THE QUESTIONS
To address the questions that most people have:
* This is an easier read than The Silmarillion.
* It is a greatly expanded version of Chapter XXI of The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar", BUT...
* Reading The Silmarillion is not necessary.
* It is told in a narrative voice.
* The narrative voice is archaic.
* The so-called archaic voice falls somewhere in between The Silmarillion and LOTR in style.
* Húrin is a great hero amongst men.
* His son, Túrin, is whom this story is chiefly about. His daughter Nienor makes a late, but significant, appearance. Significant enough for this book to be called The Children of Húrin.
* You will recognize a few names from LOTR, but don't look for furry-footed Hobbits. A Balrog makes a brief appearance, as does a dragon.
* Unlike some posthumous publications of Tolkien's, there is only one footnote in the entire narrative, and it doesn't interrupt the flow of the story. It's inclusion wasn't necessary, but the information was nice to know.
* There is an Index of Names at the back of the book to help the reader keep track of who is who.
* As always, a well detailed map is included.
* Read the Introduction. Christopher Tolkien does a wonderful job preparing the reader who hasn't read The Silmarillion for what is to follow.
I can't emphasize the last point enough. One reviewer noted that you wouldn't know who Melkor was, and that this was detrimental to the reading of The Children of Húrin. Not so! Melkor (known later to Elves and Men as Morgoth, which translates to "Dark Foe" in Sindarin) is discussed in the Introduction. In the event that you ignore my advice, Morgoth is the original Dark Lord, for whom Sauron was but a mere Lieutenant. Think on the malevolence of Sauron, and imagine him serving something far more powerful and foul. That is Morgoth. Indeed, "malice that wakes in the morning is the mirth of Morgoth ere night."
Between the Introduction and the first chapter, you have everything you need to know. Regarding the first chapter: it starts slow. It feels biblical: "Glóredhel wedded Haldir son of Halmir, lord of the Men of Brethil; and at the same feast his son Galdor the Tall wedded Hareth, the daughter of Halmir. Galdor and Hareth had two suns, Húrin and Huor..." But for those of us who are confused names, that's the worst of it, and as noted above, there is an Index in the back to help you keep track if necessary.
THE STORY
Húrin was a great warrior of Men, and fought with the elves against Morgoth in the Fifth Battle of Beleriand, called Nirnaeth Arnodediad in the Sindarin tongue of the grey-elves, meaning The Battle of `Unnumbered Tears'. It is aptly named, for many lords - elf, dwarf, and man - died that day. Húrin, though, was captured, for Morgoth wanted more than his life. He demanded from Húrin the location of the hidden city-kingdom of Gondolin, the last great stronghold of the elves. But Húrin defies Morgoth, mocking him, and in his wrath, Morgoth places a curse on his children: "Wherever they go, evil shall arise. Whenever they speak, their words shall bring ill counsel. Whatsoever they do shall turn against them. They shall die without hope, cursing both life and death." And as final punishment, he binds Húrin in a chair high above the kingdoms of Men, so that he may look down "upon the lands where evil and despair shall come upon those whom you have delivered to [Morgoth]."
After Húrin was thus bound, Túrin was sent to Doriath and grew up in Menegroth, with the elf-King Thingol, who claimed him as "foster-son". There Túrin was taught the craft of those who would live in the woods, the language of the elves, how to hunt, and how to fight. He quickly became a great warrior, as lithe as an elf yet with the great strength of a man. He accepts from Thingol the Dragon-helm of his father, and fights against the Orcs in their skirmishes in the marches of Doriath. Many came to love him, and the Orcs fear the Dragon-helm, but as he is Húrin's son, Morgoth's curse followed follows him. Envy soon finds its way into the councils of Thingol, and Túrin leaves, believing that he has lost the favor of the king; but ever prideful, he believes that he has been wronged and refuses all ties to Doriath.
(A word about Orcs. They are the twisted creation of Morgoth. Many believe they are directly descended from the Quendi [elves], whom Morgoth imprisoned and then bent to his will, filling them with his malice and hatred of light.)
The tale follows Túrin as he goes from place to place: taken in with a band of outlaws; their encounter with the "Petty-dwarves"; Túrin's time in Nargothrond (a great elven kingdom); his love of the fair Níniel; and his great battle with Glaurung, father of and greatest, perhaps, of all the dragons. And where Túrin goes, so does the curse of Morgoth follow, leaving only despair in its wake.
SOME COMMENTS
One criticism of Tolkien is that he plays softball, whereas other authors - Stephen R. Donaldson in the late 70s and early 80s, and more lately George ("the other R.R.") Martin - play hardball. One interpretation of this metaphor is that Tolkien didn't put his characters through "the wringer" like Donaldson did with Thomas Covenant, and he didn't kill off any of his main characters, something that Martin seems to have devilish fun doing. (There are other interpretations, but I'll just address this one.) Obviously, anyone making this claim never read any of Tolkien's posthumous work or given any real thought as to what Frodo endured as the ring-bearer. Anyone reading this review knows that the cute little hobbit that was Frodo left Middle Earth from the Grey Havens with a broken, shattered soul. When thinking of Túrin, think more along the lines of Frodo's ending, and less Sam Gamgee's. Morgoth's curse is heavier than Frodo's burden in that through Túrin it touches the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Men and Elves alike.
Many will ask, "Should this have been published? Is it good enough to stand next The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, etc.?" A very loud YES to both. It's the only complete narrative of Tolkien's that hasn't been published, and that alone means that it should be published. That said, Tolkien was never satisfied with his own work, and was constantly editing and rewriting. What would *he* think? If it were possible for him to be looking down on this, my hunch is that he is wincing, and dying to edit the daylights out of this book (pun intended?). It's not a perfect work. Some passages feel uncomfortable, a few are out of place, but overall, I'll take Tolkien's imperfect work over virtually every other writer of fantasy's BEST work.
Reading the appendices, I was struck that Tolkien was, perhaps, a man misplaced in time.
His work, poetry and prose alike, rivals (if perhaps they do not exceed), the depth and quality of any who have come before him. Imagine him as a commissioned scribe, or someone who, like Martin or Jordan or Rowling today, made enough money from their work to do it full time. So much of what Tolkien left us is unfinished. Would that it were not so. We would be the better for it.
(By the way, the cover art for
Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth
depicts Mîm with Túrin and the outlaws, with Mîm pointing to Amon Rûdh.)
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