I read The Lord of the Rings (so you don't have to)

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I read The Lord of the Rings (so you don't have to)

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Arvos with Harvo

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 23

@xavierpaquin Ай бұрын

LOTR is full of a beauty and nobility that nothing else captures. It's length gives it an aesthetic, meditative quality that would be lost by cutting it short... you only get bored where you can't see the beauty. It's not about action, it's about savoring the journey. Tolkien's background as a linguist and historian shows everywhere and gives his world incredible depth that rewards rereading, and I think some experience reading history actually helps in really appreciating LOTR for what it is, which is closer to a fictitious history than a literary epic (which is even truer for the Silmarillion). Finally, unlike most fantasy literature which could be classified as escapism, it has a true moral core. It doesn't wallow in darkness for entertainmen'ts sake, but elevates you towards a noble standard. Beauty and the Good go hand in hand. As far as I'm concerned, Fantasy as a genre doesn't need anything else than Tolkien! A welcome cure from anything contemporary, a balm for the soul.

@arvoswithharvo759 Ай бұрын

Thank you for putting into words what I perhaps wasn't eloquent enough to express - I agree with you that the novels have a meditative quality which is lost by focusing on just the core plot beats. I am a somewhat fast reader by habit, so it's not something that I'm used to. I did appreciate the connections to history and myth, especially in the motif of folk music that runs throughout. And of course the amount of work that goes into creating the various languages is admirable too. I was aiming to assert that whilst those are both good things, they are not the only measure of effective fantasy storytelling. I see Tolkien as taking a vast and uncompromising attitude towards his craft which distinguishes his work from what most modern fantasy authors would consider good practice, and I certainly respect that. That being said, I don't see fantasy or any fiction on a linear scale of style and quality. In the video I wanted to speak to the fact that although Tolkien's work is at the pinnacle of fantasy, largely owing to its immense care and detail, it's not the case that new works of fantasy must aspire to that same level of worldbuilding to be considered effective. It's not that Lord of the Rings itself is flawed, but that we don't need to always demand fantasy universes to hold up to the same level of detail. Even if I didn't enjoy it to the fullest, it's something rich and complex enough for people to fall in love with, and I do wish I worded that better in the video proper. I do want to one day read the Silmarillion, though perhaps I will save it for after a re-read of the trilogy. Everything I have heard about the Silmarillion builds it up to be a massive challenge, so I want to come prepared!

@xavierpaquin Ай бұрын

@@arvoswithharvo759 LOTR doesn't really prepare you for the Silmarillion in terms of background, you can jump right in. The events of LOTR aren't even really connected with those of the Silmarillion, they happen much later in the same world. To use your Bible analogy, LOTR might be the Gospels, and the Silmarillion Genesis. The challenge with the Silmarillion is that it's history through and through, with a couple of tales thrown in the mix. Characters and setting change with every chapter so it's easy to get lost in the details. It just requires more careful reading, going back a lot with the help of the index to connect threads, and constantly referring to the map (which is also the case for LOTR though). However, it's a third of the lenght of LOTR, which helps! 😂 After listening to your review though, I thought maybe the Silmarillion wouldn't be for you 😉 But if you go ahead, do it before rereading LOTR. Me, I'm gonna reread it before rereading LOTR, and start that by reading the appendices first 😄

@SgtWicket Ай бұрын

The movies adapted what teenage me thought the books were. The older I get, the more off-base the movies seem.

@goyasolidar Ай бұрын

That is a hell of a thing to suggest. I would argue that every fan of fantasy should read the books, not just for their cultural significance, but because they are exceptional works of narrative and world building.

@MeanDark2 Ай бұрын

"so you don't have to", lol, why wouldn't you want to read these books? really good books.

@carlosherediavargas2985 Ай бұрын

So we don't have to?

@alessandropizzocaro7506 Ай бұрын

"so you don't have to" ?! Bro what are you talking about? These books are quite possibly the greatest work of fiction ever conceived.

@Adamantos-Elean Ай бұрын

nice orc cosplay bro

@mrchristian0457 Ай бұрын

I get it that people have their own opinions but man, saying LotR isn’t that great of a fantasy novel is wild. To say it’s not the most important fantasy novel when it essentially defined the genre is also wild. Also, really? “So you don’t have to”? I get you don’t like it but that to me is blatant disrespect and seems to be clickbait.

@StephenYuan Ай бұрын

Personally I never finished it. Gave up halfway through Return of the King and never went back. Don't think I ever will either.

@twyckoff87 Ай бұрын

Tolkein fought in WWI. Thats probably more relevant than WWII.

@jaime8318 Ай бұрын

Over rated?? yeah....That's why so many millions f copies of his novels have been sold all over the world in dozens of languages, right? Maybe the problem is not the books, but the reader.

@issoufguene2439 Ай бұрын

come on guys, if you comment at list click the like bottom

@MatthewBreck Ай бұрын

highly recommend you read it for ya self!

@nono-hg7yd Ай бұрын

Obviously, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but when you give the greatest fantasy book of all time a 3/5, pretty hard to not lose any credibility. Seems when reading you glossed over what makes the book universally loved and praised.