Well... I don't know, I like it pretty well. It sets the stage for the next part of the book, but also has an interesting otherworldly feeling. Sam described it as "more elvish than anything I ever heard tell of. I feel as if I was inside a song, if you take my meaning." What a nice concept.
It lets us (who haven't read Silmarillion) see more into the world of the elves.
I went to boarding school in my teens (long ago, of course) in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Friends and I, when we had an afternoon off, would walk for miles in wild and lonely forests, sometimes finding ancient and abandoned log cabins or other signs of long lost human habitation. When we reached a mountain top, we'd find 2 or 3 pines growing close to each other. Then, we'd climb to near their tops, carrying small timbers scavenged nearby and rope we had carried. The timbers would be lashed between the tree tops and more timbers lashed onto those until we had a platform in the sky atop a lonely mountain. The whole arrangement would rock and sway in the breeze as we lay there looking over the hollows, valleys and mountains and watching clouds rushing by over our heads. I have never forgotten the feeling of the wind brushing our bodies, the smell of the pines, the vista of the mountains, the feeling of independence.
Anyway, I identified with and enjoyed the "flets" and tree houses of Lorien right away. Although I think I'm not that convinced with Jackson's version of them.
"And taking Frodo's hand in his, he left the hill of Cerin Amroth and came there never again as living man."
Sorry again for rambling on, I guess age is getting to me.
Dan
Like you Sam, I love trees/forests/and all that they encompass, and have many fond memories of tree houses (platforms) and vine swinging. When I read the part about Lorien, I found it delightful and wished that there had been more written about it, and the elves.
I was surprised that PJ made the Lorien so dark and forbidding. When I read it, I read "Golden Woods" and was enchanted, not at all feeling the woods gloomy or scary. The visit to Lorien was one of the really enjoyable spots for me- much like the time spent with Goldenberry and Tom.