Sunday, July 17, 2016

The Story of Kullervo by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Story of Kullervo
by J.R.R. Tolkien

For someone not familiar with the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien, this book would probably be of little interest. The Story of Kullervo, one of Tolkien’s earliest works, is based on the Kalevala. Tolkien began translating this Finnish mythology while at college and it nearly consumed him. It has been said that this work laid the groundwork for his own creation, the Silmarillion; this can be seen in the similarity between the tragic heroes in both. If I had not read The Silmarillion before this, I most likely would not have been interested in this. The book includes essays by Tolkien presented to two different literary societies in his college days. I found the book to be very interesting, but it is difficult reading with all the additional notes and glossaries. Any fan of Tolkien’s mythologies or his work on Beowulf would enjoy this book.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Tolkien’s Silmarillion or his translation of Beowulf.] [ Wikipedia page for The Story of Kullervo ] | [ www.tolkiensociety.org/ ]

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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