The Shadow of the Past: Part 1
The Easter Bank Holiday weather was idyllic, and our street was full of cherry blossom from the neighbours' tree. The grass is growing fast, and we mowed the lawn for the first time this year. But, like Sam Gamgee, I have more on my mind than gardening.
I looked forward to sitting outside on a "cool pale evening" to embark upon my chronological reading proper (having read Chapter 1 on Tolkien Reading Day.)
But shadows are clearly stirring in Barad-dûr, and yesterday it poured with rain all day as ominous thunder clouds gathered. I was kept awake at night by the sound of our wheelie bin blowing down the street. However, I woke up on Wednesday 12th April to birdsong and the sky was indeed "clearing after heavy rain" as I began to re-read The Shadow of the Past up to Gandalf's return after his long absence.
What's strange, re-reading this 22 years after the first time, is that at the age of 15 I had no real concept of how years can slip by like days, and what it might be like to go 9 years without seeing somebody. The chances are that if I did run into someone from 2014 I, like Gandalf, would probably greet them with a casual "All well eh?"
There are a few people I don't keep in touch with as much as I would like to, and I hope they know that when we do run into each other it is always a "surprise and great delight".
It seemed only right to start with this 2020 Harper Collins edition of The Fellowship of the Ring (click the title for details - this is why I love Goodreads!) Typically, this was a hardback edition I had treated myself to but never read.
As much as I love Tolkien's own illustrations, and as much as John Howe's depiction of Gandalf was so important to me when I was younger, I have always thought Alan Lee was by far the best Tolkien artist, and there is no substitute for a Lee illustrated edition. But more on that tomorrow...
I looked forward to sitting outside on a "cool pale evening" to embark upon my chronological reading proper (having read Chapter 1 on Tolkien Reading Day.)
But shadows are clearly stirring in Barad-dûr, and yesterday it poured with rain all day as ominous thunder clouds gathered. I was kept awake at night by the sound of our wheelie bin blowing down the street. However, I woke up on Wednesday 12th April to birdsong and the sky was indeed "clearing after heavy rain" as I began to re-read The Shadow of the Past up to Gandalf's return after his long absence.
What's strange, re-reading this 22 years after the first time, is that at the age of 15 I had no real concept of how years can slip by like days, and what it might be like to go 9 years without seeing somebody. The chances are that if I did run into someone from 2014 I, like Gandalf, would probably greet them with a casual "All well eh?"
There are a few people I don't keep in touch with as much as I would like to, and I hope they know that when we do run into each other it is always a "surprise and great delight".
It seemed only right to start with this 2020 Harper Collins edition of The Fellowship of the Ring (click the title for details - this is why I love Goodreads!) Typically, this was a hardback edition I had treated myself to but never read.
As much as I love Tolkien's own illustrations, and as much as John Howe's depiction of Gandalf was so important to me when I was younger, I have always thought Alan Lee was by far the best Tolkien artist, and there is no substitute for a Lee illustrated edition. But more on that tomorrow...
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