The Children of Hurin
by J.R.R. Tolkien
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Book Reviews of The Children of Hurin
Book Review: Destiny or Free Will?
Summary: 4 Stars
THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is a story written by J.R.R. Tolkien and edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. The story takes place thousands of years before the events of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Sauron is only a servant to an even greater Dark Lord of evil, Morgoth. As Morgoth rises to power, one man dares to defy the Dark Lord, Hurin. However, Hurin attacks too soon and is defeated and captured. The Dark Lord does not kill Hurin, but instead curses his children and keeps Hurin captive until the curse has be completed. Thus the tragic tale of Turin and his sister Nienor. The two are separated during childhood and Turin travels far and wide, under many different names, winning allegiances, and destroying the forces of evil. But, Turin is also a very emotional person and instead of listening to reason and logic, chooses to live according to his feelings. His choices bring heartbreak, destruction, and sometimes death. The story mostly follows Turin during his adventures cumulating in the showdown between Turin and the great dragon and servant of Morgoth, Glaurung.
I enjoyed reading THE CHILDREN OF HURIN. I have enjoyed all the stories that I have ever read by Tolkien and was very excited when I first learned about this new book. The book is written in beautiful elegiac prose, but reads like a Greek tragedy. The story isn't as long as Tolkien's other novels, but compliments those works nicely by filling in a story that hitherto had only been heard in snippets of song and verse scattered through the various works of Middle Earth.
Tokien has sometimes been criticized for making his stories end too "happily". THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is not a happy story. Turin and Nienor's lives are full of tragedy. They are cursed, but the truly tragic thing is that many times they are presented with choices that would allow them to rise above the curse. However, being the emotional people they are, they ignore reason, logic, traditions, and courtesies and end up making the decision that everyone knows will only lead to folly. It's a great lesson in how to make good choices and avoid making bad ones. If that's not tragic enough, THE CHILDREN OF HURIN also has the extinction of an entire race of dwarves: the petty dwarves.
I recommend CHILDREN OF HURIN for people enjoy the writings of Tolkien, people who enjoy reading Greek-like tragedies, and anyone who just likes reading epic and elegiac tales.
Book Review: A masterpiece by Tolkien . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
. . . and a labor of love by his son, Christopher.
"The Children of Hurin" represents the first completely original work of JRR Tolkien to be published since "The Silmarillion" in 1977. The story, originally conceived in 1918, and re-worked many, many times gives great depth and meaning as a "back story" to one of the most tragic episodes in "The Silmarillion". For the reader who was moved by the story of Hurin and his defiance of Morgoth; for Morgoth's dreadful revenge; and for the tragedy which befell Hurin's family, this is the story for you.
"The Children of Hurin" fleshes out the chapter "Of Turin Turambar" adding significant characters (and character development), and deepening motives in such a way as to make the story of Turin even more tragic and emotionally wrenching.
As previously stated, a brief version of the story can be found in "The Silmarillion", and a somewhat lengthier version in "Unfinished Tales". Various versions and fragments of the tale, along with editorial commentary, can be found in "The History of Middle-Earth" series. But "The Children of Hurin" is different. This is not a fragment; this does not represent editorial jottings and musings. This is a seamlessly edited single coherent narrative encompassing all of the various writings, re-writings, and transcripts available to Christopher.
In the Introduction, Christopher suggests that "The Children of Hurin" represented one of three Great Tales which could stand alone from the rest of the Middle-Earth mythology; the other two being "Beren and Luthien" and "The Fall of Gondolin". One can only wonder (and hope) that what Christopher has done with this wonderful book, he will be able to do with the other two tales as well.
I also must speak to the illustrations. The art by Alan Lee is truly magnificent. Not only are the full-color plates remarkable, but the black-and-white drawings are extremely well-done as well.
For readers who are looking for "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings", this is probably not where you want to start. On the other hand, it is not necessary to wade through the entire 12 volume "History of Middle-Earth" in order to appreciate "The Children of Hurin". (Knowledge, however, of "The Silmarillion" would be most helpful!)
I could not possibly recommend this book more highly.
Book Review: A Testament to Great Editing
Summary: 4 Stars
I consider myself to be typical of a reader who is familiar with and has enjoyed some of J.R.R. Tolkien's previous works: meaning, I've read/loved The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and read /was bored with The Silmarillion. Given that background, I approached The Children of Hurin with cautious optimism. What I found was that I enjoyed the writing, but I appreciated the editing even more.
The Children of Hurin powerfully displays Tolkien's distinguishing characteristic: namely, the ability to marry classic mythological themes with a complex, yet entirely believable, fantasy world. This world populated with dragons, elves, dwarves, magic swords, and god-like dark lords, seems entirely realistic thanks to Tolkien's strong characterizations and solid narrative. Once classic themes such as a hero with a fatal flaw are added to these other characteristics, the story achieves a depth that is rarely reached in works of fantasy. Yet, despite the depth that is present in The Children of Hurin, there are frustrating hints that Tolkien intended to delve more deeply into the story (a condition acknowledged in the book's Introduction). The scenes in Amon Rudh and Brethil contain enough gaps that it seems likely that Tolkien had more to say about these parts of the story. Adding additional story might also answer some of the literary issues that Tolkien poses, like "Is mankind flawed to the point that it will bring about its own destruction?" and "Are we slaves to fate?"
While it is frustrating to have these hints of further story, one still has to admire the job that Christopher Tolkien has accomplished in editing the narrative that makes up The Children of Hurin. From his notes in the Appendix, it is clear that there was quite a bit of material from which he could use to create this book. The narrative that he distilled from this material both flows nicely and highlights all the qualities that made his father's writing noteworthy. Of particular help were the introduction and the index of names (for which this reader is very grateful).
Despite a sense that not the entire story made it on to the page, there is still much to admire and enjoy in The Children of Hurin. Thanks to Christopher Tolkien's superlative editing, both casual and rabid Tolkien fans will find this book to be a worthwhile addition to the Middle-Earth canon.
Book Review: The Hubris of Túrin, excellent.
Summary: 5 Stars
I occasionally shed a tear or two for literary characters here and there, but I've only ever cried the way I did at the end of this book one other time-- at the end of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. You know. In the rain. Alone. This is powerful in that way. Tolkien is truly one of the greatest artists of our time, and this lyrical tragedy of the First Age has all the makings of the legendary. Perhaps more accurately titled "The Hubris of Túrin", our protagonist bound to an evil fate by Morgoth as punishment for his father's valor and, like in many of our own ancient legends and tales and our most revered tragedies (it looks as though some other reviewers thought of the Greek in particular), by a complex interaction between this curse and his own deep failings despite his great heart, must inevitably fall, and drag all he loves with him into the shadow that mars the shining helm of his fathers he wears so defiantly. Far from the "run on sentences" that some people are complaining about on here, I would say if it has any small failings it would be the "sparseness" of the prose, lacking much of the vivid description that characterizes his other writings. I'd like it to be fleshed out a little more. Nevertheless this slight change of style resulted in a certain terseness that was still poetic and packed a very nice punch. By only giving us the tip of the iceberg, we sense the terrifying depths of loss and grief that are far more powerful in only being sensed rather than spelled out. Yet even in his darkest and most sorrowful of tales there is hope. You should remember this...
As long as you can make it past a couple of genealogies (like the first couple pages of the book) or other such small "bore factors", you will be fine. I was actually glad Christopher Tolkien included them. Another nice thing about the editing of Tolkien Jr. is that you don't have virtually any if any knowledge of the Lost Tales and the Silmarillion to understand and enjoy this book and yet footnotes are minimal. It could stand alone. Also some people complained about difficulty in following the narrative because of some name changes and such but it really seemed straightforward to me. With a little imagination and an appreciation for dragons, Tolkien (the father of fantasy as we know it!), and/or Tragedy, this is for you. You will be moved.
Book Review: Another Tolkien Must
Summary: 4 Stars
I was first exposed to Tolkien a few gabazillion years ago, in fifth grade, when my teacher decided to read "The Hobbit" to our class - a work which we quickly devoured with gusto. That, of course, lead her to read the Lord of the Rings (many of us purchased our own copies) which, in turn, lead to the life-long admiration and fascination with anything Tolkien. Nearly four decades later (ugh!), The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit remain my uncontested favorite books of all time - I've read them at least ten times (and each time still find something new in them).
Even so, I've found some of Tolkien's other books to be quite academic (with regard to both language and construction) and, to be quite honest, rather dry. That does not; however, make me distain them; rather, they are simply less enjoyable to read. Many of these have been compiled, posthumously, from the author's obviously extensive notes and drafts that he compiled during his lifetime and, when reassembled into a narrative form remain rather pedantic; "The Children of Húrin" is yet another example.
While the story is a tragic one - in fact, it may be may be one of Tolkien's darkest tales, it also shows the genius of the author as he created his epic tales of Middle Earth. The problem with that; however, is that like so many of his other stories (e.g., The Silmarillion), this tome is filled with an extraordinary number of genealogies compounded by the fact that many of the characters (especially the main ones) are continually changing their names - not dissimilar to that which occurs in the Bible. At times, so much effort must be made to identify the key figures, that reading becomes a real chore.
In many ways, reading this book seems somewhat analogous to examining the rough drafts of an exhaustive composition by a masterful composer; the working versions of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (not my personal favorite) actually sounds laughable prior to the final polished opus. Audiences were not meant to savor anything but the composer's finished work: the same seems to apply to many of Tolkien's pre-Hobbit Middle Earth stories.
All in all, I would have to recommend this book to serious Tolkien fans, but only after they have developed a mature grasp of his true masterpiece - Lord of the Rings.