which is better? Children of hurin or The silmarillion?

[CirdanLinweilin]

Or at least that is what we are told by umm. Someone. But, to keep this on topic Tolkien refers to the Ainur as "Angelic" not "Angels". While he puts them on the same level as Angels of Judao/Christian beliefs they are not actually the same beings.

Very true, too.


CL

 

[StarGift]

I just thought i would like to find out which book out of the children of hurin and the silmarillion everybody liked best. feel free to explain why. I would love to hear your opinions.
MWAAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAA!!!!!!!

I chose CoH because it really breaks the usual monotony of "Oh yeah and then the good guys won. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever. Not!" That is one reason why I like Tolkien's works- the endings are bittersweet. But Children of Húrin like everyone dies and oh the main villain happens to be one of them. Very refreshing.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Welcome to the forum, StarGift! If you'd like to introduce yourself, and say something about your specific interests, we have a New Members section. Meanwhile,

 

[StarGift]

So true, so true.

 

[Olorgando]

I chose CoH because it really breaks the usual monotony of "Oh yeah and then the good guys won. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever. Not!" That is one reason why I like Tolkien's works- the endings are bittersweet. But Children of Húrin like everyone dies and oh the main villain happens to be one of them. Very refreshing.

Sam's statement at the end of LoTR "Well, I'm back", is the most powerful ending, massively so for being so low-key, of any (author-published) book I've ever read.
But the end of "The Children of Húrin", the last paragraph, is the only thing written that can stir cynical old me to tears, even now.
The only thing in real life that compares is Martin Luther King's 1963 speech "I have a dream", the greatest speech in human history.

 

[Þráinn Þórhallsson]

Depends what you prefer. Story and character drama or Lore and mythology.

 

[Olorgando]

If I understand your "or" distinction above correctly, then JRRT did both. And as Frodo and Sam mused about pretty much this topic on, of all places, the stairs of Cirith Ungol, another stroke of genius in depiction by JRRT, Frodo and Sam were still in the continuing great tale that went back to Beren and Lúthien (Sam specifically mentions Beren, and Eärendil), and by implication also Túrin (and Tuor). And in both tales end quietly, laconically, and in the case of CoH, very sadly and poignantly. I would guess that few authors have managed the same. Even PJ and Co. had the sense to end RoTK the film with exactly the same words as ended the book - compared to much else they did positively a flash of brilliance (much misunderstood by the Hollywood troglodytes so deep in that Grand Canyon-sized rut excavated by their abominable cookie-cutter "mind"-set).

 

[Kolbitar]

J.R.R. Tolkien and his Great Ring of literature. It's fun to imagine if, completed, each story had been aligned with the poem:

“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”

...with the Sil being the one ring to bind them. But I suppose that would imply Tolkien as a dark lord of sorts. None-the-less, CoH is a jewel, or rather a sword--not unlike the "shards of Narsil" forged anew. And, as pointed out earlier, it stands out as the most classical Tragic form of Tolkien's work. I like it best as something I can wield. But the Sil is the Nauglamir, or a bejeweled ring, or a dwarven/elven armory by that comparison. And (in a way) not unlike a certain ring which was forged with much of the life and power of its creator put into it, and it "does the wielding." The analogy is disharmonious with Tolkien's themes. Regardless, "There are many magic rings in this world, and none of them should be used lightly."

 

[Kolbitar]

"There are many magic rings in this world, and none of them should be used lightly." -- I suppose Tom Bombadil may have disagreed with Gandalf on that. Hmm.