The Children of Húrin | J.R.R. Tolkien | If you love Tolkien, buy this

The Children of Húrin | J.R.R. Tolkien | Highest Quality

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The Children of Húrin

	The Children of Húrin J.R.R. Tolkien Houghton Mifflin, 2007 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 263 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

If you love Tolkien, buy this

I am a true fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and own most of his published works, even the obscure ones. If you are not just a fan of LOTR because of the movie hysteria I recommend this. Devoted Tolkien fans will gain much insight into a wonderful writer's world of Middle earth and their bonds w/the original works of LOTR will be strengthened after reading this book. You will be able to appreciate and understand all of his other works much better if you delve into works such as Children of Hurin and other of Tolkien's lesser known works.

Highest Quality

Let me recommend this audio book installment to anyone who appreciates the Tolkien Mythology.

The Children of Hurin is in it's own an incredible piece of work coloring the historical background of middle earth and it's legendary characters. The Audio Book seen here is narrated by Christopher Lee, who played Saruman in the LotR films. Anyone who has delved into the the details of the Tolkien series knows how special it is to have Lee as the reader, and will be awed by his rendition of the narrative and dialogue. If you have an ipod, or like to play CD's outloud while you do things around the house, this is a great purchase. If you are a Tolkien fan, this is an utmost necessity.

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Detailed retelling af a dark, dark tale.

The Children of Hurin is a detailed retelling of "Of Turin Turambar" from J.R.R. Tolkien's earlier Silmarillion. It takes place in the First Age of Middle Earth. The book has a more immediate narrative than The Silmarillion, but is not as intimate as The Lord of the Rings.

The reader should not expect The Hobbit. This is a very dark tale, containing some very adult concepts. However, reading this tome will clarify to many the seriousness of the characters within the later books detailing the Third Age (LOTR, The Hobbit), as it goes in to the history and the stakes involved.

I understand that this novel has been optioned for motion pictures, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I am betting the optioning party didn't actually read the book.

The illustrations by Alan Lee are excellent.

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Fast Reading

I am a big Tolkien fan so I was really looking forward to this book. Very fast reading if you know the baseline characters. I would recommend reading at least The Silmarillion beforehand.

Heroism & tragedy

The Children of Hurin proved hard going at first, but after some perseverance it did reveal the Tolkien genius and things began falling into place. In my opinion, one needs to have read the The Silmarillion for background in order to fully understand where this history fits into the greater scheme of things. A fold-out map helps with the geography.

In the preface it is explained when and how JRR Tolkien worked on the long version of the legend of the children of Hurin as an independent work and how the current text came about, whilst the introduction provides a brief discussion of Beleriand and its peoples near the end of the elder days. There is also a note on pronunciation.

The narrative takes the reader through the lands of Hithlum, Mithrim, Dor-Lomin, Dimbar, Brethil, Doriath, Talath Dirnen and Dorthonion. It begins with the childhood of Hurin and the Battle of Unnumbered Tears which marked the decline of the Eldar when Hithlum was lost. Hurin and his descendants were cursed by Morgoth whose evil realm was then expanding.

As a young boy, Turin left Hithlum for the hidden Elvish kingdom of Doriath where he stayed some years. After a dispute with an Elf, he left to become an outlaw. He eventually established a home on the mountain Amon Rudh, the domain of the petty dwarf Mim. This outpost was lost to the orcs through treachery.

Thereafter, Turin dwelt in the Elvish city of Nargothrond until its fall. Afterwards he established a home amongst the people of the forest of Brethil. At this time his sister left Doriath, lost her memory in an encounter with the dragon Glaurung and came to Brethil, with tragic consequences.

The wingless dragon made its way toward Brethil, intending to destroy this outpost, when the highlight of the book occurs: Turin's slaying of Glaurung. If one perseveres through the first difficult pages one will certainly enjoy this great tale of tragedy. It has all the Tolkien trademarks - an intricate plot, gripping imagery and elegant use of language.

There are beautiful colour plates and black & white illustrations throughout the text. The Genealogies section includes the House of Hador & People of Haleth, the House of Beor and the Princes of the Noldor. The Appendix includes The Evolution of the Great Tales and The Composition of the Text, and the book concludes with a List of Names.

Tolkien Bestiary by David Day

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