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A review by lisa_setepenre
The Lays of Beleriand by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien
3.0
The Lays of Beleriand is the third volume in the History of Middle-earth series which details the drafts and notes Tolkien made in his lifetime about the bodies of work that has become known as The Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings. This volume focuses on Tolkien's attempts to write his cycle of myths as "lays" (alliterative verse, aka a form of poetry used in Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon).
The main tales focused on in The Lays of Beleriand are "The Children of Húrin" and "The Tale of Lúthien and Beren" (Lay of Leithian). It's familiar ground for most Tolkien fans, which is perhaps a good thing because both lays are incomplete. And while the book contains more of Tolkien's stories written in verse, these other verses are mere fragments.
Again, I'll offer up the typical HOME disclaimer: this series is for the more hardcore Tolkien enthusiasts as it deals with Tolkien's drafts and notes, all drawn from various periods in Tolkien's writing life. If you struggled with Rings, if you struggled with The Silmarillion, you're most likely to struggle even more with this. Lays of Beleriand, being the third volume, contains some of Tolkien's earlier writings and various details have changed over time so there's easily room for a lot of confusion.
I waffled on about how to rate this. I didn't enjoy The Lay of the Children of Húrin that much, but found myself rapt in The Lay of Leithian.
I just couldn't seem to get into The Lay of the Children of Húrin. It reminded me of trying to read Milton's Paradise Lost. There was beautiful writing, stunning imagery, but my eyes kept glazing over and I couldn't take anything in. I knew I was counting down the pages til the end of the chapter, skimming nearly every page and trying to force myself to get through it.
I can't work out why I couldn't be absorbed by it. It might have been the use of alliterative verse – except I really enjoyed reading Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur, which is written in the same style (or it is to my uneducated eyes). It might have been the tale itself – except I've read "The Children of Húrin" in prose and bloody love it. At the end of the day, I feel like The Lay of the Children of Húrin had everything I love, but it just didn't work for me.
The early-abandoned poems on the Flight of the Noldoli [Noldor] from Valinor, Eärendil and the Fall of Gondolin were a breath of fresh air for me. While these are very short and fragmentary (editor Christopher Tolkien provides the poem, notes and commentary in ten pages and under for all three), they do contain examples of some of Tolkien's most beautiful writing and I had to stop and read out-loud the oath of the Sons of Fëanor, it's that good.
Likewise, The Lay of Leithian is something that just clicked for me. I've never considered myself a huge fan of the tale of Lúthien and Beren, but I was rapt in this version of the tale. This makes up the bulk of the book (150 out of 393 pages) and is sadly incomplete, cutting off just after Lúthien and Beren flee Angband. The pages just flew by for me and I found myself enjoying the depiction of Lúthien as a woman who doesn't have to be given a weapon and a bunch of ninja-elf moves to be a badass. There were times when she did seem to be characterised as the swooning damsel and that annoyed me a lot, but then Tolkien let her save the day on multiple occasions and I was more than OK with that. I also found it interesting to read about Thingol in the wake of reading some essays that suggest he, not Thranduil, was the original Elven-king of The Hobbit.
So, how do I rate this book? I'd easily given 4-5 stars for the abandoned poems and The Lay of Leithian, but The Lay of the Children of Húrin was a flat 2-starrer for me, though I dearly wish it had been otherwise. It felt safer to go for a rating smack-bang in the middle with 3 stars.
The main tales focused on in The Lays of Beleriand are "The Children of Húrin" and "The Tale of Lúthien and Beren" (Lay of Leithian). It's familiar ground for most Tolkien fans, which is perhaps a good thing because both lays are incomplete. And while the book contains more of Tolkien's stories written in verse, these other verses are mere fragments.
Again, I'll offer up the typical HOME disclaimer: this series is for the more hardcore Tolkien enthusiasts as it deals with Tolkien's drafts and notes, all drawn from various periods in Tolkien's writing life. If you struggled with Rings, if you struggled with The Silmarillion, you're most likely to struggle even more with this. Lays of Beleriand, being the third volume, contains some of Tolkien's earlier writings and various details have changed over time so there's easily room for a lot of confusion.
I waffled on about how to rate this. I didn't enjoy The Lay of the Children of Húrin that much, but found myself rapt in The Lay of Leithian.
I just couldn't seem to get into The Lay of the Children of Húrin. It reminded me of trying to read Milton's Paradise Lost. There was beautiful writing, stunning imagery, but my eyes kept glazing over and I couldn't take anything in. I knew I was counting down the pages til the end of the chapter, skimming nearly every page and trying to force myself to get through it.
I can't work out why I couldn't be absorbed by it. It might have been the use of alliterative verse – except I really enjoyed reading Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur, which is written in the same style (or it is to my uneducated eyes). It might have been the tale itself – except I've read "The Children of Húrin" in prose and bloody love it. At the end of the day, I feel like The Lay of the Children of Húrin had everything I love, but it just didn't work for me.
The early-abandoned poems on the Flight of the Noldoli [Noldor] from Valinor, Eärendil and the Fall of Gondolin were a breath of fresh air for me. While these are very short and fragmentary (editor Christopher Tolkien provides the poem, notes and commentary in ten pages and under for all three), they do contain examples of some of Tolkien's most beautiful writing and I had to stop and read out-loud the oath of the Sons of Fëanor, it's that good.
Likewise, The Lay of Leithian is something that just clicked for me. I've never considered myself a huge fan of the tale of Lúthien and Beren, but I was rapt in this version of the tale. This makes up the bulk of the book (150 out of 393 pages) and is sadly incomplete, cutting off just after Lúthien and Beren flee Angband. The pages just flew by for me and I found myself enjoying the depiction of Lúthien as a woman who doesn't have to be given a weapon and a bunch of ninja-elf moves to be a badass. There were times when she did seem to be characterised as the swooning damsel and that annoyed me a lot, but then Tolkien let her save the day on multiple occasions and I was more than OK with that. I also found it interesting to read about Thingol in the wake of reading some essays that suggest he, not Thranduil, was the original Elven-king of The Hobbit.
So, how do I rate this book? I'd easily given 4-5 stars for the abandoned poems and The Lay of Leithian, but The Lay of the Children of Húrin was a flat 2-starrer for me, though I dearly wish it had been otherwise. It felt safer to go for a rating smack-bang in the middle with 3 stars.