end of the third age

The History of Middle-Earth is a 12 volume collection of Tolkien's writings, edited by his son, and some say occasional amanuensis, Christopher Tolkien. Volumes 6 through 9 are the History of The Lord of the Rings. I haven't read all 12 volumes, but I have read some of them, and I've had the History of The Lord of the Rings for a while, and it was years ago that I read them--I wrote about some of them here on the blog--but I wasn't sure if I had read the last of this four book series, The End of the Third Age, or maybe started but never finished for some reason. I couldn't find in listed here on the blog. I actually could find the third volume here either... mmm.

The fourth volume is smaller than the others, and Christopher Tolkien describes how it was part of a larger volume called Sauron Defeated, and was separated out. Apparently, the original ninth volume of the twelve volume series was titled Sauron Defeated and included two additional sections; Part Two: The Notion Club Papers*, and Part Three: The Drowning of Anadûnê. ** Because parts one and two weren't specific to the history of History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One was separated out in the paperback series I purchased, published by Houghton Mifflin.

The four book series traces Tolkien's original writing process as the story developed over the decades, and as he did in the previous three volumes, Christopher Tolkien does his best to establish the chronology on the various drafts of the closing parts of the saga based on the completeness of the drafts, how close they are to the final story, where the corrections were, and how the process worked for his father's writing process.

The End of the Third Age begins with Sam and Frodo in Mordor, and ends with the story's epilogue. Christopher Tolkien says in the foreword that he has not attempted to trace the history of the appendixes of The Lord of the Rings in this volume given the challenges that task would entail.

If you're a fan, and/or you're interested in how The Lord of the Rings was written, or perhaps a writer, and interested in the writing methods of Tolkien, the this series is worth a read.

 

* The Notion Club Papers is an unpublished story by Tolkien of a fictionalized version of his own club, the Inklings, in which members time travel in spirit to the past to witness 'mythological' stories, such as the ruin of Numenor.

** This is a history of Tolkien's writings on the fall of Numenor.  

treasure island

I think I read Treasure Island for a book report in middle school--which was called junior high school where I grew up. This was before I was a reader and I recall this book, like the others I was forced to read at the time, was a slog. Not so this time around! Robert Louis Stevenson wrote this, in the 1880s; it was originally published serialized in something called Young Folks under a pseudonym in 1881 and 1882, and first published in novel form by Cassell & Co., of London, under the author's name.

The story is set in the 1700s, and is one of the first to popularize pirates and buried treasure. According to the Wikipedia article, a lot of what we think of when we think of pirates, namely "deserted tropical islands, treasure maps marked with an "X", and one-legged seamen with parrots perched on their shoulders" comes from Stevenson's depiction of buccaneers in Treasure Island.

The version I read is a handsome volume published by Grosset & Dunlap of New York, copyrighted in 1942, but printed in 1972, as part of what they called their Illustrated Junior Library.* It has a number of full color plates, and many pen & ink vignettes throughout, done by Norman Price. Price's illustrations are warm and vibrant. The sketches help to fill in some of the imagery, that probably helps sell the story to the younger audience it was intended for. They certainly weren't worried about violence in stories for young people. It seems like folks may have had a better understanding about what teens can handle than we do today. 

 

Norman Price Illustration

 

The story follows the adventures of a young man named Jim Hawkins, who is referred to as a boy by others in the story, but because most of the story is told in first person from Hawkins' point of view, he never says exactly how old he is. Depictions of him in movies, plays, TV shows, radio plays (there are a lot!) have shown him at varying ages from about 12 to his middle teens. I'd say he is on the older end of that range, given what he gets up to, but considering that John Quincy Adams was asked by the new U.S. emissary to join him on his trip to St. Petersburg as his personal secretary and translator when he was 14, I think its safe to say that what we consider "kids" when this story was set, were often more capable than we train them up to be now.

Hawkins joins the ship on a hunt for treasure as the cabin boy, which I think is part of pop culture now and not a spoiler for folks. He takes a bold and heroic, one could say, view of his roll and I'm sure the idea is to inspire young readers, especially young men, to do the same in their lives, and to look for adventure. 

This was a goody. Read this book. Or better yet, give it to one of your kids and tell them to read it outside. 

 

* More pictures here from a similar volume, printed a year or two later, for sale online. 

 

 

 

spellbook of katrina van tassel

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow may be the first book by Alyssa Palombo, but I guess I can check that. nope, she wrote a few other things before this  Maybe she’s too young to remember the Tim Burton movie "Sleepy Hollow" from 1999 with Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane and Christina Ricci as Katrina Van Tassel but she is certainly aware of Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" from 1820, and she's a big fan. I don't recall the Tim Burton movie that well, but it came out in 1999, and I'm guessing she was a kid then. "Sleepy Hollow" was more of a murder mystery with spooky ghost tie-ins, a la Scooby Doo.

The spellbook in the title is just about the only place you'll find a spellbook in this novel. I get the creeping suspicion that someone (editor, publisher ?) suggested the title, or at least that part of it. Van Tassel does keep a diary, and I guess she may have scribbled the ingredients for an herbal tincture that her friend, the healer, gave her, but I'm not sure that makes it a spellbook. Certainly not enough of a spellbook to name a novel after. oooo, maybe this is the spellbook? nope

Otherwise, this book was okay. I thought Palombo may have been a little more detailed during the sex scenes--which showed up a little more frequently--than she needed to, which gives the whole story an little bit an Historical Romance* vibe. Van Tassel is a strong female lead, and does what she needs to do to stick up for herself in a time and place where women aren't typically given the opportunity to stand up for themselves. Palombo set this book in Sleepy Hollow, of course, but at an earlier time period that other interpretations. Washington refuses to run for a second term, and John Adams takes over as the second president during this story arc of this novel.

 

* See my note about 'bodice ripper' romance novels and the associated footnotes and links on this recent post.

 

 

dombey and son

Dombey and Son is not a book I’d heard of before. It was written by Charles Dickens beginning in 1846, and published as a serial, with pamphlet size installments issued once per month for 19 months between 1846 and 1848 by Bradbury & Evans, with illustrations Henry Clarence Pitz. Shortly after the last (double-issue) pamphlet was released, the entire book was published in hardback. Serialized books read differently than other books, in my mind anyway, as they can be had in one go without having to wait. And because one had to wait, there could be cliffhangers at the end of a monthly installment; but there also needs to be a way to make sure your readers will remember where they are in the story, and who the characters are. This is why, I believe, the characters are almost caricatures, or archetypes, which makes their personalities so striking, especially when contrasted to other characters in the story. The character names are also a clue, and consequently can be very amusing. One can imagine that a gruff imposing landlady named Mrs. MacStinger, should not be crossed without some consequence.

Reading a serialized novel is similar to spamming a television series that was designed to be broadcast once per week. The regular pacing of a weekly TV show, its alignment with holidays, and the passing of seasons, felt in many ways that you were following these characters along in their lives at the same pace you were living along with them. While Dombey and Son takes place over a longer story arc than the 19 months in which it was originally published, I’m sure that span of time helped with the pacing as the story stretched through the years. Reading it all in one volume is the 1840s equivalent of the spamming.

I picked up this volume at the book sale in my local library. It had no book jacket, although I assume it probably did,* and there was a small leaflet tucked inside the front cover which I thought was a found bookmark. Because I didn’t know about it, and had no book jacket to consult, I read the first line and I was sold. Between that first line, and the handsome binding, it was clearly worth the $2.00 I paid for it. After getting it home, I found that it is a Heritage Club edition. The Heritage Club published books with quality bindings, using their own editing staff, illustrators, and bindery, and made them available at an affordable price to their members. The leaflet tucked into the front is a small newsletter to the club members called  "Sandglass" that discusses the book, the printing, and Dickens himself.

The original title was Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation. yeah, glad they shortened that up It’s a big book but I really enjoyed it. I can’t say that I couldn’t put it down but I did find myself picking it up more often that my usual reading times at breakfast and before bed. Not only that, Dickens had me emotionally tied up with these characters. It may be because of the serial format, or it may just be a literary tool, but the characters had such clear personalities that you could almost guess what they might do, and when wrong, it was either much worse or much better, depending on the character, than you may have guessed.

There are some familiar themes here that Dickens is examining. Themes that we’ve seen him mull over before in books like A Christmas Carol, and David Copperfield. Paul Dombey could be compared to Ebenezer Scrooge, and James Carker would give Uriah Heep a run for his money. What I especially liked is how Dickens examined insidiousness in his evil characters. They aren’t as smarmy or blatantly vile as they are in more modern stories; Dickens’ baddies use the very etiquette of a polite and civil society, especially the higher class norms, as the pool in which he has these creatures wriggle about like eels or prowl like sharks, outwardly smiling and nodding as they watch their prey twist in agony. By contrast, Dickens’ good characters are personifications of the divine upon the earthly plane. It doesn’t matter what happens to them, how terrible their misfortunes, how bleak their outlook may be, they smile or simply tighten their belts, and push on, with endless reservoirs of love, kindness, understanding, and forgiveness. Maybe that’s putting too fine a point on it, and perhaps it’s a bit of a spoiler, but if you’ve read Dickens, I don’t think this will come as a surprise.

I really enjoyed this one, and I can imagine reading it again at some point to see if it still holds up, like I’ve done with similar books, like The Count of Monte Cristo. After a quick look online, it seems as though Dombey and Son is not unknown in the UK; I found many different adaptations of the novel in British movies and television programs. 

Read this book. Maybe twice!

 

 

 

* After writing this, I discovered the Heritage Club edition came in a red slipcase as shown in the photo. This wasn't there at the library box sale, where I got mine.

 

 

 

 

 

typee

Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life was Herman Melville's first book. The paperback version I read, is from Penguin Classics, printed in 1996. I borrowed this copy from my office lending library.

This version looks like it may have been prepared with the school market in mind. There is an introduction (about 20 pages) by Professor John Bryant, who also prepared other commentary on the text, and an extensive appendixes. Bryant's introduction helps to place Typee within Melville's life, as well is within the larger context of the world in which it was written. Bryant, according to the bio in the front matter, is a professor at Hofstra University and an author and/or editor of all things Melville, basically. yeah, Melville nerd 

It was interesting to learn that Typee was published in Britain, and then in America, but editors in each took offense to differing things, and so Melville modified or removed items to suit the local tastes, actually, more than once, which means there are two authorized versions--British and American--each with its own various editions, as ther edits and corrections were made. That, of course, makes it difficult to know what the original, unmodified author's intent was. Bryant has edited this version as a hybrid between the two, to try and get at the most complete and accurate interpretation of the author's original story. To that end he has also made 'corrections' to the manuscript for typos and in some case words that Melville may have selected in error. These edits and corrections, along with explanatory notes are included in the appendixes.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Melville was essentially stranded on this island for months,* living with the natives, and essentially shacked up with a local young woman. That, along with the fact that the women went around topless--when they weren't completely naked whilst swimming, bathing, or just hanging out on a canoe--was one of the things Melville needed to edit out or tone down, in order to keep from stunning British and/or American readers.

What was maybe most problematic, however, is that Melville had a real problem with what so call 'modern society' had brought to the natives of the South Pacific at the hands of missionaries. Its was Melville's believe that way the natives lived, in harmony with nature, and at ease in their tribal societies, was not improved by the introduction of modern society. He was heartbroken that in an attempt to improve the lives of the natives, the missionaries brought structure and religion to a place where Melville that it wasn't required to improve either the people or their lives. The introduction of structure and religion also meant rules, governance, and money. In reality, from Melville's point of view, at least, that meant the white men came to exploit what the islands had to offer, and what the native used to take for free from the forest they now had to work for, and quickly came under the thumb of westerners. It was apparently too much for his readers, worried his editors, that men of god could be making the lives of those they were trying to 'save' so much worse. Melville uses the colonization of the Hawaiian Islands as an example of the corruption, poverty, and exploitation that westernization had brought at the hands of missionaries. He also didn't believe that all missionaries were innocent of the tragedy they wrought. On the contrary, it was his believe that even some who came with good intentions were swayed by the luxuries that exploitation brought and were soon become exploiters themselves.

Its clear then, that Melville isn't interested in a purely maritime adventure story, based on his escapades. Melville's ability to fatten up his stories appears to have been born here in Typee. From what was essentially a tale he told at parties, Melville, at the urging of his listeners, put down his adventures, and then added in a bunch of other information that he had researched or heard about, along with his personal thoughts about colonization and evangelism, in order to flesh it out to a novel. Whole chapters on how harpoons are made and used in Moby Dick, I'm looking at you.

Is this nonfiction? A journal of actual events with some additional researched information (which may or may not be completely accurate) thrown in? Or is it a fictionalized account, inspired by the true events witnessed by Melville while he was stranded on the island for those few months and some other information that Melville used to support his social commentary conclusions about western interference in native cultures and the societal damage caused by religious indoctrination? To be honest, I'm sympathetic to Melville's thoughts about western exploitation of native cultures. Not just here, but everywhere. 

I called this Melville's first novel, multiple times during this entry, but perhaps that's unfair. Lets just say this is Melville's first book and leave it at that. This was is worth a read if you haven't already.

* Depending on what you read (or believe) Melville may have been in captivity, albeit a very relaxed captivity, for multiple months, as the story indicates, or maybe just a month.

gawain and the green knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl & Sir Orfeo are three poems translated from Middle English by J.R.R. Tolkien. The first two were discovered contained in the same manuscript, along with two other poems, written in the same hand, around the year 1400, according to the introduction, edited by Christopher Tolkien from a number of sources which original with his father, including notes, transcripts from broadcast interviews, etc. Sir Orfeo is contained in three extant manuscripts, and the one Tolkien used is dated to the 1330s, inscribed, probably in London. The original authors are unknown.

Tolkien worked on the translations a number of times from the1920s up through at lest the 1950s according to the preface by Christopher Tolkien, and in some case in collaboration with other experts in the field. In some cases, Christopher found multiple versions, and made an effort to use the most recent updated forms for this publication. The copyright is dated 1975 and held by Tolkien's long time publisher, George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. and published in 1980 by Ballantine Books, of New York.

The trickiest part of the translations, according to the front matter, is the rhythm, not the strict iambic metrical foot used in other forms, such as Shakespeare, but a more loose rhythm of stressed and less stressed syllables, more closely matching natural speech, combined with alliterative sounds within many of the lines, such as this example given in the Appendix (also credited to J.R.R. Tolkien, and edited by Christopher):

Tirius went to Tuscany         and towns founded*

In this line, I've bolded the stressed syllables in red, and obviously, Tirius, Tuscany and Towns alliterate. I've added the break in the line, as the example in the aforementioned appendix did, to illustrate that each line is composed of two chunks, according to Tolkien.

The trick is apparently finding the words in moderns English that both tell the same story, give the same intended meaning, maintain the meter and rhythm, and don't damage the structure of the poem or its speech patterns so much that it is no longer a worthy representation of the original.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the longest poem, at about 80 pages, Pearl is about 33 pages, and Sir Orfeo is shortest at about 15 pages. Each seems designed to be spoken aloud, as one assumes that not many in the 1300s and 1400s could read, and they each seems to be focused on a story that is both exciting, and includes lessons on life and strong moral. They each extol the glory of God and being good, and the rewards that come from keeping both of those aspirations close at heart. Each also has a sprinkling of magic, often dressed as dream or phantasm brought on by sleep, drink, or love. All of the ingredients for that which Tolkien was trying to restore to England, its lost native mythology, which he imagined was as rich and diverse as the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or any other ancient civilization that didn't suffer the losses brought on by England's northern, damp climate, which is so hostile to things like old parchment manuscripts.

What I found most fun was the similarities in some of the themes from the adventures themselves that were clearly the inspirations,** at least in part, for some of Tolkien's fiction. That itself, is worth the price of admission.

* Sir Gawain, stanza 1 

** Tolkien fans out there will have heard the comparisons between The Lord of the Rings and Wagner's Ring Cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen) which Tolkien denied, and still many try to say that it is at least partially inspired by Wagner, regardless of the author's dismissal. But Wagner was himself inspired by an old Middle High German poem from around 1200, called Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs), which is in turn, based on oral traditions that likely go back to Old Norse sources, which Tolkien did study. In his 2011 essay on this comparison, Jamie McGregor provides a quote from Tom Shippey's work on Tolkien, indicating that Tolkien has a distinct dislike for Wagner (and other authors, including Shakespeare) and felt that they "had got something very important, not quite right." That, to me, explains why the similarities are present, i.e., they used the same source material, but Tolkien's inspiration, and what he took from the texts and traditions he studied, could be his own.***

*** One of Tolkien's friends--and a member of the Inklings, which they founded with their literary friends--C.S. Lewis, was described by Roberts Giddings, again, according to McGregor's essay, noted above, as a "rabid Wagnerite" and in his mind the source of the Wagner "taint" in Tolkien's work. Not having read Giddings work myself, I can't tell you if that theory is supported by any evidence, but in absence of that, I'll only add that it may be that Lewis saw these associations himself, and may have even brought them up to Tolkien himself, and if he did, I assume that Tolkien's response was the same to Lewis as it was to more public comparisons, altho, I also assume, perhaps more pointed.

women of troy

Pat Barker is an English writer that’s been at it for 40 years or so. She’s won the Booker prize and has a few other accolades. When I did a web search for the cover of this book the title hit on this book and two other things, well, maybe it’s two variations of the same thing: The Trojan Women, a play written by Euripides in 415 BC, and a modern play adapted by Jacob Kempfert and Benji Inniger for Bethany Lutheran College. A little more scrolling gave me a movie of the same name about a women’s basketball team.

The story takes place in the aftermath of the War of Troy, as told by Homer in The Iliad. I wouldn't call this a sequel to The Iliad, but a different perspective, focused on the people ravaged by war and typically forgotten. The story is told from the POV of the women living in the camp of the victorious Greek or Achaean army, taken from their homes in Troy and forced into slavery, or in some cases matrimony, by their Greek overlords.

Barker writes of how these women manage to express their wishes, and strive to fulfill their own agendas, even under the strict supervision of their captors, as women have always had to do when living in a patriarchal societies. Barker also shows us is that there is very little difference between women who are stolen from their homes and families, and often their own husbands, who live as slaves and those who are forced to marry the higher echelons of the invading army. The very men who killed their families, and murdered their male children.

This was an interesting read, and the writing is simple and to the point. You can see why Barker has won a number of awards.

lord of the rings

Is this a re-read? Yes.

This may be the fourth time I've read this... maybe? could be the fifth? The first time I was a teen; maybe 15 or so? I suppose I could do that math, but the results would include some guess work. I was assigned The Hobbit in the 8th grade, and then I actually read The Hobbit the summer after the 8th grade. I think I read The Lord of the Rings in high school, which I borrowed from my Uncle, or.... maybe he got another copy and gave me his old one? Yes, I think that's right, those iconic 1970s paperbacks, as shown on the left.

The second time I read through them I read these same books, but after a while, they started to take a beating, and the glue binding was starting to break down. So at some point, I bought a one volume paperback edition. I did the one volume thing so I could get to the appendixes when I needed to. In the three volume versions, the appendixes only appear in the third volume, so you need to carry that around if you need it. The one volume paperback is fine, but the stresses on the glue binding are too much and its been falling apart for a while. Because of its size, its also cumbersome to read, and I eventually went out and bought a three volume set of paperbacks, which is what I read the last time through, in 2016. But the one volume is fun, I think I'm going to try and re-bind it.

After reading through this a few times, I've begun to see some of the rhythms in Tolkien's writing shining through a bit. There are some spots where he seems to be impatient to get to the next (major) point and the narrative, and doesn't provide as much of the detail of those moves are accomplished as he had in other places. I wonder if this is pressure from publishers, or a self-imposed pressure or editing on his own part. You may have heard that one of Tolkien's regrets about The Lord of the Rings is that its too short. In response to the questions and opinions of critics and others, Tolkien offers no quarter, response or apology, in his Forward to the Second Edition, but offers only this to those who have complained that the book was too long:

"The most critical reader of all, myself, now finds many defects, minor and major, but being fortunately under no obligation either to review the book or to write it again, he will pass over these in silence, except one that has been noted by others: the book is too short."

This can probably be read two ways: at face value, or as a subtle jab at his critics, which was only partly meant or facetious. After having read through a number of times, I believe Tolkien did have more story to tell, and while he may not have been referring to The Lord of the Rings specifically, I think he did see a number of his works still spinning in his head, which he was unable to get into print. Tolkien complained a number of times about not having his notes in order, and that peccadillo, along with the rigors of his non-writing life, prevented him from bringing many of those other stories to fruition. I wonder what we'd have if Tolkien had a computer. Would it have increased his productivity, and if so, would there have been a cost to that, in the quality of his work? Perhaps from a lessening of the contemplative way he wrote, and re-wrote, in longhand? mmmm...

All this to say, I believe I've said it all in other reviews of this book. I didn't break down my review this time into three chunks to correspond to the traditional three volumes, only because this is well traveled ground, both for me and for many others. I did want to get some of my thoughts down on why reading a one volume editions vs. the three volume (they both have pros and cons) and on the length of the tale itself. On that point I will add that if you are left wanting more, there is a little more in the Appendices, and I can recommend highly enough that you read them. In fact, back in 2016, when I read through all of these books the last time, as noted above, I recommended that if you are re-reading the Middle Earth books that you read the Appendices first, right after The Silmarillion, and before The Hobbit. This time I was just reading The Lord of the Rings, but I did read all of the notes in the front matter, and the Appendices at the back, before I began the body of the text.

Tolkien is a champion world-builder and creator of mythologies. The Lord of the Rings has a depth and richness that is unmatched by most of its counterparts in fantastic fiction. It still has staying power, the ability to thrill and entertain, even after multiple readings, which hasn't been dimmed by the films, in my mind at least.

Read this book.

sirens of titan

1959.

That's when The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr was published. I read a paperback copy that I found on the (many!) shelves of the house we stayed in up in New Hampshire over the Independence Day weekend. This has become an annual trip with my family, and this year's foray was another success. I had never read this sci fi blast from the past, and it looked pretty good, and not all that long, so I took it for a whirl.

So, right off, folks reading this book today will  see that its dated. Not just in the wildly inventive scientific speculations, which have clearly been been proven false since it was written, but also the number of quirks about 1959 society that Vonnegut assumed would last into the indefinite future, and, you know...haven't.

I've seen this a number of times in classic SF, from Asimov and others, who foresaw a world where alien carrying spaceships bopped around our solar system, and humans are augmented and/or armed with super-cool laser technologies, but where women are still fetching coffee. asimov, one could argue, got it even worse

That said, this book has got some pretty original thinking, some wild ideas, and speculates on some pretty crazy ways to accomplish one's goals, despite the worse-case scenarios you may be living in. Its also witty in many places, and pretty funny in some others. There are also some over-arching themes, and even some interesting views on the development--and potentially the very existence--of human life on earth, that reminded my a little of the Hitchhiker's Guide.

This was a fun little throwback, and a treat to read for those interested in classic Sci Fi.

book of treasures

was scrolling through LinkedIn today, as I normally do not do, and I found a video post from the American Library Association which offered a glimpse at the Book of Treasures, or in the original old French "Li livres dou tresor," a medieval illuminated manuscript by Brunetto Latini, politician, historian, poet, philosopher, and teacher (and friend) of Dante Alighieri. Ooo, I thought, a glimpse at a great old tome from the National Library of Russia, count me in.

My first thoughts when the video starts: Wow, that book looks great for its age. Wow, that's not the book that's a box. A box? Wow, that book looks great for its age. Why does that guy opening it have his bare hands on it? Wow (now looking inside at the illustrated manuscript pages on vellum) that book looks great for its age. Well... [spoiler] its a copy. Limited? sure. Less than a thousand copies? yep. Handmade? no doubt. For sale, and this is the glam video for all those patrons of book porn? you got it. The LinkedIn poster: Victor Moliero. The Company: M. Moliero. to be fair, Vic is proly a member of the ALA. whatever.

Its a nice copy, I'm sure. I would have preferred to ogle the original however.*

Also known as Tesoro or Trésor (the treasure) the encyclopedia was written in French during Latini's exile to France between 1260 and 1267. There is a copy of the manuscript in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence, where it is labeled as Ashburnham 125, which may or may not be the very volume from his old teacher that Dante read. The encyclopedia contains three books: biblical, Troy, troyian? Roman, and Middle Ages histories, and natural history, including astronomy, geography and animalia, the second book is about ethics, vices, and virtues, and the third book concerns political science as seen, and in the opinion of, the author. 

The National Library of Russia manuscript is rife with decorated initials, borders, and miniature illustrations including many "arabesques and drolleries" according to the Moliero video, which is why they chose this version to reproduce. Arabesques are ornate designs of interwoven geometric, floral, foliate figures. Drolleries are comedic images, designed to be oddly amusing, whimsical, or jesting. Examples of drolleries in this book include: deer-riding arrow-shooting monkeys, children jousting while riding piggyback on their parents, and a sword swallower. Many of the illuminations are gilded. Other versions are not as illuminated.

More about M. Moliero and what they do can be found on their website if you're interested in, what I assume, is an expensive copy of an awesome old book.

* I tried to find images of the original the Moliero folks copied on line so I could check it out--and share it here--but no luck. If you find it let me know in a comment.

Silmarillion

Sweet, sad, Silmarillion. 

The Wikipedia entry refers to The Silmarillion as a mythopoetic collection of stories. I had to look that one up; and I kind of like it. The tone the stories are told in is a little reserved. Some of the early ones, chronologically speaking, read like bible entries. But when you’re talking about the birth of the Earth—or Ea, Tolkien calls it—then I guess biblese seems appropriate. 

As I understand it, Tolkien felt the absence of a traditional English mythology beyond the tall tales of Arthur Pendragon and his ilk. Something of the scope and depth of the kind the Greeks, Romans, and Norse cultures have; stories that underlay their culture and belief systems, and tie them to their spiritual past. A careful look at what Tolkien has done shows that. From his proto-nursery rhymes, to the linguistic underpinnings of English, present in the early languages of the Quendi, the Elves. 

The Silmarillion is Tolkien’s unfinished backstory, the framework of his world building upon which he built the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. But it’s more than that; it’s his notes on dozens of other stories that he didn’t get the chance to finish. Christopher Tolkien did a great job, organizing, editing and releasing many of these work in the decades after his father’s death. Working, as he says he did when his father was alive, as a kind of amanuensis. One can only imagine what kind of works Tolkien may have produced had he had access to modern word processing or even speech-to-text technology. 

Tolkien described the creation of the world as the first collective music of the Ainur, made manifest by the one god Illuvatar, with all of the good, the bad, and the ugly of a first run, still in there. It’s like a proud papa pasting his kid’s first crayon drawing on the fridge... and then asking us all to live there for eons. augh, I don't wanna live in a first draft. Melkor is licking his finger and touching me! But don’t worry, says Eru, the big man, this is like a dry run. We’ll work out the bugs then bang out a fresh one all fixed up!*

What? Yeah, this ones probly gonna suck, for you guys and everyone else down there, but screw it, right? You guys made it, let’s see what happens!**

In here we find everything from the beginning of the world to the creation myths of the sun, the moon, and the stars; from the origins of elves, dwarves, and men, to the flat world theory; from the flood story to the making of dragons; and from the invention of war, to the making of rings. That last one was inspired, by the way, by the same fables and myths that inspired Wagner and his Der Ring des Nibelungen, "The Ring of the Nibelung," often referred to as the Ring Cycle. Tolkien was also inspired by the Edda, as was Wagner. 

 

This isn't the first time I've read this book, and it won't be the last. My last time through was nearly ten years ago. That review is maybe better than this one. If you want to know why you should read The Silmarillion, or even some pointers on how to read it, check out my earlier review.

Either way, read this book.

 

* I'm paraphrasing, nerds

** Yep, paraphrasing again

 

 

kim

I don't think I've read Rudyard Kipling since I was a teen; that was probably Captains Courageous. A quick look at the Books page here on the blog tells me I'm wrong; I read The Jungle Book; Just So Stories in 2010, but didn't write about it. Anyway, I guess you could compare Kim with The Jungle Book, in that it focuses on a young man or boy in India. In both stories the boy has 'gone native' and ends up moving toward a more civilized (less wild) life as a young man. Perhaps its a parable on how we all grow: from a life of play and fantasy as a child, to the norms of society as an adult.

Perhaps they're just boy's adventure stories.

Kipling was born in India during the British rule (1865) but was sent back to England as a 6 year old for his education. He returned to India at 17, and worked there as a journalist and poet until he returned to London as a well known author at 24. So he spent some formative years in India, and you can see why he focused some of his well known stories on young men in India.

Kim (Kimball O'Hara) spends his early life as a street urchin, begging for his meals, and doing odd jobs where he can get the work. His street savvy has caught the attention of a horse dealer, who keeps his eye on the young Sahib, living as a local, and speaking to vernacular.

The story takes place over a number of years (roughly 1898 to 1902) and across a huge swath of India, from the Himalayas and Umballa (Ambala) down through New Delhi and Lucknow, to Benares (what is now Varanasi.) By train, and often on foot, either on an errand for the horse trader, or in the company of a Tibetan lama, whom he adopts and becomes a chela (guide) for in the lama's quest. In time, the lama, the horse trader, even a wealthy widow with her own children and grandchildren, become a kind of family to Kim who has lost his own family. They help him find purpose, education, and an connection to his lost European roots while allowing him to remain true to his 'street' self when he needs to. In the end, Kim even finds wisdom.

There is more to it than that, including a cloak and dagger theme that runs through the book, that I wont get into. I was a little surprised by it, but it gave the story I depth I wasn't expecting when I got into it.

Read this book.