A review by zoekatereads
Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien

5.0

"It seemed to him wholly unsatisfactory, and yet very lovely — the only really beautiful picture in the world."

This was such a lovely story! I found this on my shelves (completely forgot I had it as it was hidden away) and I'm so pleased I decided to read it there and then.

Leaf by Niggle is an allegory, thought to be a bit of a self-portrait of Tolkien as he tried to write The Lord of the Rings.

Niggle's character is so interesting. The descriptions of his view on the world were intriguing and I could really relate to some of it! I was a little surprised at how funny I found some of this, it just felt so honest. The overall message of the story was wonderful, and one I think a lot of us could do with reading and understanding.

The afterword is also very much worth the read! It really provided an insight into why this story came to exist, and gave me a whole different level of appreciation for it. Definitely a must read.

"Niggle was a painter. Not a very successful one, partly because he had many other things to do. Most of these things he thought were a nuisance; but he did them fairly well, when he could not get our of them: which (in his opinion) was far too often."

"...he was kindhearted, in a way. You know the sort of kind heart: it made him uncomfortable more often than it made him do anything; and even when he did anything, it did not prevent him from grumbling, loing his temper and swearing (mostly to himself)."

"He tried to tell you long ago, but you would not look. He had only got canvas and paint in those days, and you wanted to mend your roof with them..."

"But it did not look like this then, not real."

"No, it was only a glimpse then, but you might have caught the glimpse, if you had ever thought it worth while to try."