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vulturetime's review against another edition
3.75
Not entirely sure as to how to rate this. Once again, I don't think any of the History of Middle Earth series is for anyone who isn't very invested into the world of Middle Earth as well as how that world came to be developed. The primary stories in this volume are the Children of Hurin and the Lay of Leithian, which exist in multiple other books. As a result, though it was refreshing to see them in a new format and with new details, the stories do get repetitive. So while I enjoyed the book, I won't deny that I also got bored, and reading this digitally was a bit of a chore, as the index and commentary is especially useful when you can quickly flip into the pages instead of having to bookmark the pages to go back and forth. Might bump up to a 3.75, but I'm not certain.
kbuchanan's review against another edition
3.0
An illuminating look at some of the early versions of the major players in the history of Middle Earth. The alliterative, Old English-style verse that makes up 'The Lay of the Children of Hurin' is technically virtuosic and I found to be a pleasure to read. Its formality is certainly not for everyone, but it warmed this English major's hearth. The sing-song style of 'The Lay of Luthien' is somewhat more jarring to get behind, but the subject matter is such that it remains engaging and laced with passages of great beauty. Christopher Tolkien's extensive editorial notes are in turns helpful and somewhat frustrating, but certainly demonstrate the scholarly rigor with which he approaches his father's works. The labor of gathering together and producing a cohesive whole out of the many scattered drafts and manuscripts left by Tolkien is clearly a gargantuan task, and I'm certainly glad he took the time.
warriorcattrash's review against another edition
5.0
If Toklien's prose wasn't esoteric enough it's time for *verse*
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1693204.html
This is the third volume of the History of Middle Earth; it contains two unfinished poems tackling the two key narratives of the Silmarillion. The first, a version of the tale of Turin told in alliterative blank verse, did not really appeal to me, and while I can see why Tolkien, with his background, wanted to give it a try, it's not very surprising that the effort did not come off. The Lay of Leithian, however, is a different matter - telling the story of Beren and Luthien in rhyming couplets of iambic tetrameter, it has a tremendous energy that Tolkien never quite managed in the prose versions of the story, despite its strong personal significance for him. Also I had forgotten, or had never realised, just how kickass a heroine Luthien actually is. The couplets are occasionally a little unpolished, but Christopher Tolkien reproduces a mock source-critical analysis by none other than C.S. Lewis suggesting that the least good bits are obvious interpolations by later scribes. J.R.R. Tolkien then revised the poem in line with Lewis' suggestions, but typically started expanding it from the middle again and never got around to finishing it.
Years later, it was part of the disorganised bundle of papers submitted to Unwin as material for a potential sequel to The Hobbit. Unwin's reader, who clearly had not been given much background, found the poem indigestible and urged instead an expansion of the prose summary of the rest of The Silmarillion. Tolkien wasn't up for this at that point, and wrote The Lord of the Rings instead. And thus was history made.
This is the third volume of the History of Middle Earth; it contains two unfinished poems tackling the two key narratives of the Silmarillion. The first, a version of the tale of Turin told in alliterative blank verse, did not really appeal to me, and while I can see why Tolkien, with his background, wanted to give it a try, it's not very surprising that the effort did not come off. The Lay of Leithian, however, is a different matter - telling the story of Beren and Luthien in rhyming couplets of iambic tetrameter, it has a tremendous energy that Tolkien never quite managed in the prose versions of the story, despite its strong personal significance for him. Also I had forgotten, or had never realised, just how kickass a heroine Luthien actually is. The couplets are occasionally a little unpolished, but Christopher Tolkien reproduces a mock source-critical analysis by none other than C.S. Lewis suggesting that the least good bits are obvious interpolations by later scribes. J.R.R. Tolkien then revised the poem in line with Lewis' suggestions, but typically started expanding it from the middle again and never got around to finishing it.
Years later, it was part of the disorganised bundle of papers submitted to Unwin as material for a potential sequel to The Hobbit. Unwin's reader, who clearly had not been given much background, found the poem indigestible and urged instead an expansion of the prose summary of the rest of The Silmarillion. Tolkien wasn't up for this at that point, and wrote The Lord of the Rings instead. And thus was history made.
gameofmo's review against another edition
4.0
This one took a bit longer to digest simply because of the nature of the material. It is worth the read for the Lay of Leithien alone, but the Lay of the Children of Húrin and additional poems were enjoyable as well. The appendix containing C.S. Lewis’ comments on earlier versions of the Lay of Leithian made for a fun intercession.
stephanie30's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting view as it not narrative but poetic.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
3.0
I am reminded of that old saying of law and sausages, and not wanting to see how either is made. I felt that way periodically while reading this. While I was interested to see how the different narratives developed, and while I did enjoy those narratives, some of the commentary was a little too detailed and abstract for me - I really do not care to read endless notes on minor spelling changes, for instance - and it's hard to deny that there's a lot of repetition here.
As always, the sheer depth of Tolkien's imagination is a delight. I am forced to conclude, however, that he's just not that great a poet. Yes, come at me with your pitchforks, but I genuinely think his prose is better. He does enjoy the rhyming form, and in order to force the rhymes his sentences are twisted to fit and the results aren't fantastic - for this reason I much preferred the alliterative Children of Hurin parts to that of rhyming Beren and Luthien. Still, on a macro level if not a micro, this is an interesting read if perhaps one more directed towards academics than people who just want to read a good story without being interrupted by sausage-making.
As always, the sheer depth of Tolkien's imagination is a delight. I am forced to conclude, however, that he's just not that great a poet. Yes, come at me with your pitchforks, but I genuinely think his prose is better. He does enjoy the rhyming form, and in order to force the rhymes his sentences are twisted to fit and the results aren't fantastic - for this reason I much preferred the alliterative Children of Hurin parts to that of rhyming Beren and Luthien. Still, on a macro level if not a micro, this is an interesting read if perhaps one more directed towards academics than people who just want to read a good story without being interrupted by sausage-making.
flosmith's review against another edition
4.0
Anyone who truly enjoys the works of [a:JRR Tolkien|5169768|JRR Tolkien|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] will like this. Much of the story of Beren and Luthien is told here in prose. Their story is my favorite that is told in the [b:The Silmarillion|8842257|The Silmarillion|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1281506141s/8842257.jpg|4733799] and being told in prose is beautiful. This book also has some of the earlier stories such as Thingol and Melian as well as further information about the construction and changes that these stories underwent. Much of the commentary can be skipped and the stories themselves enjoyed as they are.
darkbohem's review against another edition
4.0
I read this for the verse, skimmed some of the commentary.
lisa_setepenre's review against another edition
3.0
The Lays of Beleriand is the third volume in the History of Middle-earth series which details the drafts and notes Tolkien made in his lifetime about the bodies of work that has become known as The Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings. This volume focuses on Tolkien's attempts to write his cycle of myths as "lays" (alliterative verse, aka a form of poetry used in Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon).
The main tales focused on in The Lays of Beleriand are "The Children of Húrin" and "The Tale of Lúthien and Beren" (Lay of Leithian). It's familiar ground for most Tolkien fans, which is perhaps a good thing because both lays are incomplete. And while the book contains more of Tolkien's stories written in verse, these other verses are mere fragments.
Again, I'll offer up the typical HOME disclaimer: this series is for the more hardcore Tolkien enthusiasts as it deals with Tolkien's drafts and notes, all drawn from various periods in Tolkien's writing life. If you struggled with Rings, if you struggled with The Silmarillion, you're most likely to struggle even more with this. Lays of Beleriand, being the third volume, contains some of Tolkien's earlier writings and various details have changed over time so there's easily room for a lot of confusion.
I waffled on about how to rate this. I didn't enjoy The Lay of the Children of Húrin that much, but found myself rapt in The Lay of Leithian.
I just couldn't seem to get into The Lay of the Children of Húrin. It reminded me of trying to read Milton's Paradise Lost. There was beautiful writing, stunning imagery, but my eyes kept glazing over and I couldn't take anything in. I knew I was counting down the pages til the end of the chapter, skimming nearly every page and trying to force myself to get through it.
I can't work out why I couldn't be absorbed by it. It might have been the use of alliterative verse – except I really enjoyed reading Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur, which is written in the same style (or it is to my uneducated eyes). It might have been the tale itself – except I've read "The Children of Húrin" in prose and bloody love it. At the end of the day, I feel like The Lay of the Children of Húrin had everything I love, but it just didn't work for me.
The early-abandoned poems on the Flight of the Noldoli [Noldor] from Valinor, Eärendil and the Fall of Gondolin were a breath of fresh air for me. While these are very short and fragmentary (editor Christopher Tolkien provides the poem, notes and commentary in ten pages and under for all three), they do contain examples of some of Tolkien's most beautiful writing and I had to stop and read out-loud the oath of the Sons of Fëanor, it's that good.
Likewise, The Lay of Leithian is something that just clicked for me. I've never considered myself a huge fan of the tale of Lúthien and Beren, but I was rapt in this version of the tale. This makes up the bulk of the book (150 out of 393 pages) and is sadly incomplete, cutting off just after Lúthien and Beren flee Angband. The pages just flew by for me and I found myself enjoying the depiction of Lúthien as a woman who doesn't have to be given a weapon and a bunch of ninja-elf moves to be a badass. There were times when she did seem to be characterised as the swooning damsel and that annoyed me a lot, but then Tolkien let her save the day on multiple occasions and I was more than OK with that. I also found it interesting to read about Thingol in the wake of reading some essays that suggest he, not Thranduil, was the original Elven-king of The Hobbit.
So, how do I rate this book? I'd easily given 4-5 stars for the abandoned poems and The Lay of Leithian, but The Lay of the Children of Húrin was a flat 2-starrer for me, though I dearly wish it had been otherwise. It felt safer to go for a rating smack-bang in the middle with 3 stars.
The main tales focused on in The Lays of Beleriand are "The Children of Húrin" and "The Tale of Lúthien and Beren" (Lay of Leithian). It's familiar ground for most Tolkien fans, which is perhaps a good thing because both lays are incomplete. And while the book contains more of Tolkien's stories written in verse, these other verses are mere fragments.
Again, I'll offer up the typical HOME disclaimer: this series is for the more hardcore Tolkien enthusiasts as it deals with Tolkien's drafts and notes, all drawn from various periods in Tolkien's writing life. If you struggled with Rings, if you struggled with The Silmarillion, you're most likely to struggle even more with this. Lays of Beleriand, being the third volume, contains some of Tolkien's earlier writings and various details have changed over time so there's easily room for a lot of confusion.
I waffled on about how to rate this. I didn't enjoy The Lay of the Children of Húrin that much, but found myself rapt in The Lay of Leithian.
I just couldn't seem to get into The Lay of the Children of Húrin. It reminded me of trying to read Milton's Paradise Lost. There was beautiful writing, stunning imagery, but my eyes kept glazing over and I couldn't take anything in. I knew I was counting down the pages til the end of the chapter, skimming nearly every page and trying to force myself to get through it.
I can't work out why I couldn't be absorbed by it. It might have been the use of alliterative verse – except I really enjoyed reading Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur, which is written in the same style (or it is to my uneducated eyes). It might have been the tale itself – except I've read "The Children of Húrin" in prose and bloody love it. At the end of the day, I feel like The Lay of the Children of Húrin had everything I love, but it just didn't work for me.
The early-abandoned poems on the Flight of the Noldoli [Noldor] from Valinor, Eärendil and the Fall of Gondolin were a breath of fresh air for me. While these are very short and fragmentary (editor Christopher Tolkien provides the poem, notes and commentary in ten pages and under for all three), they do contain examples of some of Tolkien's most beautiful writing and I had to stop and read out-loud the oath of the Sons of Fëanor, it's that good.
Likewise, The Lay of Leithian is something that just clicked for me. I've never considered myself a huge fan of the tale of Lúthien and Beren, but I was rapt in this version of the tale. This makes up the bulk of the book (150 out of 393 pages) and is sadly incomplete, cutting off just after Lúthien and Beren flee Angband. The pages just flew by for me and I found myself enjoying the depiction of Lúthien as a woman who doesn't have to be given a weapon and a bunch of ninja-elf moves to be a badass. There were times when she did seem to be characterised as the swooning damsel and that annoyed me a lot, but then Tolkien let her save the day on multiple occasions and I was more than OK with that. I also found it interesting to read about Thingol in the wake of reading some essays that suggest he, not Thranduil, was the original Elven-king of The Hobbit.
So, how do I rate this book? I'd easily given 4-5 stars for the abandoned poems and The Lay of Leithian, but The Lay of the Children of Húrin was a flat 2-starrer for me, though I dearly wish it had been otherwise. It felt safer to go for a rating smack-bang in the middle with 3 stars.