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A review by dylanhenning
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien, Baillie Tolkien
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
This book is comprised of letters that J.R.R Tolkien wrote to his children over a number of years as Father Christmas (Santa Claus). These letters were obviously never meant to be seen by or shared with the public. So it feels a little intrusive to read these. But at the same time I’m very glad these letters and the illustrations Tolkien included have been preserved. They serve as a wonderful display of his brilliance in his ability to craft a wonderfully fantastical tale full of magic, hope, and whimsical characters that assist Father Christmas in the preparation and delivery of presents to children.
The letters start out very simple in the early years but as the children get older the letters get more detailed and Tolkien brings in a supporting cast of characters that have their own writing style, distinctive personalities, and sometimes their own languages that Tolkien invents. You can almost see where some of the ideas and themes that would be used in his Middle-Earth books started from.
As these books span a number of years from the 1920’s to the 1940’s Tolkien weaves in real world events from the Great Depression to World War II. It’s letters written to his children so he never gets too dark but you can sense in Tolkien’s writing the sadness at the events unfolding in the world and trying to explain it to his children. He even possibly slips in an allegory to the Nazi’s with a story about Father Christmas and his friends having to defend against a Goblin attack.
Lastly I’ll say that these letters show the deep and profound love Tolkien had for his children. The lengths he went to, and the detail he provided in the illustrations, the writing styles, even down to the little nuances on the envelope, shows how much he wanted his kids to be enraptured by the magic of Christmas.
This is a perfect book to read around the holidays. It will give you the warm and cozy feelings of a holiday classic and just might make you believe in Father Christmas (Santa) again for just a little bit.
The letters start out very simple in the early years but as the children get older the letters get more detailed and Tolkien brings in a supporting cast of characters that have their own writing style, distinctive personalities, and sometimes their own languages that Tolkien invents. You can almost see where some of the ideas and themes that would be used in his Middle-Earth books started from.
As these books span a number of years from the 1920’s to the 1940’s Tolkien weaves in real world events from the Great Depression to World War II. It’s letters written to his children so he never gets too dark but you can sense in Tolkien’s writing the sadness at the events unfolding in the world and trying to explain it to his children. He even possibly slips in an allegory to the Nazi’s with a story about Father Christmas and his friends having to defend against a Goblin attack.
Lastly I’ll say that these letters show the deep and profound love Tolkien had for his children. The lengths he went to, and the detail he provided in the illustrations, the writing styles, even down to the little nuances on the envelope, shows how much he wanted his kids to be enraptured by the magic of Christmas.
This is a perfect book to read around the holidays. It will give you the warm and cozy feelings of a holiday classic and just might make you believe in Father Christmas (Santa) again for just a little bit.