HELP!

[balrogman]

ok im reading the silm finally, but its really confusing. any ideas on how to help me read it so it makes more sense? thanks

[Gwaihir the Windlord]

Not a great deal, I'm afraid. That the Silmarillion is a difficult book is a common complaint.

Try reading more slowly. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Or maybe it isn't for you, who knows? Wait a while and then make another attempt, perhaps, or read less at a time. That's all I can say; it is indeed complex and there's nothing that can make it less so.

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

"It reads like the Old Testament!" Especially the Ainulindale. Also it's really hard to keep up with all those characters. I would love to suggest, but one man's meat is another's poison. Still, I would sugget putting yourself in the story. If that doesn't work...

Wala lang!
->The True Son of Finrod

[Orofaniel]

I agree, The Silm is a difficult book to read, indeed.

I recommend you to try this:
1. Read the first 50 pages one day.
2. The next day you'll read 30 pages.
3. The third day you'll read 20 pages.

It may sound a bit...50 pages one day!!! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] But it's okey, because The Silm is such a wonderful book.

Have fun reading it! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] (Anyway, when you've started, you don't want to stop.)

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This is a problem that others share with you, and there are some older threads that give suggestions such as taking notes, drawing family trees, etc. Try using the search function (upper right of the page), entering Silmarillion and seeing what comes up. Since newcomers to Tolkien's books might appreciate these answers, I'm moving this thread to the Novices and Newcomers forum. Please continue the discussion there.

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

Dear balrogman! You'll get used to the writing style of Sil but it can take time. Have you read UT?
I have read both of them several times and now the languange and style feel comfortable to me. If you just struggle your way through the book it will be much more easier next time [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
Two advices:
1. a map helps a lot!!
2. if you get confused with the characters seek help from the family trees

Im reading it too. I got a suggestion to make a list of people and what they did and that might help. I havent tried it but it helped a friend read it.

[Arwen1858]

Well, I'm about to start the Silm, but I'm also in the middle of reading 2 other books. My plan is to read a little of the Silm every day, but have my other books to fall back on, too. I really don't want to get bored with it, so I'm going to set a certain amount of pages to read a day. I have to read at least that many, but I could read more if I want.
Pippin_Took_34 - Welcome to the 'Downs!!
Arwen

[Lyta_Underhill]

I suppose the time and your mindset just have to be right. I tried to read the Silmarillion FIRST, before LOTR, and that was a mistake! I would suggest reading the LOTR just before it (for it does make lots of references to the histories covered in the Silmarillion, but in passing or merely by suggestion. That would help tie in the "past" to the "present" of the Third Age in LOTR. Also read the timelines and appendices of LOTR to get an idea of the time and historical relationship of the Silm. events to those in LOTR.

Another suggestion: I found that I learned more Elvish through the roots of the Elvish person and place names, etc. of the Silmarillion than I did reading some dry Quenya lessons. Savor the names and the places and look up their meanings in the appendix of the Silm...that was something I did that made it even more interesting for me, because the stems of the words repeat and add to the verisimilitude of the story as a whole. The Ainulindalë can be hard to get through, but think of it as a long song with a theme that is begun there and played out through the entire saga. That's all I can suggest, but I think each person has to approach the commitment to reading a book in his or her own most comfortable way, so it might not work for others.

I hope this helps, and I wish those of you tackling the Silmarillion for the first time many happy hours of immersion in the heart and soul of Arda!

Cheers,
Lyta

[Gorwingel]

I have read it only once (I need to go back to it and have a second reading, but right now I am in the middle of LOTR), and I read it quite quickly, so not much of it is in my perminent memory. But just listen to what everyone is saying. Go really slow, look up peoples names (I especially got all the elves with name that start with "F" confused), locations, maps, everything. It is a very cool book though, but it does contain some very complicated language that does take time getting used too.

[Finwe]

I think the best way of getting through the Sil is to browse through it quickly the first time, so you get a general idea of the order of things, and then later, when you have a bit more time to devote, read it thoroughly the 2nd (and 3rd times). That way, you aren't bored to death the first time around, and you kind of know what to expect the second time.

[balrogman]

well after a month im proud to say that i finished it, i read it slooooooowly, but yeah i get it but one day im gonna read it again to help me understand it more....oh well now im on to unfinished tales, which im about 1/8 way through and its not as difficult as silm, thats always a good thing

[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

If you just struggle your way through the book it will be much more easier next time

Definately. I understood and enjoyed it a lot more the second time I read it, although I still get some of the elf-princes confused sometimes (all those names starting with the letter F!). Don't worry if you can't seem to get it all straight or can't remember certain parts. It doesn't really matter, and you can always go back to it.

The Ainulindalë can be hard to get through, but think of it as a long song with a theme that is begun there and played out through the entire saga.

That's a wonderful idea, Lyta, seeing as the Ainulindale is all about the Song of the Ainur.... Very clever. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

And balrogman, it's good thing you didn't make my mistake and read UT before the Silm... it was so confusing!

Overall, to anyone else who is reading the Silm for the first time, I would say that the best thing to do is try to enjoy it. I know that some parts about the geography and stuff can get kind of boring, but the parts that read like a story need to be read like a story. I think you'll enjoy it most if you read it like you read anything else, becoming immersed in the story aspects and interested in the tale (assuming that you read books for enjoyment, instead of studying them). The second time around, you can go back and try to memorize stuff and get it all sorted out in your mind, and so forth. But I think the first time should really be about reading it for it's literary qualities, not quite as much for it's historical side.

An incentive for reading the Silm is that you'll see much more depth and understand some of the subtleties and poems and things that the characters mention in an off-hand way in LOTR the next time you read that. It will lend so much more depth to LOTR, and it will clarify some of the things that might have confused you when you first read LOTR.

[balrogman]

i finished UT last nite cause i havent been doin anythin else these last few days, so now im on to read the LOTR books again, and thats when im happy that they're easier to read

[ElentariGreenleaf]

I've started reading both the UT and the silm, but the UT had to go back to the library and the silm bored me half to death. I'm going to try to read them both, though I've only just struggled through FotR for the second time. Which should I do first: Finish LotR before RotK comes out, finish the UT, or finish the silm?

But I think that Christopher Tolkien did a good job with the silm, taking it from Tolkien's notes and all. It's full of facts about Middle Earth's past that I'm really looking forward to finding out. I think I'll take Orofaniel's advice and read a certain amount of pages a day. I'm just talking to myself now, so I'll shut up and post.

Elentari I, the queen of randomness, not the stars.

[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

Which should I do first: Finish LotR before RotK comes out, finish the UT, or finish the silm?

Your choice, but I would recommend finishing LOTR before ROTK comes out.

[Pyroclastic]

I tried reading the Sil, but I kept falling asleep! The same thing happened the first time I read LOTR, untill I got into it. (Now I'm an insane fan, and an absolute nucience.) I got the Sil as a book on tape from my library, and I listen to it while driving to school. It's awsome! I have a 45 minute commute, and it was extremly boring, now it's facinating. Because I don't have to to the work reading it, it's so much easier, and I'm really getting inot it. I highly recommend the book on tape!

[Salix]

I just finished reading the Silm for the second time, and one thing I found very helpful was the fact that I read at school. Maybe I'm just insane or something, but I found that the boringness of class helped my to concentrate more on the text. I did get a bit lost a couple of times, but I eventually figured everything out, except I wanted a map of Numenor and/or Beleriand after it sunk. Oh well. Now I'm reading UT for the second time, and after that I have BOLT 1 and 2 to keep me occupied. I just read them whenever I can at school.

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

Hey I finally got the Silm from the library yesterday and I'm on page 11 (well I read the whole preface thingy which took a while) and I found that if you stop after every few pages and just quickly summarize what Tolkien was saying (like break it down into normal language), it really helps. Otherwise you get lost in all the choppy sentences and long words.

"It reads like the Old Testament!"

I was gonna say that.

[ 8:12 PM November 27, 2003: Message edited by: Lady Snickerdoodle ]

[ 8:15 PM November 27, 2003: Message edited by: Lady Snickerdoodle ]

[Knight of Gondor]

Without trying to sound elite and proud (though how much more elite can you get than in the service of the White City?), The Silmarillion is not for everyone. I was really a beginner at it all (I don't think I'd even read The Hobbit yet!) when I received The Sil for Christmas. I started reading it, and though it was a tough challenge, I knew I would want to get through it, and be proud once I was done. I was right. Not only did I gradually enjoy some of the stories (despite getting a little lost in a sea of names!) but I found myself obtaining a massive new appreciation for exactly HOW much work Tolkien put in!

At the same time, my appetite was whetted for more, which I found in The Book of Lost Tales, 1 and 2. Both are really less complete forms of The Sil, so if you want the quintessential history, the Sil is the most complete, I've found.

If you simply can't, can't, can't get through it, it's really not that big a deal. No one will jeer you for being too much of a wimp (I don't think). And if you need to find out something about the history, you need only consult the brains that haunt this board!

[Iris Alantiel]

I read The Silmarillion during the summer. I brought it with me every day to work. I think part of what helped me to get through it was the fact that, after hours of insanity (I worked in a very popular restaurant in the drive thru/take out section), I would have read anything, anything, that would take me away from that restaurant. Also, I had tried to read The Sil before and it didn't quite work out, but this summer I was absolutely determined I was going to get through it, and I think that determination also helped too. It's really all about the mindset.

Having said that, it was still without question the hardest thing I have ever read in my life. I had to put 110% of my concentration into it. But if it helps any, I found that concentrating on it so hard really made it come alive in a spectacular way, and by the end, after putting so much effort into focusing on what I was reading, I thought it was one of the most beautiful texts I've read in my life, almost poetic. It's worth reading for that reason alone, to say nothing of all the ME history in it (which it'll take me another couple of readings to pick up anyway). So if you can at all persevere with it, it's worth it, at least in my humble opinion.

Best of luck! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[rutslegolas]

I THINK YOU SHOULD READ THE BOOK SLOWLY AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHATS WRITTEN IN IT

AND I THINK IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING READ IT AGAIN AND TRY TO LOCATE ITS THREAD IN THE OTHER BOOKS

BEST OF LUCK!!

[mark12_30]

Taking notes made all the difference for me. Write out your own geneology charts and diagrams for who is related to whom, who is in charge of what, who rules where. Also, print out a map of Beleriand and keep track of who lives where and who rules where.

First time I read the Sil I was totally lost. Second time, I took notes and the book "came to life".

[Eorl of Rohan]

AT first I was just as lost as you are, especially since English is my second language.

If you are a fast reader, just skim through the book the first day, and then take in details as you read it more carefully a second time. It works for me.

[Meela]

I've had a lot of trouble trying to get into the Silmarillion.
I recently came up with a solution for me, though:
On my site I started a small project to summarise the book. Each chapter will be broken down into biographies of the characters, lists of places, and a summary of each story or section.
Once this is done, I should be able to use this simplified version to grasp the basics of the whole book put together.

[Althern]

Endure. It is not so bad, and even if it seems to be, why should something that is worthwhile be easy?