ida_t's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pipareykir's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
parkerjordanlee's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
librosydragones's review against another edition
4.0
Scroll down for my ENGLISH review
✨
“Beren era un hombre mortal y Lúthien una Elfa inmortal, cuyo padre, un gran señor Elfo, en clara oposición a Beren, impuso a éste una tarea imposible que debía llevar a cabo si quería desposar a Lúthien. Éste es el núcleo de la leyenda, que acaba conduciendo al absolutamente heroico intento de Beren y Lúthien de robarle un Silmaril al más malvado de todos los seres: Melkor, también llamado Morgoth, el Enemigo Oscuro.”
Quiero empezar esta reseña con una aclaración. Deben entender que esta no es una novela, es más bien un compendio de cuentos, poemas, y extractos de otros trabajos de Tolkien en donde se relata alguna parte de la historia de Beren y Lúthien, que Christopher Tolkien intentó extraer y dar cohesión en esta obra. En esta edición encontramos la historia en su forma original, y a continuación pasajes en prosa y verso de textos posteriores que ilustran cómo fue cambiando la narrativa a través de los años, ya que hubo más de una versión.
De mi parte se lleva 4/5 🌟 De hecho, en principio me pregunté si debería puntuar esta obra, ya que me fue muy difícil leerla, tardé meses, ya que como dije, no tiene la estructura narrativa de una novela. No conozco toda la obra del autor en profundidad para juzgar la calidad de este trabajo como es debido. Pero el material que contiene es precioso, y cualquier fan acérrimo de Tolkien lo va a disfrutar enormemente.
Tengan en cuenta lo siguiente: si sólo leyeron El Señor de los Anillos, y/o El Hobbit, probablemente no van a disfrutar Beren y Lúthien. Tienen que sentir curiosidad por saber más sobre la Primera Edad de la Tierra Media, y les recomiendo haber leído El Silmarillion de antemano, ya que se nombran muchos sucesos y personajes que son introducidos en esa obra. Conocer la historia de Fëanor y los Silmarils, la identidad de Melkor y el resto de los Valar, y los linajes élficos, hará de su lectura mucho más amena.
ENGLISH
‘Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.’
I want to start this review with an explanation. You must understand that this is not a novel, it is rather a compendium of stories, poems, and excerpts from other works by Tolkien that mention some part of the story of Beren and Lúthien, and with that, Christopher Tolkien tried to give some cohesion to this work. In this edition we find the story in its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate how the narrative changed over the years, since there were more than one version of the tale.
I rated this one 4/5 🌟 In fact, at first I wondered if I should rate this work at all, since it was very hard for me to read it, it took months, because as I said, it does not have the narrative structure of a novel. I do not know all the author's work in depth to properly judge the quality of this work. But the material it contains is beautiful, and any hardcore fan of Tolkien will enjoy it greatly.
Keep in mind the following advice: if you’ve only read The Lord of the Rings, and / or The Hobbit, you probably won’t enjoy Beren and Lúthien. You have to be curious about the First Age of Middle Earth, and I recommend you read The Silmarillion in advance, as many events and characters are named that are introduced in that work. Knowing the story of Fëanor and the Silmarils, the identity of Melkor and the rest of the Valar, and the elven lineages, will make your reading much more enjoyable.
✨
“Beren era un hombre mortal y Lúthien una Elfa inmortal, cuyo padre, un gran señor Elfo, en clara oposición a Beren, impuso a éste una tarea imposible que debía llevar a cabo si quería desposar a Lúthien. Éste es el núcleo de la leyenda, que acaba conduciendo al absolutamente heroico intento de Beren y Lúthien de robarle un Silmaril al más malvado de todos los seres: Melkor, también llamado Morgoth, el Enemigo Oscuro.”
Quiero empezar esta reseña con una aclaración. Deben entender que esta no es una novela, es más bien un compendio de cuentos, poemas, y extractos de otros trabajos de Tolkien en donde se relata alguna parte de la historia de Beren y Lúthien, que Christopher Tolkien intentó extraer y dar cohesión en esta obra. En esta edición encontramos la historia en su forma original, y a continuación pasajes en prosa y verso de textos posteriores que ilustran cómo fue cambiando la narrativa a través de los años, ya que hubo más de una versión.
De mi parte se lleva 4/5 🌟 De hecho, en principio me pregunté si debería puntuar esta obra, ya que me fue muy difícil leerla, tardé meses, ya que como dije, no tiene la estructura narrativa de una novela. No conozco toda la obra del autor en profundidad para juzgar la calidad de este trabajo como es debido. Pero el material que contiene es precioso, y cualquier fan acérrimo de Tolkien lo va a disfrutar enormemente.
Tengan en cuenta lo siguiente: si sólo leyeron El Señor de los Anillos, y/o El Hobbit, probablemente no van a disfrutar Beren y Lúthien. Tienen que sentir curiosidad por saber más sobre la Primera Edad de la Tierra Media, y les recomiendo haber leído El Silmarillion de antemano, ya que se nombran muchos sucesos y personajes que son introducidos en esa obra. Conocer la historia de Fëanor y los Silmarils, la identidad de Melkor y el resto de los Valar, y los linajes élficos, hará de su lectura mucho más amena.
ENGLISH
‘Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.’
I want to start this review with an explanation. You must understand that this is not a novel, it is rather a compendium of stories, poems, and excerpts from other works by Tolkien that mention some part of the story of Beren and Lúthien, and with that, Christopher Tolkien tried to give some cohesion to this work. In this edition we find the story in its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate how the narrative changed over the years, since there were more than one version of the tale.
I rated this one 4/5 🌟 In fact, at first I wondered if I should rate this work at all, since it was very hard for me to read it, it took months, because as I said, it does not have the narrative structure of a novel. I do not know all the author's work in depth to properly judge the quality of this work. But the material it contains is beautiful, and any hardcore fan of Tolkien will enjoy it greatly.
Keep in mind the following advice: if you’ve only read The Lord of the Rings, and / or The Hobbit, you probably won’t enjoy Beren and Lúthien. You have to be curious about the First Age of Middle Earth, and I recommend you read The Silmarillion in advance, as many events and characters are named that are introduced in that work. Knowing the story of Fëanor and the Silmarils, the identity of Melkor and the rest of the Valar, and the elven lineages, will make your reading much more enjoyable.
willgalltall's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Exploring Tolkien's Creative Evolution: A Captivating Journey through Beren and Lúthien's Tale
Beren and Lúthien saw the continuation of my Tolkien journey which started with The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin.
Going into Beren and Lúthien I was already aware that this wouldn't have the full novel structure as with CoH. So it was no surprise to me that what we have is multiple version of the tale including extracts from The Lay of Leithian in poem form.
For me, I've loved reading the progression of the story from where Gnomes were characters in Tolkien's world, up to what we read in The Silmarillion. The commentary from Christopher Tolkien gives insight on each stage of the story and points out the key changes as JRR repeatedly picked up and postponed the story over the years.
The story itself is one of my favourites of Middle Earth. To quote Gimli from The Return of the King film adaptation "Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?" Where Beren is set on what is considered an impossible task of stealing a Silmaril from Morgoth in exchange for the hand of Lúthien.
It is definitely one of Tolkien's greatest tales, though I only suggest reading this edition if you are interested in what is effectively an 'all you can read' approach with detailed analysis. Do not expect a novel without interruption. So this may only be for the fans who are happy to read the same story four times with changes (both in format and minor plot points). If this is something that doesn't interest you, then I simply recommend reading the tale as is told in The Silmarillion.
So ends another chapter in my Tolkien journey, where I will now be moving on The Fall of Gondolin for my next read.
Beren and Lúthien saw the continuation of my Tolkien journey which started with The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin.
Going into Beren and Lúthien I was already aware that this wouldn't have the full novel structure as with CoH. So it was no surprise to me that what we have is multiple version of the tale including extracts from The Lay of Leithian in poem form.
For me, I've loved reading the progression of the story from where Gnomes were characters in Tolkien's world, up to what we read in The Silmarillion. The commentary from Christopher Tolkien gives insight on each stage of the story and points out the key changes as JRR repeatedly picked up and postponed the story over the years.
The story itself is one of my favourites of Middle Earth. To quote Gimli from The Return of the King film adaptation "Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?" Where Beren is set on what is considered an impossible task of stealing a Silmaril from Morgoth in exchange for the hand of Lúthien.
It is definitely one of Tolkien's greatest tales, though I only suggest reading this edition if you are interested in what is effectively an 'all you can read' approach with detailed analysis. Do not expect a novel without interruption. So this may only be for the fans who are happy to read the same story four times with changes (both in format and minor plot points). If this is something that doesn't interest you, then I simply recommend reading the tale as is told in The Silmarillion.
So ends another chapter in my Tolkien journey, where I will now be moving on The Fall of Gondolin for my next read.
chacheitor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
One of my favorite stories from Middle Earth and probably one of the few romance stories that I have enjoyed.
simone_eventyrkrogen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
ethantheent's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Beren and Luthien was one of my favourite chapters of the Silmarillion, so I was very excited to get to learn more about the construction of the story and read the Lay of Leithian in it’s original prose form. It’s truly one of the best love stories ever told.
HOWEVER nothing broke my heart more than the way Tolkien describes Edith’s passing in a letter to Christopher Tolkien:
HOWEVER nothing broke my heart more than the way Tolkien describes Edith’s passing in a letter to Christopher Tolkien:
But the story has gone crooked, and I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos.