Book Review: The Silmarillion

If you had told me when I was a teenager struggling to get through The Lord of the Rings and bouncing off the Entmoot that I would one day not only gleefully smash through the whole trilogy but then follow it up by reading The Silmarillion in just one week, I’d have laughed in your face. But inexplicably, here we are. And as personal reading achievements go, this one is something of which I am exceedingly proud of myself for. I really enjoyed the experience, and it has deepened not only my understanding, but also my love, for the lore of Middle Earth,

Blurb

The Silmarillion is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginative writing, a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle Earth, through the Second Age and the rise of Sauron, to the end of the War of the Ring.

They are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle Earth, and the Elves made war upon him in his impenetrable fortress in Angband for the recovery of the Silmarils, three jewels containing the last remaining pure light of Valinor, seized by Morgoth and set in his iron crown.

Accompanying these tales are several shorter works. The Aunilindalë is the myth of the Creation, and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of the gods is described. The Akallabêth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as told in The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien could not publish The Silmarillion in his lifetime, as it grew with him, so he would leave it to his son, Christopher, to edit the work from many manuscripts and bring his father’s great vision to publishable form, so completing the literary achievement of a lifetime. This special edition presents anew this seminal first step towards mapping out the posthumous publishing of Middle Earth, and the beginning of an illustrious forty years and more than twenty books celebrating his father’s legacy.

Also included is a letter by J.R.R. Tolkien written in 1951 that provides a brilliant exposition of the earlier Ages, and almost 50 full-colour paintings by Ted Nasmith, including some which appear here for the first time.

Review

The Silmarillion is renowned for being an extremely difficult book to read for all manner of reasons from its stark difference in style to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, to its grandiose and tricky (somewhat Biblical) prose, to the parts which are—dare I say it—very boring. But for those who can endure (or even revel in) the difficulties, in equal measure this is a masterpiece. The tales contained within go beyond storytelling, beyond worldbuilding. The Silmarillion is firmly planted in the realm of the finest mythmaking.

Within, Tolkien gives us his take on a creation myth. There are tales of gods, the history of the elves and the doom of the Silmarils, the great deeds of the heroes of old, the stories behind the songs referenced in The Lord of the Rings, and the rise and fall of the first Dark Lord of whom Sauron was only a servant. It weaves in interpretations of other myths, like Arthurian legend, and the destruction of Atlantis in tales like the Fall of Númenor, and locations like the island of Avalónnë. And finally, it gives us a glimpse into the making of the Rings of Power and the events behind The Lord of the Rings from the perspective of the high and mighty.

Many of the Great Tales are here in condensed form, such as the iconic and beautiful love story of the tale of Beren & Lúthien, the surprisingly dark tragedy of the Children of Húrin, the Fall of Gondolin, the victorious Voyage of Eärendil, and the Akallabêth (or Atalantë). They were all so good. I’ve heard that people really struggle with the opening two chapters of the book with the creation myth, but I revelled in all of that as well. The only bit which I felt really dragged was where the tales paused and the book instead took me through the map in excruciating detail for one single chapter (Of Beleriand and its Realms). Honestly that’s where I could have crashed out if I hadn’t had the maps to follow.

A note on this edition of the book: I have got the 2021 hardback containing paintings from Ted Nasmith (the one with The Ships of the Faithful painting as the front cover). It’s incredible. The illustrations alone are worth it, but reading the tales with the pictures just elevated the whole experience. Like I said above, I read The Silmarillion in full in one week. Absolutely devoured it.

I’ve seen one or two people say that getting so much backstory diminished the mystery and wonder they felt when reading The Lord of the Rings. I can’t relate to this, or even understand the sentiment. There are a lot of tales and a lot of names in The Silmarillion, but it never felt like it gave too much detail (with the exception of the map chapter). Everything was told in a very high level manner, removed from the characters, and oftentimes simply says stuff like “and they did many other great deeds” without elaboration. I was actually surprised, because I wanted more detail about the Fall of Númenor and the creation of the Rings of Power, and the coming of the Istari, but… It’s simply not here—at least not any moreso than in the Appendices at the back of The Lord of the Rings. It turns out that a lot of those kinds of details are in other writings such as Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle Earth (which I also now have on my shelf, though in paperback form—a cheap and fortuitous find from a charity shop!) So no, reading The Silmarillion has not diminished anything for me, but to the contrary has increased my wonder at the world that Tolkien created.

If you’ve read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and are hungry for more in the world of Middle Earth, you could consider The Silmarillion. But you really need to be prepared for what you’re getting into before you start. There are plenty of resources online to help with a first read of this remarkable text. But if you think you can tackle it, the rewards are great indeed, and I really recommend it.