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braymond2106's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful essay. I see it as Tolkiens anthem to his critics who viewed his work as childish. After all, for any story, “it simply isn’t an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.”
missbookiverse's review against another edition
4.0
Loved reading this essay and seeing it in the context of the theoretical formation of a whole genre. It must have made quite the impact, especially with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books coming after it. It was also just written very nicely and even though I had to use a lot of brain power for certain passages it felt kind of cozy doing so.
The edition by Flieger and Anderson was masterfully put together. It gives you interesting context in the beginning, has helpful commentary notes on the essay itself, and in the back extensively compares various editions of the manuscript and highlights important differences. That last part wasn't all that interesting to me, but it's impressive scholarly work nevertheless.
The edition by Flieger and Anderson was masterfully put together. It gives you interesting context in the beginning, has helpful commentary notes on the essay itself, and in the back extensively compares various editions of the manuscript and highlights important differences. That last part wasn't all that interesting to me, but it's impressive scholarly work nevertheless.
_ash0_'s review against another edition
3.0
A great essay on fairy stories and fantasy. It had some excellent points on how a fairy story should be written and why they are not just for children. But sometimes he went into some detailed examples and that is where I was a bit lost as I have not read many stories that he talks about. Overall I liked it and will reread some paragraphs that I liked.
rld's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Brief, but non the less insightful. A must for any Tolkien fan.
whataliciaisreading's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
'Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men – and of elves. Legend and History have met and fused.’
Tolkien’s ‘On Fairy-stories’, a lectured delivered in St. Andrews in 1939, is the definitive defense of the fantasy genre as a higher form of Art, 'a natural human activity' that is worthy of adults and children alike. If you love fantasy, or want to understand Tolkien’s mind a little more, this one is for you - although, it might be a challenging read if you’re unused to reading literary criticism.
I loved seeing how the concepts laid out by Tolkien in this lecture informed his approach to writing the Hobbit’s sequel (this lecture was delivered in the same year he began work on the Lord of the Rings), and the editorial commentary did a wonderful job of pointing out those moments where Tolkien’s ideas later materialsied as elements of his own fiction.
The Hobbit has long been one of my favourite books but reading ‘On Fairy-stories’ has only reaffirmed Tolkien’s brilliance and served as the final confirmation that 2024 will be the year I finally tackle the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
imonahike's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Honestly maybe still the best essay on fiction/fantasy I’ve ever read. A must read in my opinion.
rebekahflora's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
The first 30 or so pages I found to be beyond me, but I presume upon second reading that I will be able to grasp Jirt’s meaning more effectively. The rest of the essay was extremely insightful and just what I had heard it to be when it was recommended to me. This will be a piece I return to often.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
The fact that Tolkien himself essentially bought fantasy back into the world, and showed that it was not a genre only for children, really makes me happy after hearing him say some of these comments.
The fact that Tolkien himself essentially bought fantasy back into the world, and showed that it was not a genre only for children, really makes me happy after hearing him say some of these comments.