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Of Sorcerers and Men - Tolkien and the Roots of Modern Fantasy Literature by Michael D.C. Drout
jsjammersmith's review
5.0
Since I started this audio-book I've gone back and restarted The Lord of the Rings, I've bought a copy of The Similarion as well as a translation of The Hobbit in Latin, and I've checked out (literally) every book in my public library that has anything to do with J.R.R. Tolkien. This is all just a way of saying that this audio-lecture series is amazing.
I recognise that I tend to give a lot of high remarks to books but that's usually because if I don't find a book enjoyable, unless there's something obligating me to finish it, I'll usually put it down. But I hope the reader doesn't judge me too harshly then for giving this audio-series a five star rating because it deserves it.
Michael D.C. Trout deserves the praise that is coming to him because he got me to see The Lord of the Rings in an entirely different way than I had ever seen it before. I was usually raised up on the idea that The Lord of the Rings was simply a fantasy allegory about World War II or else a Christian allegory about rebirth and virtue and goodness overcoming supreme supernatural evil, but I've taken a different approach. This series isn't just about Tolkien, but rather the societal function of Fantasy and what it's ultimately trying to accomplish creatively. Fantasy is an attempt to understand death, life, politics, good and evil and rather than modernism Fantasy tries to assert that there is truth about life that can be understood.
Trout manages to demonstrate the lasting creative impact of Tolkien's work and how fantasy writers have used his foundation (or else sometimes purposefully avoided them) in order to flesh out the fantasy genre into something relevant and important to society. The works of fantasy are ultimately an attempt to understand reality is a different way than the traditional "literary" method, and in this argument Trout succeeds.
And as for the Lord of the Rings, Trout managed to get me to rediscover the books and universe that so captivated me during my early adolescence. I've found Tolkien again, and rather than just an assemblage of symbols and metaphors, I'm finding real people who believe in goodness, not because they're archetypes, but because they're just decent human beings. That realization makes this series worth the readers time.
I recognise that I tend to give a lot of high remarks to books but that's usually because if I don't find a book enjoyable, unless there's something obligating me to finish it, I'll usually put it down. But I hope the reader doesn't judge me too harshly then for giving this audio-series a five star rating because it deserves it.
Michael D.C. Trout deserves the praise that is coming to him because he got me to see The Lord of the Rings in an entirely different way than I had ever seen it before. I was usually raised up on the idea that The Lord of the Rings was simply a fantasy allegory about World War II or else a Christian allegory about rebirth and virtue and goodness overcoming supreme supernatural evil, but I've taken a different approach. This series isn't just about Tolkien, but rather the societal function of Fantasy and what it's ultimately trying to accomplish creatively. Fantasy is an attempt to understand death, life, politics, good and evil and rather than modernism Fantasy tries to assert that there is truth about life that can be understood.
Trout manages to demonstrate the lasting creative impact of Tolkien's work and how fantasy writers have used his foundation (or else sometimes purposefully avoided them) in order to flesh out the fantasy genre into something relevant and important to society. The works of fantasy are ultimately an attempt to understand reality is a different way than the traditional "literary" method, and in this argument Trout succeeds.
And as for the Lord of the Rings, Trout managed to get me to rediscover the books and universe that so captivated me during my early adolescence. I've found Tolkien again, and rather than just an assemblage of symbols and metaphors, I'm finding real people who believe in goodness, not because they're archetypes, but because they're just decent human beings. That realization makes this series worth the readers time.
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