here of this?
"Stop whining!" - Arnold, as Mr. Kimble
Also worth noting is that Tolkin was one of the original translators of the New Jerusalem Bible.
yes... yes... I know that many of you don't believe in God, etc. But, hopefully, you'll recognize that translating the entire Bible to English is quite an accomplishment for one of our favorite authors. And, just maybe, you'll even appreciate how happy it makes us Christians to have this great author bring his talents to scripture.
Then again, maybe I'll just get modded to oblivion...
The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried. -G.K. Chesterton
My favourite of them all, a tale in which Smith voyages to the land of the faeries via a magical cake.
That happened to me at the office Christmas party! Someone tooks photos and then put them up on the notice board. It was really embarassing.
An earlier recopilation of most of this tales (without the one about Tom Bombadil) was Tree and Leaf (or at least, in spanish, was "Arbol y Hoja", that can be easily found in bookstores here in Uruguay). Of this 3 tales, the one I remember more is Leaf, by Niggle, is just the kind of tale that remembers you that Tolkien was a great writer even without the Middle Earth.
Every year for 23 years, Tolkien wrote his children a letter from Father Christmas, from the late 20's into the 40's. The great depression and WWII get mentioned in passing, but Father Christmas always triumphs.
This one is good for reading to children, with wonderful pictures by Tolkien. For older children, you can sprinkle in a bit of history by telling why Father Christmas had such trouble delivering toys in 1932, and so on. For the Tolkien fancier, the book gives some insight into the author's mind. For example, my edition has samples of the ``elvish writing'' which Father Christmas sent to the children.
See what I've been reading.
Mmmm... Brownies...
Q: Why aren't all these other books as popular?
:)
A: Because they aren't as good as LOTR.
Duh.
Personally I hated the LOTR trilogy and I can't see why any of it is popular. It is a crude and awkward reading experience. Sure, it is the grandfather of fantasy - but it is by no means the best.
I am mostly a science fiction fan, but my favorite fantasy book ever is "Magician" by Raymond E. Feist. Highly recommended even to those (like myself) that otherwise hate the genre. There are a bunch of books in the series, with prequels and sequels. All the books are seriously good, well written, very pleasant reading experience.
"Magician". In store now! Get it today!
This is definitely NOT a childrens book. It is absolutely crammed with in-jokes that are firmly directed at linguists and philologists and other academics.
For example, when Tolkien talks about Farmer Giles' blunderbuss, he makes a point of saying that people might not know what a blunderbuss is, then goes on to say the "the four wise clerks of Oxenford" define it as . This is lifted EXACTLY from the then-current edition of the the Oxford English Dictionary.
The dry, pedantic style was also directed at the similar style employed by academics.
Also, one has to remember that this was written in the aftermath of one of the most terrible wars the country had ever seen, and also came at the end of rationing in the UK, and despite the style, FGoH is a rollicking great belly laugh, definitely one of JRRT's really intelligent works.
BTW, was going through my papers last night and found my old copies of JRRT's poems, "Imram," which chronicles the travels of Saint Brendan, and "The Lay of Aotrao and Itroun", a very dark epic poem in the Breton tradition, which I copied by hand from the original manuscripts back in the '70s. As far as I know these have never been published, which is a shame, as they are both excellent works...
Call me old fashioned, but I like a dump to be as memorable as it is devastating - Bender
When I read this odd section of the book I always find Tom to be a rather creepy character. He seems to eminate power and is able to see into the future, yet he chooses to pacify his enemies though the most gentle of means (by singing!). As mysteriously as he appears, he is quickly forgotten and plays no other important part in the book. He is somehow 'above' the petty, earthly issues of the dark lord and the one ring and sees no reason to alter the forseen course that history will take. I suppose like so many other characters in LotR, Tom is an idealized figure, whose actions are constrained by the nature of his being. Otherwise, why would he not just prance down to Mordor and sing a little toon for Sauron? :D
One wonders what Lucas would have done with Tom... CGI extravaganza showdown with Sauron!
Bullet time anyone??? :::shudder:::
That's not true either. There isn't a single "Silmarillion", though Tolkien continued work on it throughout his life. After "the Hobbit" turned into a big success, Tolkien tried to get the Silmarillion into print. But after being convinced by his publisher that it wouldn't sell, he basically melded aspects of the Hobbit and Silmarillion (along with the fall of Numenor) into Lord of the Rings and got that published instead. Afterward, he continued to work on the Silmarillion until he died.
Later, Christopher Tolkien took the most viable "cross section" of his father's continuous Silmarillion work and got it published and then went on to put all the pre-existing stuff into print as well as part of the "History of Middle Earth" series.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
"Repeat after me: T O L K I E N, not Tolkein
S I L M A R I L L I O N, not Silmarillian"
10. Who's that guy Fordo Prefect?
9. Tolkien got Golem from Yiddish myth, right?
8. Stan Lee should sue: Tolkein got "Sauron" from the X-Men Savage Land comics.
7. Captain Kirk battled Aragorn on Star Trek.
5. What's that bad wizard and the guy with the eye? I never get the two straight: Sarmon and Souron? Souromon and Sauromon? Whatever.
4. If you call me with a technical support question about your Tolkien Ring network, I WILL hang up on you.
3. Brie: cheese or town?
2. Fangorn is that horror movie magazine!
1. "Teleporno". Well, this one is correct: it is a real name in the Tolkien works. This is the one that should be wrong!
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
To review Leaf by Niggle becomes a lot easier when you remember that Tolkien was a devout Catholic and a confirmed Englishman. From Niggle it also becomes clear that he was a man who loved his hobby of writing Middle Earth stories but still felt obliged to be a good host -- while himself occasionally enjoying reciprocating the demand! -- and a good neighbour. It also becomes clear that he sometimes wondered if there was any long term value in either his work (the arcane study of English language and literature) or his hobby (Et EÃrello Endorenna Ãtulien!).
The Journey is Niggle's impending death. Parish is his most immediate opportunity to practice Christian charity and neighbourliness. Packing for the journey is the practice of spiritual disciplines.
One could go on but ought not do so without acknowledging that Tolkien himself claimed to hate allegory wherever he could found it. Nonetheless, the story is much more enjoyable when you look at it from a point of view that acknowledges Tolkien's Christianity and uses it to interpret the various pieces of the work. What we are hearing, I believe, is Tolkien's whisperings in the Confessional Box, but instead of being obscured to the point of unintelligibilty, as velvet-lined walls would do, it's hidden in a form that Tolkien would never have used for any kind of story other than this one: a confession or a spiritual autobiography.
And don't we all want to be considered cases for Gentle Treatment?
Still hoping for Gentle Treatment...
....is that Tolkien kept his characters simple but created a complex world (middle earth)for them to inhabit. As a natural story teller, Tolkien realized that kids and adults alike enjoy living vicariously though charcters in books. Frodo is the 'everyman'. He doesn't have superpowers, super strength, or even super looks :D Because of this, we the reader are able to imprint our emotions onto Frodo and other characters as they wade through the perilous and mysterious place of middle earth.
Another view is that Middle Earth is a recreated 'history' of ancient England. Before there were Knights and dragons, there was middle earth. A land which was rural, simple, non-industrialized. Where everyone had a pipe to smoke, a story to tell by the fire, and a garden to tend to: an idealized time.
IMO reading LOTR is like taking a relaxing walk though a field on a summers day (as corny as that may be!). Its not about the destination, but the journey(and what you see, smell, and eat along the way).
"The Hobbit" TV cartoon
"Lord of the Rings: Part 1" Bashki's movie cartoon
"Lord of the Rings: Part 2" TV Cartoon
"Lord of Rings" Jackson trilogy
Tolkien.co.uk gives Feb/03 as the publication date.
Clem.
The titles of these books remind me of the Monty Python bookstore skit... No, "Rarnaby Budge" by Charles Dikkens. That's Dikkens with two Ks, the well-known Dutch author. Do you have "Leaf By Niggle" by ....
That's okay, how about "Smith of Wootton Major" by ....
Dr. Rick
- "It's such a fine line between clever and stupid" (Nigel Tufnel)
- Zort! (Pinky)
Or at least Tolkien must have been aware of the similarities with this hero of the Finnish Kalevala when he was writing his poems. The Kalevala wizards employed a style of magic much like Bombadil's. The Bombadil poems read, unfortunately, like a rather watered down and less earthy copy of the orginal.
I think it's probably significant that the Bombadil chapters occur so early in LotR, when Tolkien was casting about for a theme. He was trying to create a new English folkore, and the Kalevala was an obvious model, having virtually redefined the Finnish national identity when it was published. The Bombadil chapters of LotR just feel like an unsuccessful graft from a different story. Indeed while with some effort Tolkien managed to accomodate Bombadil in his world by giving him an unique role in it, he rather ignores Goldberry, whose nature is equally problematic.
The simplest answer is that they both belong to a different story, one that Tolkien thought he might be writing before he found his own voice in Rivendell.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
is that the stories of the Silmarillion aren't really meant to be read, like the published forms of the Hobbit and LotR are.
The Silmarillion is meant to be told, out loud, in the manner of a bard in the king's hall, reciting and performing before a crowd. Modern readers find the style dry because they're used to having the facial expressions and voice tones spelled out in the text, or shown to them on television. If you read the stories aloud, you find that they're not so dry after all.
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
...I'd seriously consider negotiating for the rights to Farmer Giles of Ham and/or Smith of Wootton Major, plus lesser-known (still very good) stories like Roverandum and Mr. Bliss, to be done as animated features. =)
:-)
Given the way these stories are written, they almost BEG to be done as animated features. Farmer Giles of Ham done under the right producing/directing team at Disney could be one very fun movie to watch (they can borrow the drawing style of Pauline Baynes, the original illustrator of the book) and Mr. Bliss is almost perfect as a Pixar feature. How about it, folks?
(P.S. I know Tolkien back in the 1950's had qualms about Disney animation, but Disney has shown since 1995 they can go with very different drawing styles successfully, styles that he probably would have approved.)
-1 torog (i.e. "troll")