I read the Silm based solely on the fact that the great, infallible Tolkien wrote it. I didn't enjoy it, and I can hardly say that I understood most of it. What made it all worthwhile for me was that, after going back and reading LotR again, that grand, shadowy tapestry that so many of the characters look back on (Sam's allusion to the legend of Beren and Luthien, the role of Glorfindel, etc.) now had color and form. I could say, "Hey! I know that story!" It added another dimension to the Middle Earth I already knew and loved.
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"'You," he said, "tell her all. What good came to you? Do you rejoice that Maleldil became a man? Tell her of your joys, and of what profit you had when you made Maleldil and death acquainted.'" -Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis
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