Has anyone read the Silmarillion?

[Teuntje]

I am planning to read it. I know what it is about, but I heard it was quite hard to get into. Does anyone have tips on starting/reading it?

[Angus]

Don’t be scared of it and don’t worry about remembering anything. Nobody told me it was hard to read when I was 13/14 so I just read it like any other book. It is VERY different from The Hobbit or LotR, which slightly shocked me but which I also found quite intriguing. If you struggle with the first two chapters, which are basically Tolkien’s creation myth, persevere to the Quenta Silmarillion when the story starts to take off.

Tolkien’s conceit was that he was translating a “found”history from the Red Book of Westmarch, based on Bilbo’s and Frodo’s writings and translations from the Elvish. Some stories are thus just outlines of what happened whilst others have much more detail. The Three Great Stories are Beren and Lúthien, The Children of Húrin, and The Fall of Gondolin - all three available as separate books giving their development over JRRT’s lifetime and well worth reading, although I’d read Unfinished Tales after The Silmarillion.

There is one chapter, Of Beleriand and It’s Realms is a dull read - even when you’ve read it umpteen times.

[Angus]

I’m not sure. I first read it in either 1977 or 1978 when I was 13 or 14. For about 18 years I re-read Lord of the Rings every year, but I definitely didn’t do the same with The Silmarillion. I’d guess up to around 1993 I must have read it about 5 times. I re-read it again last November in preparation for my local book club reading of The Hobbit in December, followed by Lord of the Rings. I’m definitely the major Tolkien nerd in our club so I also re-read Humphrey Carpenter’s biography to be prepared if people had particular questions about JRRT himself. Re-reading The Silmarillion was like re-visiting a very old and dear friend, very cosy and familiar with reminders of some of the things I’d forgotten. I think it only took me about 4 days. I then followed it up with Unfinished Tales before The Hobbit. I thought it would be fun to read those books in Middle-earth chronological order for once, instead of published order. Since then I’ve also read Beren and Lúthien, The Children of Húrin and The Fall of Gondolin. I’ve made commitments to read a few other books next but will then read The Fall of Númenor and the new map book that has just been published. After that I’m planning a re-read of JRRT’s Letters and will finally work my way through all of the Histories, some for the first time since I bought them in the early 1990s. Marriage, work and doing an Open University course over a 10 year period rather interrupted my Tolkien obsession for about 30 years but now I’ve retired I can indulge my full nerd.

[✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*Alaina✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*, Rider of the Mark]

The silmarillion is amazing! It can be alittle hard to get through at times because there's not a whole lot of dialogue, but it gives a lot of perspective on LOTR and other books in the series! So I definitely would recommend :)

[klappe]

No, but that is mostly just because i cant get my hands o a copy. I do however know most of the lore of it, thanks to Essays and a friend. And i am exided to read it one day.

[aurélie˚୨୧⋆.˚]

i’m starting it and i’m rlly excited!!

[Helena]

Oh my gosh, I'm reading it right now! Originally, I had attempted it when I was a lot younger, and it didn't go well at all, but genuinely, it's so, so incredible and interesting, and there's so much going on. It's absolutely brilliant. I think it gets a bit of an iffy rep because it's so content heavy and tough, but it is definitely so, so worth it. I would definitely recommend giving it a try (and maybe write some information down so that you don't forget who is who)!!!

[Helena]

Teuntje wrote: "I am planning to read it. I know what it is about, but I heard it was quite hard to get into. Does anyone have tips on starting/reading it?"

I'm not sure if you're still curious for an answer, but it is so worth reading! I'd definitely recommend (as silly as it may sound) writing down a couple of the names, or relationships/important notes about characters, since it can be pretty tough to hang on to all of it. Also, definitely do your best to get through the first little part. It's definitely tough, but once you get into it, and once you get used to the style it's written in, it's SO GOOD. Especially when it gets to the Noldor, that's some pretty insane stuff. It's a long ride, but it explains so much (and it's also just pretty epic).

[aurélie˚୨୧⋆.˚]

^^^YESSS OMG i just finished it a few days ago and the way you’re not even exaggerating!! it is truly soooo wild in the best way possible and i still find myself thinking about all of my favorite storylines. there are some truly incredible characters in it too like i enjoyed it so much more than i initially thought i would it’s SO GOOD!!!

[Elijah!]

I have the book, but I haven’t got the chance to read it yet. I can’t wait though.

[Kaitlin]

I've read a little bit of it, but it was kinda hard to follow...I'm hoping to try again soon tho :)

[⊹₊⟡⋆winifred⊹₊⟡⋆]

ITS MY FAVORITE BOOK IF YOURE A TOLKIEN FAN READ IT. IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE HECK YOURE READING GO TO YOUTUBE AND WATCH A SUMMARY VIDEO/ VIDEOES ABOUT CERTAIN EVENTS CHARACTERS. ITS A MASTERPIECE, YOUVE GOT EPIC BATTLES AND HEROES, ROMANCE, EVIL DARK LORDS, DRAMA, MYSTERY, THRILLING PLOT TWISTS AND MORE!!

WARNING: im sorry... BUT ALL YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS WILL DIE. THE ONES YOU WANT TO DIE WILL ALSO DIE. EVERYONE DIES. well not all of them, but that's why youve gotta read it so you can find out who doesn't actually die!

personally, i just watched a whole bunch of random videos about Tolkien characters and whatnot (most of them Silmarillion related) before reading the actual book and this really helped me gain understanding and context and stuff.


but all in all, 10/10 would recommend, would read again, would read again again.