I personally found The Sil fascinating from the very start, right when i first opened to Ainulindalë. The mythological writing style captivated me. I agree that the hardest part of reading the Sil was keeping track of all the names and places. When i first read it, I had to go back to chapters and re-read them until i thoroughly absorbed them. The index of names in the back is immensely helpful. The most boring part is probably when Tolkien describes the geography of Beleriand and stuff...but you will realize how important that information is later on. After a while, the Sil really picks up and becomes even MORE fascinating. Especially after the story of Beren and Lúthien (my fave Sil story next to Akallabęth). All in all, it's an enchanting read. I definitely want to read it again. I'm hoping to also read UT and HoME, then read LOTR again and maybe see it in a whole new light. The Sil does a great job of giving you the "big picture"--and it's really amazing how small some things are in the grand scheme of things. Makes me feel kind of nostalgic. I feel like the ME people must feel in the Third Age...how no matter how great their world is, it could never measure up to the power and beauty of the ages gone past, like the Eldar days and the splendour of Númenor in the 2nd age. *sigh*.
Starting is too great a claim for any, and only a small part is played in great deeds by any hero.
-Elrond
Couldn't be more true, as i realized after reading the Sil!
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The musicians had indeed laid bare the youngest, most innocent of our ideas of life, the indestructible yearning for the way things aren't and can never be. ~ Philip Roth, The Human Stain
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