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mark12_30 · 01-13-2004, 08:22 AM

Title: Tolkien-- A Look Behind The Lord Of The Rings
Author: Lin Carter
Date of Copyright: 1969 (before the Sil was released-- before a lot of things were released, actually)
Edition : First
Summary description of the book's main themes

"Summary" is right. Most of this book consists of Summaries.
The first couple of chapters are biographical. There follows a summary (one chapter per book) of The Hobbit and each book of the Trilogy. Then there's one chapter entitled "The Trilogy-- Satire or Allegory?" in which he comes to the conclusion, "Neither." Again, no surprise to us, but in 1969, give him a bit of credit.
One more chapter discusses Tolkien and his theory of Fairy Stories; he did read the essay.
Then we get to the meat of the book: The Look Behind. And there is very little Tolkien in it; he is looking at the predecessors and he does give us a thorough look.
Lin Carter is definitely well-read; his book proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's good for humility-- one learns that there's a lot out there one doesn't know.
He spends a chapter on the Classical (greek/ roman) epic, with a wave at later midieval imitations or retellings; a chapter on the Chansons De Geste; a chapter on The Medieval Romance; then an introduction to William Morris (Well at the World's End and many others), Lord Dunsany (The King of Elfland's Daughter and many others), E.R. Eddison (The Worm Ouroboros) and a few others. He defines each stage and what it contained that the previous did not. The entire survey was enlightening, informative, but not engrossing. The part I knew the least about was Morris, Eddison and Dunsany.
Then he ties all this together and shows how Tolkien's work was a culmination of this whole process; also enlightening.
It seems amusing to us now, but he spends a few more chapters on his delirious joy at discovering the list of dwarven names in the Edda, and rapturously describes his discovery of "Earendel" in various ancient documents; also Frodo's name and Gandalf's name, found in other manuscripts. What is now common knowledge he dredged up by himself via his own research. Again, one has to give him credit for being quite well-read.
Strengths and weaknesses of the book: Because of its very early release, there is not much in this book to surprise anyone who has the least understanding of Tolkien these days. I read it for the historical value (I'm interested in seeing how critical works unfolded over time.) He makes some educated guesses concerning what might be revealed by the (future) publishing of The Silmarillion that are rather interesting. For the 2004 Tolkien fan, this book contains only one thing which may or may not be revelatory depending on your background: Carter's view of how the epic quest, epic war, the Chansons de Geste, the midieval romances, and the Heroic Fantasy novels all funnel into LotR (which is interesting.) Other than that, this book is of historical interest only. (The King of Elfland's Daughter is now on my reading list thanks to Carter.)
Whether you generally recommend this book and why: Maybe, depending on the readers' background. See strengths and Weaknesses above.
Whether you specifically recommend it for novices and why. Definitely not. The worthwhile contents can be found with less effort elsewhere.

01-13-2004, 08:22 AM	#27
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Title: Tolkien-- A Look Behind The Lord Of The Rings Author: Lin Carter Date of Copyright: 1969 (before the Sil was released-- before a lot of things were released, actually) Edition : First Summary description of the book's main themes "Summary" is right. Most of this book consists of Summaries. The first couple of chapters are biographical. There follows a summary (one chapter per book) of The Hobbit and each book of the Trilogy. Then there's one chapter entitled "The Trilogy-- Satire or Allegory?" in which he comes to the conclusion, "Neither." Again, no surprise to us, but in 1969, give him a bit of credit. One more chapter discusses Tolkien and his theory of Fairy Stories; he did read the essay. Then we get to the meat of the book: The Look Behind. And there is very little Tolkien in it; he is looking at the predecessors and he does give us a thorough look. Lin Carter is definitely well-read; his book proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's good for humility-- one learns that there's a lot out there one doesn't know. He spends a chapter on the Classical (greek/ roman) epic, with a wave at later midieval imitations or retellings; a chapter on the Chansons De Geste; a chapter on The Medieval Romance; then an introduction to William Morris (Well at the World's End and many others), Lord Dunsany (The King of Elfland's Daughter and many others), E.R. Eddison (The Worm Ouroboros) and a few others. He defines each stage and what it contained that the previous did not. The entire survey was enlightening, informative, but not engrossing. The part I knew the least about was Morris, Eddison and Dunsany. Then he ties all this together and shows how Tolkien's work was a culmination of this whole process; also enlightening. It seems amusing to us now, but he spends a few more chapters on his delirious joy at discovering the list of dwarven names in the Edda, and rapturously describes his discovery of "Earendel" in various ancient documents; also Frodo's name and Gandalf's name, found in other manuscripts. What is now common knowledge he dredged up by himself via his own research. Again, one has to give him credit for being quite well-read. Strengths and weaknesses of the book: Because of its very early release, there is not much in this book to surprise anyone who has the least understanding of Tolkien these days. I read it for the historical value (I'm interested in seeing how critical works unfolded over time.) He makes some educated guesses concerning what might be revealed by the (future) publishing of The Silmarillion that are rather interesting. For the 2004 Tolkien fan, this book contains only one thing which may or may not be revelatory depending on your background: Carter's view of how the epic quest, epic war, the Chansons de Geste, the midieval romances, and the Heroic Fantasy novels all funnel into LotR (which is interesting.) Other than that, this book is of historical interest only. (The King of Elfland's Daughter is now on my reading list thanks to Carter.) Whether you generally recommend this book and why: Maybe, depending on the readers' background. See strengths and Weaknesses above. Whether you specifically recommend it for novices and why. Definitely not. The worthwhile contents can be found with less effort elsewhere. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.