Posted on 04/28/2007 12:06:00 AM PDT by NYer
A Review of New Edition of "The Children of Húrin"
ATLANTA, Georgia, APRIL 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- With the release of a new edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Children of Húrin," fans of this deeply Catholic author may be surprised by its biblical tone, says a Tolkien expert.
Jef Murray, artist-in-residence at the St. Austin Review, speaking with ZENIT, said, "'The Children of Húrin' has a more biblical tone than 'The Lord of the Rings.' It is a story of human fallibility and sin and may be prophetic for our times."
Painstakingly reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien from his father's manuscripts, the new publication released by HarperCollins last week is close to two versions previously published. The elder Tolkien died in 1973.
Christopher Tolkien corrected some contradictory elements, updated the chronology, and made the writing tone more accessible.
The book is illustrated by Alan Lee, one of the two conceptual artists for "The Lord of the Rings" movies.
Hollywood studios are already interested in the film rights.
The tale
"The tale itself has much to say of the nature of evil; how it manifests itself in the actions of angelic/demonic beings and, more importantly, in the foibles and sin of fallen man," said Murray.
The Narn i Chîn Húrin, as it is known in Tolkien's "Unfinished Tales," is an almost Job-like story of one family's struggles in Beleriand long before the tales of "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings."
Tolkien's satanic figure, Morgoth, curses the family of Húrin. And, just as with the story of Job, Húrin's wife, son and daughter all bear the brunt of that curse.
But unlike Job, the protagonist of the tale, Túrin, does not humble himself and seek God's grace and redemption.
Rather, Túrin attempts to flee his doom, but pride coupled with an attitude of self-righteousness drives him to commit greater and greater acts of sin and folly.
Murray explained, "The tale ends badly, but, as with all great tragedies, there are lessons here for our own times."
"We, too, often trust in ourselves rather than in God," says Murray, "and like Túrin, the world believes itself invincible and capable of meeting all challenges."
Murray concluded, "But sin taints all things, and without humility and trust in the grace of God, we are all in grave danger of following Túrin's path."
I'm not seeing any real fans of Tolkien being surprised by this. Maybe idiots who only saw the movies and couldn't grasp the concept of good vs. evil.
SPOILER WARNING
“The tale ends badly”
END OF SPOILER WARNING
I wish the authors of these articles would not spoil the book!!!!! As bad as spoiling a movie — more so, because it takes longer to read a book!!!!
Ugh. Need coffee. Need fed.
Asparagus.
“The tale ends badly”
Hillary gets elected President ?
Hillary is falls out of a yacht and is beached on the shore of the Potomac.
All our cankles are belong to us.
Yes..
If you have read the Silmarillion, then you have read within it the story of the Lord of the Rings, the great battle, and the destruction of the One Ring..
Much less detail, but the entire story and the aftermath is all there..
Likewise, there is a brief, general description of the tale of Hurin and his family also contained within the Silmarillion..
This tale, and the one from "Unfinished Tales", and other notes and writings by Tolkien, were combined, edited, etc., to create the new, "complete" book..
BTTT...
More spoilers here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children_of_Húrin
I thought the movies displayed the concept of good vs. evil quite well.
Back when the filming of the LOTR had only been announced , quite a few folks in alt.fan.tolkien. and rec.arts.tolkien suggested that the story of Turin might make a better movie -possibly as a made for TV miniseries. I wonder if that will now happen?
It sounds like a most interesting book. I look forward to reading it.
Judging from the huge success of the LOTR trilogy, it seems Hollyweird is already eyeing this book for possible production.
First in with a Ring Ping!
Cool! And hopefully the Hobbit will be made, too.
ping
More precisely, it was Hillary Morgoth.
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