I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit a long time ago. But, for some reason, I’d never dared to try reading this bad boy until a professor assigned the first chapters for a class (yes, I took a class in which Tolkien was part of the required reading, haters gonna hate). So I decided to go for it and read the whole thing. It is particularly difficult to review it, because there are so many stories within it.

One thing that is pretty cool about Tolkien is how he uses deliberately an old-fashioned (almost archaic, at this point) narrative style. In his case, it works because he’s trying to give us this idea of legend and myth. So, using an archaic and out of fashion style is justified. And it works fantastically, as it just carries you away as you read. His writing is beautiful and fluent in the best way possible, so it makes the whole book a pleasure to read. At least I got wrapped in it and just let myself go with the flow of the words.

The first chapters (the ones I had to read for class) are probably the most beautiful ones, with Ilúvatar creating the world through music. It’s cool and eerie, and I loved it. I like how it shows the world being created as an organic thing that moves through music. And it’s particularly interesting that evil is a part of that world, not something foreign. It adds so much to the whole Mythos of the Middle Earth. And music is a part of it as well (it reminded me of the idea of the Cosmic Dance you get from old-timey philosophers).

Another part I particularly enjoyed was the part of Beren and Luthien. Maybe my inner corny romantic got the better of me, but I believe that if you don’t love Beren and Luthien, your heart is made of stone. That’s it. What I liked most about their story is the fact that both were able to risk their lives together. It’s not like Luthien remained at home, waiting for Beren to save her or something. Actually, it was precisely the other way around. So, Luthien gets points for being one of the coolest role models created by Tolkien (and I’m including Eowyn in that category). So, yes, I fell for them and their story. Because they’re awesome and worth it.

Tolkien does a great work when it comes to world-building. The Middle Earth is clearly a complex world, with a lot of intriguing and exciting mythology. And I love getting a glimpse (because of course there’s probably a lot more than what can be said in this book) at that. I’ll always love Tolkien’s world. Even if he didn’t do a lot in the realms of form, the content in his books is amazing an totally worth reading. Although, if you’re not a big fan of The Lord of the Rings you should probably skip it.