Replies

And this means what, exactly, for the upcoming discussions?

Well...

1. Frankly I was trying to dissuade him - and anyone else - from making The Silmarillion his introduction to Tolkien.

I think it's a poor place to start, really. And I would hate to see anyone so put off by it that they give up on Tolkien altogether.

2. Many people are not aware that The Silmarillion as published is not the one that was floating in Tolkien's head. I think it best to ground one's self in what Tolkine really meant to put out there before delving into the mountains of literature that Tolkien left piled up in his house when he died.

Chris Tolkien has done a wonderful job bringing it all to the public and making some kind of sense of it all.

Due to its nature, however, it's not as accessible at TH or LOTR.

Many people are not aware that The Silmarillion as published is not the one that was floating in Tolkien's head. I think it best to ground one's self in what Tolkine really meant to put out there before delving into the mountains of literature that Tolkien left piled up in his house when he died.

Well, I can understand wanting to tackle The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings? before going on to The Silmarillion. But are you saying that The Silmarillion is of no use when discussing Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings?

I disagree with you, Iguana. Tolkien said The Silmarillion was *his* most important work. Did you read what Christopher Tolkien said in the Foreword? Chris had the herculean task of selecting and arranging all the different pieces of the narrative, or as he himself put it in the foreword of The Silmarillion: " to show The Silmarillion as in truth a continuing and evolving creation extending over more than half a century - would in fact lead only to confusion and the submerging of what is essential."

All of The Silmarillion was not only floating around in Tolkien's head, but written down in various places. So, I think while we didn't get all of the Silmarillion, it is also wrong to say the one we did get wasn't the one "floating" around in Tolkien's head. It most definitely was:-)