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A review by jillie
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Reread 1/4/22 - 3/16/22
I have no idea how to write a review about this! It’s become one of my favorite and most cherished books. The writing can be stiff, as it is written as a history. If you are familiar with reading the Bible or history books you should be fine, but don’t go into this expecting it to be a straightforward narrative. It follows hundreds of characters across thousands of years, and many of them at a distance. There are also a lot of names.
I rated it 4.5-4.75 the first time I read it, mostly for the story of Beren and Lúthien (which I think is the greatest story ever told and literally took my breath away the first time) and for the other parts I was able to understand. That time, I could tell it was great, I just wasn’t able to understand most of it.
This reread was incredible. I felt immersed in the world and much more attached to the characters. I remembered more than I had realized, and this time I kept referring to the family trees which definitely helped. I was so sad to be finished and am *almost* tempted to pick it right back up. Instead, I’ll be heading over to LOTR next.
The history is incredibly rich. The world feels alive and real, and the tragedies that occur are heartbreaking. I highly encourage reading it, but go into it knowing that it’s slow and confusing. But on rereads it gets better! There are many podcasts and helpful resources on the internet. My favorite podcast is The Tolkien Professor and his Silmarillion Seminars.
1/25/21 - 3/5/21 (this was my first read.. I didn’t write a review then)
I have no idea how to write a review about this! It’s become one of my favorite and most cherished books. The writing can be stiff, as it is written as a history. If you are familiar with reading the Bible or history books you should be fine, but don’t go into this expecting it to be a straightforward narrative. It follows hundreds of characters across thousands of years, and many of them at a distance. There are also a lot of names.
I rated it 4.5-4.75 the first time I read it, mostly for the story of Beren and Lúthien (which I think is the greatest story ever told and literally took my breath away the first time) and for the other parts I was able to understand. That time, I could tell it was great, I just wasn’t able to understand most of it.
This reread was incredible. I felt immersed in the world and much more attached to the characters. I remembered more than I had realized, and this time I kept referring to the family trees which definitely helped. I was so sad to be finished and am *almost* tempted to pick it right back up. Instead, I’ll be heading over to LOTR next.
The history is incredibly rich. The world feels alive and real, and the tragedies that occur are heartbreaking. I highly encourage reading it, but go into it knowing that it’s slow and confusing. But on rereads it gets better! There are many podcasts and helpful resources on the internet. My favorite podcast is The Tolkien Professor and his Silmarillion Seminars.
1/25/21 - 3/5/21 (this was my first read.. I didn’t write a review then)