The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien

4 Stars

I finished this as the grey light of morning waned and gold pierced through the fog. The Fall of Gondolin tells of the downfall of last enclave of Noldoli, Deep Elves, who escaped Melko after the Battle of Unnubmered Tears. Christopher Tolkien has taken on the monumental task of trying to piece together the fragments of a multitude of versions pertaining to Gondolin and Tuor, hero who's line will yield both Elrond of Rivendell and Elros, the King of Númenor.

Beside the insight into the creation process of Tolkien, I really enjoyed The Fall of Gondolin more than Beren and Lúthien because of Ulmo's major role. As God of Water we get many descriptions, those along the sea I loved most and I think anyone who has ever heard the call whispered upon the waves understands this:

Eärendel is born, having the beauty and light and wisdom of the Elfinesse, the hardihood and strength of Men, and the longing for the sea that captured Tuor and held him for ever when Ylmir spoke to him in Land of the Willows.

I think that if you are not heavily invested into the mythos and history of Middle-Earth, then this is not a book I recommend. While the weaving of the versions, observing the changes between them and how they evolved, and what was cut and what was not is fascinating, if one does not have at least a moderate understanding then it will be needlessly complex. This doesn't mean that C. Tolkien does a bad job, but rather it circles back again and again and if one doesn't like to see how sausage is made then best to just read the first version and call it quits.

J.R.R. Tolkien did not want to publish The Hobbit's sequel, Lord of the Rings without publishing The Silmarillion, he intended it to be the Saga of the Jewels and the Ring, but postwar Britain being what it was in the fifties with shortages and rationing that was not practical. He held out, but eventually, he gave into the publisher: "Years are becoming precious. And retirement (not far off) will, as far as I can see, not bring leisure but a poverty that will necessitate scraping a living by 'examining' and suchlike tasks."

I feel a compulsion to read the Silmarillion and reread the Lord of the Rings again in order, which is rather frightening because that should be close to a million words--and there are so many things I haven't read. But, I feel like I've done this all wrong and I don't like it one bit and the only way to right it is to reweave the stories as they should have been in my mind. *sigh*

Seriously, there's indications that Legolas unless it is a different Legolas is elder to Elrond. Legolas retreats with Elrond's father, Eärendel, as a babe from Gondolin.