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A review by booksbythewindow
The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
For full review: https://booksbythewindow.wordpress.com/2021/07/07/the-fall-of-gondolin/#more-1363
Summary: The main narrative of The Fall of Gondolin follows Tuor, a man who finds the hidden Elvish city of Gondolin and there makes a place for himself. Whilst in Gondolin, he falls in love with the king’s daughter, Idril, much to the annoyance of Idril’s relative, Meglin, who had asked to marry her several times. Meglin decides to take his revenge on Tuor and Idril by revealing the location of Gondolin to their enemy. In this book, Christopher Tolkien also includes helpful excerpts from outside this main narrative, including a section on what happened to those who were able to survive the attack.
Overall Thoughts: I really enjoyed the versions of The Children of Húrin and Beren and Lúthien which Christopher Tolkien released and, despite the main narrative not appealing to me as much as those first two narratives, I still enjoyed this look into the creation of The Fall of Gondolin narrative. As with Beren and Lúthien, The Fall of Gondolin provides a fascinating insight into the creative process of J.R.R. Tolkien. The insight these books give into J.R.R. Tolkien’s creative process and the number of versions all of these stories went through without ever being fully finished is fascinating and Christopher Tolkien does a good job bringing his father’s developing ideas about the world of Middle Earth to life.
Summary: The main narrative of The Fall of Gondolin follows Tuor, a man who finds the hidden Elvish city of Gondolin and there makes a place for himself. Whilst in Gondolin, he falls in love with the king’s daughter, Idril, much to the annoyance of Idril’s relative, Meglin, who had asked to marry her several times. Meglin decides to take his revenge on Tuor and Idril by revealing the location of Gondolin to their enemy. In this book, Christopher Tolkien also includes helpful excerpts from outside this main narrative, including a section on what happened to those who were able to survive the attack.
Overall Thoughts: I really enjoyed the versions of The Children of Húrin and Beren and Lúthien which Christopher Tolkien released and, despite the main narrative not appealing to me as much as those first two narratives, I still enjoyed this look into the creation of The Fall of Gondolin narrative. As with Beren and Lúthien, The Fall of Gondolin provides a fascinating insight into the creative process of J.R.R. Tolkien. The insight these books give into J.R.R. Tolkien’s creative process and the number of versions all of these stories went through without ever being fully finished is fascinating and Christopher Tolkien does a good job bringing his father’s developing ideas about the world of Middle Earth to life.