J.R.R. Tolkien

The Weekly Wrap: December 14-20

/ rtrube54 / 1 Comment
boy in brown and white plaid hoodie shirt sitting beside a christmas tree holding a stack of books
Photo by Elina Fairytale on Pexels.com

The Weekly Wrap: December 14-20

A Reading Holiday?

Our consumer economy wants us to spend the day after Christmas shopping after-Christmas sales. But I came across a good counter-suggestion yesterday. Jamie E. Davis is the genius behind “Because All The Books,” one of my favorite sites for bookish memes. Yesterday, she posted one that said, “I think the day after Christmas should be officially declared a reading holiday.” While I love the idea, I think there is little chance of that happening. However, the U.S. President just spoke of making the days before and after Christmas federal holidays. While he is not a great fan of reading, it doesn’t mean we can’t make the day after our reading holiday.

There are good reasons to do this. Many of us readers are introverts. All the holiday visits, fun as they are, mean extroverting. The last thing we need is all the crowds at the sales! We’re ready to curl up and read!

Then, there are the new books we received as gifts, or the ones we bought while gift-buying. They are calling!

But, you may say, “I didn’t get any books, just some gift cards burning a hole in my pocket!” The last thing I want is singed clothing, so if you can’t wait, go ahead (and often you can do this online on a reading break). But if it means a trip to a bookstore, I always find it more relaxing when there aren’t too many people around, especially in my favorite sections.

Above all, I like the idea that Christmas just begins on Christmas Day. Remember the twelve days of Christmas, which end January 6. Why not give yourself the gift of a reading holiday?

Five Articles Worth Reading

“The Pamphlet That Has Roused Americans to Action for 250 Years” explores why Thomas Paine’s Common Sense has continued to be read.

Henry James often wrote of the magic of Venice. Departing from her usual writing, Anne Applebaum retraced his steps and discovered that the city, facing inundation, still has that magic. “Henry James’s Venice Is Still Here” is a delightful photo essay of her journeys.

Literary Hub is one of my sources for thoughtful writing on all kinds of books. If you’ve not discovered this online resource, “The Most Popular Lit Hub Stories of 2025” is a great place to start. And if you do follow Literary Hub, it is a great recap of this year in books.

A new short story by J.R.R. Tolkien has just been published, The Bovadium Fragments. It’s a satire rooted in Tolkien’s deep seated aversion to motor vehicles. Christian Kriticos reviews it in “Isengard in Oxford.”

Finally, The Public Domain Review posted Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Christmas Sermon, piblished in pamphlet form in 1900, six years after his death. No matter your religious persuasion, I think you will like his ideas.

Quote of the Week

john Greenleaf Whittier was born December 17, 1809. He remarked:

“When faith is lost, when honor dies, the man is dead.”

This quote reminds me of the question Jesus asks, “ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Miscellaneous Musings

I’ve been reading Louis Markos’ Passing the Torch. It is an argument for an educational curriculum for youth built around the classics and other great books as well as the trivium and quadrivium. I’m conscious of how these elements were not part of my childhood education and of my unsystematic efforts to make up for this deficit as an adult. He also helps me understand the growing movement of classical education in both Christian and secular contexts. I hope he will offer some critique as well as affirmation before he finishes.

Manitou Canyon is the 15th book in William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series. In some ways, it strikes me as a parable of the consequences of when we cede the implementation of technology to those who will most profit from it.

I posted about this earlier this year but Publishers Weekly reminded me in “Last Call for Mass Market Paperbacks” that the death of the mass market paperback is upon us. I wonder if some of those classics will become collectors items?

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Gordon Fee and Cherith Fee Nordling, The Kingdom of God is Among You

Tuesday: Michael Grunwald, We Are Eating the Earth

Wednesday: Gerald L. Bray, Athens and Jerusalem

Thursday: Audrey Davidheiser, Grieving Wholeheartedly

Friday: Alan Noble, You Are Not Your Own

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for December 14-20.

My best wishes to you all for your holiday celebrations, including that reading holiday!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with The Pearl and Sir Orfeo

/ rtrube54 / 2 Comments
Cover image of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" translated by J.R.R. Tolkien

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with Pearl and Sir Orfeo, Anonymous, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780358724209) 2021 (first published 1975).

Summary: Tolkien’s translation of three 14th century poems, retaining rhyme, meter and alliterative schema.

You may not realize it, but the various stories of Middle Earth were not the only works of J.R.R. Tolkien. He also translated into modern English three fourteenth century poems, including an edition of the Arthurian poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He initially collaborated with E.V. Gordon on an edition in 1925. Tolkien also worked on translations of Pearl and Sir Orfeo. However, these were unpublished at his death, and the first to be published with the editorial work of Christopher Tolkien. This is a new edition of that work.

Sir Gawain is probably the most familiar. A Green Knight appears before the round table issuing a challenge, which Arthur accepts but then Gawain accepts to spare his king. The challenge is to strike a blow at the knight’s neck. But Gawain must then seek out the knight, appearing the following New Year’s Day, and allow the knight to do the same. Gawain beheads the knight, who then picks up his head, walks off, holding Gawain to his pledge. Most of the poem is Gawain’s quest to find the knight. By Christmas Eve, he still hasn’t found the knight but arrives at a castle where he can attend mass and stay over Christmas, since the Green Knight lives just two miles away. Gawain’s encounter with the Knight is a kind of anti-climax, the real trial is with the lady of the castle.

Pearl represents an allegory of the loss of what is precious, a young man’s quest, which reminds one of Pilgrim’s Progress where the quest for the Pearl, personified as a maiden takes on a spiritual character of repentance and salvation.

Sir Orfeo is another quest poem in which Sir Orfeo loses his wife Heurodis to a fairy king. He seeks her for many years in the forest where she was last seen. Finally, he spots her and by disguise, finds his way to the king’s court. But to win her and then to be restored to his own throne!

One of the distinctions of Tolkien’s translations is that he retains the meter, rhyme, and alliterative scheme of the original. An appendix on verse forms explains this. I have not read any other edition of these works so I cannot assess how successful Tolkien was. However, I can say that the translation flows and never bogs down the stories of these poems.

This edition also includes the text of the “W.P. Ker Memorial Lecture on Sir Gawain.” The lecture is helpful in appreciating the tension between courtly manners and the perfection of character with which Sir Gawain struggles.

All three poems concern quests. A common theme is that the formation of the character of the questor through the decisions he makes is perhaps even more significant than the object of the quest. We may think we are shaping our life quest when in fact it is shaping us.

The three poems are all treasures I am glad to have found. The translation and editing of the Tolkiens, father and son, is a bonus!

___________

Thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

Review: The Fall of Númenor

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "The Fall of Númenor" by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Brian Sibley, illustrated by Alan Lee

The Fall of Númenor, J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Brian Sibley, illustrated by Alan Lee. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780063280687) 2022.

Summary: The collected writings of Tolkien on the Second Age of Middle Earth, covering the rise and fall of Númenor.

For those who have read only The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Númenor is a place no longer existing, where a great line of kings of men ruled, a descendent of which was Isildur, who cut the Great Ring from Sauron’s hand at the end of the Second Age. In this work, Brian Sibley has assembled the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien from The Silmarillion and other sources. He gives a narrative of Numenor and the Second Age.

The First Age ended with the defeat of Morgoth at Thangorodrim by an alliance elves and men. The Fathers of Men were rewarded by the angelic Valar with the raising of an island, Númenor, west of Middle Earth. As part of their grant, they gave to men long lives, for many over 400 years. But this was on the condition that they not attempt to sail west to the Undying Lands.

The work traces the line of kings (and a couple queens) who ruled Númenor, a description of Númenor, and the major events on Númenor and in Middle Earth. In back of all of it is Sauron, diminished but not vanquished in the defeat of Morgoth.

Sauron begins stirring at the time of the first restlessness of the kingly line when Aldarion takes to the sea, building harbors on Middle Earth’s coast, trading. It is he who first realizes the danger of Sauron, who has rebuilt Barad-dur. But all this turns his heart away from Númenor and from Erendis, who he loved. He repeatedly broke promises to her. Though they married, she eventually separated from him rather than share his mistress, the sea.

From then on Númenor’s previously peaceful life is wrapped up in the resistance to Sauron, who has deceived elves, dwarves, and some men as he offers them the illusions of power and prosperity. The tale unfolds as Sauron is taken prisoner to Númenor, gradually seducing many of them. The temptation was not wealth or power, which they possessed. Instead he seduces them to invade the Undying Lands in quest of endless life. Their lives, as they grew increasingly heedless of the Valar had grown shorter and the gift of life became replaced with the curse of dying in their minds.

By breaking the Ban of the Valar, they brought about a great cataclysm. The sea overwhelmed them, along with the island of Númenor. Only Elendil and his sons Anarion and Isildur and their men escape. Of course, Sauron also survives. The exiles found Arnor and Gondor, while Sauron returns to Mordor and seizes Minas Ithil, once an outpost of Gondor. This sets up the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and the overthrow of Sauron in which Elendil and Gil-galad die, while Isildur takes, and sadly, keeps the One Ring, setting up the events of the Third Age.

This is a brief overview of a narrative at least as rich as that of the Third Age. One reflects on the restlessness of Aldarion, who could not be content to wed Erendis, and rule Númenor. One considers the seductions of Sauron, when he still seemed fair, offering power and wealth. Until too late, when the Rings of Power were forged, did they discern the danger behind the fair appearance. Likewise, the Numenoreans could not be content with the gift of long life and the teaching of the Valar. In their power, they wanted more. I think of Augustine’s observation about the restlessness of our hearts, making us vulnerable to seduction.

Alan Lee’s illustrations capture something of the beauty of Númenor. He helps us visualize the other pivotal events of the Second Age. This includes when Galadriel leads the elves through Moria and Gil-galad crosses the Misty mountains to form the Last Alliance. Sibley’s editing achieves more of a continuous narrative than some of those by Christopher Tolkien. One has a sense that this is how J.R.R. Tolkien would have rendered the tale if he had the time.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books. People aren’t reading blogs like they used to, so I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

Review: Beren and Lúthien

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "Beren and Lúthien" by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien

Beren and Lúthien, J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien, with illustrations by Allen Lee. HarperCollins (ISBN: 9781328915337) 2018.

Summary: An edited collection of different versions and extracts of one of the most celebrated love stories of Middle-earth.

The tale of the love story of Beren and Lúthien was considered by J.R.R. Tolkien one of the chief stories of The Silmarillion, published posthumously with the editorial work of his son Christopher. Beren and Lúthien is one of the last edited works by Christopher Tolkien before his death in 2020, along with The Fall of Gondolin, which followed it. It reflects Christopher’s work in collecting, ordering, and editing his father’s various writings in creating the world of Middle-earth. As in other works, Tolkien’s telling of the story evolved over time and this work shows that development.

The story in brief, is of Beren, a refugee of wars with Morgoth that wiped out his people. He wanders into the elvish realm of king Thingol. There, he sees Lúthien (or Tinuviel) dancing in a glade and falls in love, which Lúthien reciprocates. But her father sets a high price for her hand, a Simaril (a precious and powerful jewel) in the crown of Morgoth. After many perils Beren is imprisoned. There are various versions, one involving imprisonment by a great cat. Sauron holds him captive in another. Lúthien, whose dances have the power to enthrall to sleep, comes to his rescue, aided by the great hound, Huan. They succeed in liberating Beren. Subsequently, she uses her powers to enter Morgoth’s fortress, subduing to sleep Morgoth long enough for Beren to cut the Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown.

Alas, they cannot escape without encountering the great wolf who guards the gate of Morgoth, now wide awake. All Beren can do is ram his hand down the wolf’s throat, which bites it off, holding the Silmaril, which drives the wolf mad, allowing their escape. How they recover the Silmaril and the further lore around Beren and Lúthien, in several versions, are all here.

As I’ve mentioned. Christopher Tolkien provides various versions of the story and extracts of parts of it from an early rendering with the cat, later replaced by Sauron, various passages with variations on the story, a lengthy verse rendering of much of the story in The Lay of Leithian, and various versions of the return and afterlife of Beren and Lúthien, as well as the subsequent history of the Silmaril.

In addition, Alan Lee provides nine full-color plates of incidents in the tale. Also, Christopher Tolkien adds an annotated list of names and glossary. This is helpful to keep straight so many names of persons and places.

In conclusion, Christopher Tolkien gives Middle-earth fans a trove of background surrounding this great story. In doing so, he helps us understand afresh the monumental world-building effort of J.R.R. Tolkien. It was so great that it took two generations (at least) to bring it all into published form.

Review: Unfinished Tales Of Numenor And Middle-Earth

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "Unfinished Tales Of Numenor And Middle-Earth" by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien

Unfinished Tales Of Numenor And Middle-Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. William Morrow (ASIN: B00796E7CA), 2012 (originally published by Houghton Mifflin, 1980).

Summary: A collection of stories, many in unfinished state, by J.R.R. Tolkien providing background information on the three ages of Numenor and Middle Earth, edited by his son.

The creation of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) is perhaps one of the most astounding instances of worldbuilding in fantasy fiction. Tolkien not only creates Middle-Earth but a whole history surrounding the events in his stories. He invented the languages spoken by the different races. He wrote backstories of many key figures appearing in these works or mentioned. Tolkien intended to publish at least some of this material but it was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1973.

Tolkien’s son, Christopher, has made a life’s work of marshalling this literary inheritance into print, beginning with The Silmarillion, in 1977. Here, Christopher Tolkien wove the extant fragments his father had written into a cohesive narrative of the three ages of Middle Earth. In Lost Tales, we see some of the raw materials with which he worked. Sometimes Tolkien changed names, or events. What Christopher Tolkien does is give us these stories, with some editing on his part, along with an extensive set of notes, annotations as it were on the text, changes made, and so forth.

The stories offer helpful background for any dedicated reader of Tolkien. The book follows the three ages of Middle Earth.

Part One: The First Age

This includes the story of Tuor, son of Huor, his captivity in and escape from Morgoth. Tolkien renders Tuor’s journey with the elf, Voronwe, and his coming to Gondolin, carrying the message of Ulmo, and being revealed in all his greatness. Also included is the tragic story of Hurin, son of Turin, involving his marriage to Nienor, not knowing she was his sister.

Part Two: The Second Age

This part opens with a description of the geography, people, and some history of Numenor, often referred to in LOTR. “Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner’s Wife” tells the story of a prince who loves the sea, and voyaging to Middle Earth more than his wife. Perhaps most moving is the step his father the king takes in resigning his throne to this son. Tolkien follows with an account of the lineage of the kings of Numenor. The part ends with the marriage of Celeborn and Galadriel and we learn of the sadness that marked her life as well as her distinctive greatness.

Part Three: The Third Age

This section begins with the death of Isildur and the loss of the Great Ring in the battle of Gladden Fields. “Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan” traces the beginnings and long alliance between Rohan and Gondor, so crucial in the final war of the Ring. One of the delights of this collection is the story Gandalf tells Frodo of why he chose Bilbo as the thief to help the dwarves retake the Lonely Mountain. In “The Hunt for the Ring” we learn of the Nine Riders search for The Ring from when Gollum was questioned until Frodo leaves the Shire–as if we didn’t think the Nine sinister enough! In LOTR, we know Theoden lost his son in the battle of Isen. The final story is the account of this battle.

Part Four

The final part of the book includes three background essays. The first gives the background of the Druedain, wild men who inhabited the forests. The second and third were of greater interest. In “The Ishtari,” we learn the history of the wizards, sent by the Valar. We learn there were five, two who passed into the east and out of history. Tolkien traces the long and hidden resentment of Saruman toward Gandalf and of his treachery. Tolkien gives us all the names by which each were known. The last essay describes the nature and number of the Palantiri, including how they were used for seeing and communicating.

Christopher Tolkien appends an Index giving all the names used in the stories and a brief description of each–incredibly useful.

Comments

The success of this work encouraged Christopher Tolkien to embark on his twelve volume History of Middle Earth. This revealed to me the power of Tolkien’s worldmaking. We re-read his major works and want to read more of this world. That’s why an edited collection of unfinished works holds such a fascination. We will wade through pages of notes and even revel in indexes. We want to fix in our minds the contours of this world.

This is not for Tolkien newbies. Rather, it is for dedicated readers who aren’t contented with mere references to Numenor. This is for the afficionado, the one who wants to read everything connected with Tolkien. I would read it after The Silmarillion, which it followed, and after reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The stories vary in quality. The account of Turin and that of Aldarion and Erendis are great tragedies. The story of the choosing of Bilbo is just great fun. The lineage of Numenor’s kings and the essay on the Druedain fell into the category of “for your information.”