When I reread the UT two years ago, this chapter caught my attention. How come I never paid attention to it before? It was like all new for me, even though I've read the UT several times. I love it - what an amazing place Númenór must have been! For me, it is the paradise on Arda, not Valinor (too otherwordly) or The Shire (too countryside-ish and bourgeois). The sea (ah! the sea!), the forests and gardens, even the mountains, all of it must have been so beautiful. (Great, I'm talking like it really existed.
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