Rachmi ’s Comments (group member since Mar 31, 2016)

Rachmi ’s comments from the J.R.R. Tolkien Epic Reads group.

Hahaha high five! We sound like we're traumatized by The Hobbit films :D

There is talk that PJ will make Silmarillion film. I'm not sure I want it to happen, not after The Hobbit. I think it's best left alone from cinematic adaptation now. So I'm glad Christopher Tolkien is still determine to not sell it's right.

Yes, Melkor is a great manipulator. I don't know why at first I only thought of him as evil antagonist, but not necessarily a great manipulator. So he is quite fascinating me :)

Now as I read, I guess I should know it from the beginning as Saruman is also a manipulator. It's just I see Melkor is better (as an antagonist) than Saruman.

I didn't know about female spiders! Thanks for letting me know. Now it makes sense and I more appreciate what Tolkien write in his story, as it based on the life of real female spiders. And now they creep me out LOL

I didn't get LoTR nor The Hobbit in Japanese. Secondhand bookstores I went don't have it, some even don't understand what I was looking for. There is one chain-well-known secondhand bookstore that I wish I can find but they only have Fifty Shades of Grey edition LOL

I had great time in Jimbocho though i wished I can spend more time there because the experience itself was pretty amazing :D Btw, Jimbocho is a place in Tokyo that well-known for their secondhand bookstores.

I ended up buy Gone With The Wind English edition that was published in 1951 for less than USD 5, in good condition! How I love secondhand bookstore :)

Another stunning Ungoliant & Melkor illustration I found in DevianArt website



Ungoliant here really creeps me out! According to the illustrator, Peter Jackson really liked this picture and so it's in Behind the Scene of The Hobbit 2 DVD and BluRay. I think it's kinda cool though I'm not that interested to buy those The Hobbit movies DVD/BluRay :D

From the Illustration edition by Ted Nasmith, there is no illustration from chapter 6 (Of Feanor and the Unchaining of Melkor) to chapter 8 (Of the Darkening of Valinor). It's a bit disappointing since I really want to see how Nasmith interpret Ungoliant and Melkor.

But then I did a bit searching in the internet, and find very beautiful illustrations by Alan Lee and John Howe. If you recall, they are the concept artists for both the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit the movies by Peter Jackson.

So here they are (I posted only the one that are still related with previous chapters of Silmarillion that we have read):

The Killing of the Trees by John Howe



I think this is from chapter 8. It looks like the tree that sucked up by Ungoliant. Ungoliant is quite creepy here, never imagine her with those skulls attached to her body. And I love the color of the tree.

Ulmo, Lord of the Waters by John Howe



I don't know why but he looks morel like Odin to me :D

Earendil's Ship by John Howe



The ship looks a bit like the one Galadriel, Celeborn, Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo use to Undying Land at the end of the Return of the King the movie, no?

Eärendil the Mariner by John Howe



Melkor Calls Forth Ungoliantë by John Howe



Lúthien Tinúviel by Alan Lee



Aside Alan Lee and John Howe, I found Ungoliant illustration that I really like in DevianArt website.

It's called Ungoliant and Melkor by helgecbalzer



I think it's stunning. I can feel how dark and creepy Ungoliant is. As for Melkor, as much as it's awesome I think I still prefer the one by John Howe :)

Yes, it's the edition I have. I rarely use it though. I mean, when we started our Silmarillion buddy reading, I thought I'll read both edition, Indonesian and English, back to back.

But it's quite hard to do it :) because 1) there is no way I carry the English edition around with me everywhere since it's quite heavy, 2) I still find it's hard to read, you know, what with the writing and the vocabulary I'm not familiar with. So I only need it whenever I doubt the translation in Indonesian edition or there is thing that unclear for me, just like the one I told you about Ungoliant in Silmarillion thread.

Here's my Silmarillion, look at how different the size between the English edition (at the bottom) and the Indonesian one (at the top) :D

Yes, after I read my English edition of Silmarillion it's clearer that Ungoliant is a she, just like Shelob, the one I remember well from The Lord of the Ring. What I meant is whether there are another gigantic spiders aside Ungoliant and Shelob.

I didn't know that Shelob is Ungoliant's daughter, though. But now I remember that there are more spiders in The Hobbit. But I think they aren't like both Ungoliant and Shelob. At least I don't remember one of those spiders that attack Bilbo and the dwarves is gigantic like Ungoliant and Shelob.

Agree with you about Ungoliant. She's very creepy, creepier than Shelob! And the description when she sucked the tree up is really dark.

As for Melkor, am I weird if I find that I admire him? :D I think he is really a badass antagonist. He can influence everyone that easily, though I have to say that it's partly because of Fëanor is a hot-headed (or is it hot-tempered?) too. I guess that's why he will have misfortune fate in his life.

Note: in Indonesian, there is no female/male called for third person (no she/he). So when I read my Indonesian edition I don't know whether Ungoliant is a she or he. I have to read my English edition. And now, I wonder if there is another giant spider in Middle-earth. And if there is, what sex is it? but if there isn't I'm curious about why Tolkien created all female spiders.

Agree with all you said, Heidi. Chapter 5 felt a bit dry but once I got what it means, it wasn't that hard reading anymore, and a bit intriguing. I especially really enjoyed the story about the Noldor and the part about Finwe family made my reading more enjoyable.

As you said, this chapter is like a listing of data/facts, thus makes me wonder if it's enough if CT makes the story into a family tree. But then again, I enjoyed the part about Finwe family so maybe this is the best way to do it, despite the hard and dry feeling when we read it.

The thing is I almost always find the beginning of each chapter is a struggle for me. I don't know why, maybe because we read it one or two chapter each month? so I feel like I have to go back to that hard feeling whenever I start the book. But once I'm in the story I feel like I don't want to put it down. But then I have to put it down and move to another books. So each time I feel like I'm going in a circle. On the other hand, with the way we read now, I have so much time to digest the story. I mean I understand it, not just read it. Hope you understand what I mean :)

As for chapter 6. Melkor reminds me of Saruman, what with his words and kind and nice persona. I cannot wait to read more about him.

Sorry I've been MIA for a whole month. But now I'm here and hopefully I can post many awesome illustrations for The Silmarillion.

So here they are, still from Ted Nasmith, for each chapter of The Silmarillion we've already read so far.

Ainulindale. It's called The Sea.



Chapter 1. Of the Beginning of Days.



I love the color Nasmith used in this illustration. The yellow (brown?) and green look contradict each other but somehow mix them in a good way. The illustration is called Illuin: Lamp of the Valar.

Chapter 2. Of Aulë and Yavanna. It's called Aulë Prepares to Destroy His Children.



While I don't have any exact image of Aulë, I never pictured him this way. I don't know, maybe because he reminds me of Prometheus I think he'll be more like Greek god to me.

Chapter 3. Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor. The illustration is called At Lake Cuiviénen.



Chapter 4. Of Thingol and Melian. There is no illustration in this chapter. Maybe because it's a short chapter? I'm not sure, though.

Chapter 5. Of Eldaman and the Princes of Eldalie. The title is The Light of Valinor on the Western Sea.

I haven't finished reading chapter 5 yet. I don't know why but it's quite a hard reading for me. I have to reread so many paragraph to understand it. I guess I'll read from the beginning again soon :)

I'm so excited too!

I can only post for Silmarillion illustration by Ted Nasmith now, but I also cannot wait to look for other illustrations from other illustrators. It's so much fun searching and seeing those illustrations. I can spend hours in Ted Nasmith website only, lol.

Agree, Heidi. It's enchanting. I'll post Ted Nasmith other illustrations of Silmarillion later. Each chapter has its own illustration.

I think it's quite hard to illustrate Tolkien books because of his stories and the way his writes. But I still love to know and see all those illustration. And since I have this The Silmarillion edition, I can say that it's beautiful. I don't know whether Tolkien will approve of Ted Nasmith, though :)

It's just nice knowing the illustrators/the artists that he approved of and the one that he didn't like. I'm happy to find that link.

This is the cover of The Silmarillion illustrated edition. Illustrated by Ted Nasmith, it's called White Ships From Valinor.

Illustration folder is for illustration of Tolkien books. It can be from Tolkien himself and other illustrators. Aside illustration by Tolkien, I personally only know a few of them; Alan Lee, John Howe, Ted Nasmith, and Ingahild Grathmer. But with a little digging in the internet, I found that there are also lots of illustrators whose works are inspired by Tolkien.

I think it'll be fun to see those illustration, as it can add to my reading experience.

And I found this old article but is a new-interesting thing for me regarding illustrator Tolkien loved and approved of http://io9.gizmodo.com/5968792/the-mi...

To make it easier, I think it is best if we divide the illustration based on Tolkien books. And since we’re reading The Silmarillion now, I’m going to start with it. Feel free to add it by yourself and enjoy!

Chapter 4. It's so short! I finally meet the famous Thingol and Melian, but there isn't much about them. I mean they are Aragorn and Arwen ancestral and the first couple who married with another race (Thingol is an elf while Melian is a maia), I kind of wished I got so much stories about them. But then again, since my friends said they also appear in I guess, there will be another chapters about them later.

So I've read 2 chapters this month, but since chapter 4 is too short, I think I'm going to read another one now :D

Heidi wrote: "Hi Rach, I thought I would read this right away but this weekend and last, the weather has been crazy beautiful here, so not so much reading! I'll finish both chapters next weekend, but I did start..."

Hi Heidi,

It's good the weather was beautiful in your place, while in my place it's so unpredictable lately. In the morning and afternoon it can be so hot I feel like the sun is right up in my head while at night it can be heavy raining with lightning and all. So confusing!

Before I read Silmarillion I thought Balrog is the name of the creature, never thought it's the creatures themselves. And Sauron? He surely has one powerful boss, doesn't he? :D

I tried to look for the Stewards of Gondor in LoTR appendix but I couldn't find it. There is a story about the Eorl but not the Stewards of Gondor. I remember I once read about them somewhere. But now I'm not sure where I read it.

Chapter 3. I like this chapter. Tolkien described the migration of the elves (I'm not sure migration is a propriate word for it, but it's the one I can think of now) is clearly enough for me to understand it easily, despite there are lots of names in the chapter. And speaking of characters' names, it's one of difficult things I find in this book. There are lots of names I want to memorize but at the same time they are kind of distracting me. I can memorize the characters' name, though am still struggling to remember what power one has. But when a horse, a mountain, the stars and other things' name come up, I have to (slightly) ignore it, to be honest :D

I guess it's better if I read this chapter with a map beside me. I'm curious of how different the Middle-Earth in Silmarillion and in The Hobbit/LoTR.

At the end of chapter 3, there is an elf named Denethor, son of Lenwë of Nandor. I wonder whether human knew this Denethor or if he's well-know among human, as Boromir & Faramir's father's name is Denethor too. I guess I have to check the appendix in LotR to know about the Stewards of Gondor. If I'm not wrong there is a story about the Eorl so it must be there is one about Boromir's family, though I don't remember about it at all right now.

My goodness, I forgot about this essay entirely! And I still haven't finished it yet. Sorry Heidi and I feel bad. But I'll read it (or maybe restart since I forgot what Tolkien said about fairy in the beginning of the essay) as soon as I can.

Yay! It's already April here in Indonesia. Cannot wait to read chapter 3 and maybe chapter 4, too? :D