Yes, Tolkien is Wonderful, but...

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Iarwain

They don't constitute "intellectual content", and I think you'll agree with me on this point.

Quite frankly, no.

The fact that Tolkien uses them well reflects well on Tolkien, but it doesn't make his work great literature.

So I take it something is missing? Perhaps ... this?

I spent years rereading the Lord of the Rings and always feeling disappointed with that last line, and wishing he had gone on to write the final battle and the destruction of Arda.

Let me ask you, why is it necessary for a great work to have its absolute ending included in it? By and large, Tolkien's books don't say less (or more) about the final ending than, say, the Bible or Homer's works, which are present in your "great list of books". So I don't see why this would be a valid critique.

I'm not saying that there isn't a lot to talk about in Tolkien, but that there are books that raise questions closer to reality, more involved in the essence of the human condition, and concerned with the problems of living in the world.

Is there any particular standard regarding human condition and problems of living in the world, according to which those books qualify while Tolkien's don't, and if so, which one? Or are you simply going with your personal opinion here?