Why is it so difficult?

[Azaelia of Willowbottom]

Interesting question.

It did take me a couple tries to get through the Sil. I think it is the style, mainly, that makes it a little harder than LOTR. It's written in a more archaic style, which can make it a little less accessable.

My initial response was like Fea's: This reads like the Bible. I didn't make it through that time.

The second time I picked it up, I skimmed over the first part about the creation, which I think was a good move to make. It gets less Bible-ish later on, or perhaps I just became accustomed to the style quicker. I discovered that I really enjoyed the story of Turin...but the rest had taken too long to read, and there was still quite a ways to go. And I gave it up again.

The third time I started Sil, I read the thing from start to finish (almost). Something just clicked with me, and I felt myself falling into Middle-earth again. The last chapter or two remain unread, not because I gave up, but because I was struck with the realization that this would be the last new Tolkien I would ever read. So I stopped. I wanted to save it. For what or until when, I don't know...but I didn't want to read it. Because after that, it would be all over, and I didn't want it to end.

I still haven't read those last pages. Now, there is a "new" book coming, so I think that over spring break, I'll pick Sil up again, start from the beginning, and read all the way to the end.

I think that a lot of what's so difficult about Silmarillion is that it is different from Lord of the Rings. LOTR reads cohesively. It is highly descriptive, and doesn't get bogged down in long lists of who is related to whom. Silmarillion is a more episodic story, spread out over a much wider range of time. Everything connects, but you could pick it up, open it to a chapter of your choice, and start there, and probably be no more lost than you would be if you started at the beginning.

I think another problem could be that it's something like the issues people have with Shakespeare: It sounds different! It's too hard! I can't read this!...when really, it's pretty much the same language as our own, and it's only really difficult because everyone says it is--just the power of suggestion. The style may take a little longer to figure out at first, but once you get into the rhythm of it, it flies right by.

I think it's hard, also, to find the chunk of time required to read the Silmarillion. It took me longer to read than LOTR, partly because increased demands of school meant that I couldn't just curl up with a blanket and the book and spend my days lying on the couch and reading...and partly because it took me some time to get accustomed to the style differences. If you can find the appropriate window of time to dedicate to the effort, it's worth the read.

[mhagain]

Didn't find it particularly "difficult" at all. I'd actually read it before reading LoTR, over 20 years ago, and have since re-read it many more times than LoTR. It's just a matter of letting go of your preconceptions of novelistic convention, and being prepared to go with the flow rather get too hung up on who's doing what at any particular moment.

Of course, once the Silmarillion bug bites, it bites for good.

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by mhagain

Didn't find it particularly "difficult" at all. I'd actually read it before reading LoTR, over 20 years ago, and have since re-read it many more times than LoTR. It's just a matter of letting go of your preconceptions of novelistic convention, and being prepared to go with the flow rather get too hung up on who's doing what at any particular moment.

Of course, once the Silmarillion bug bites, it bites for good.

That ought to be the proper way. Read Sil first, I mean. But many people find it awfully dry if they don't like Tolkien (aka LotR and The Hobbit).