Was okay. Had its bright spots. Not much new to learn for the seasoned Tolkienite.

However, on the positive side, the author's extensive notes and list of resources listed in the back of the book is a veritable goldmine. I also enjoyed the author's chapter on Evil in Tolkien's works, where Birzer addresses the common criticism that Tolkien was too simplistic in his depiction of Evil.

I think the only issue I'm experiencing now after reading this book, is the bitter disappointment I feel that I'll never get the opportunity to sit down with Tolkien, with a mug of coffee, ready to discuss his wonderful creation that is, of course, Middle Earth.

But; I do get to read his works to my hearts content, so maybe that's enough.

This was a mostly fascinating insight into Tolkien, his faith, and how that weaved amicably with his creation of Middle Earth. God is never mentioned in The Lord of The Rings, but the sense of there being a theme of Christianity seems ever present.

There was so much interesting information about Tolkien and his relationship with C.S. Lewis, and I found it fascinating to learn that they didn't always get along so well. Middle Earth and Narnia are the places I've loved since childhood, and, they are where I'd like to set up home, so it was enthralling to read about the two men who created those worlds.

This was such a wonderful change for me, and reading about how Middle Earth was influenced by Tolkien's faith has definitely given me a better understanding and sense of it all.

Not for the casual Tolkien fancier.

This is a serious exploration of Tolkien's Roman Catholic beliefs and the religious symbolism underlying the mythos and history of Middle Earth.

Excellently written.

This is a deep, and deeply satisfying book of philosophy. Reading it was an intellectual journey through unfamiliar territory for me. J.R.R. Tolkien was a man for whom myth was a reality. He lived in the modern era but his mind was fixed in the Middle Ages.

Birzer demonstrates something I could not have gleaned from Lord Of The Rings on my own; namely the Catholic origin of Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth. Tolkien swims in the deep divine sea of Medieval Catholic mysticism that is all but incomprehensible to the modern mind.

Tolkien's fount was language - deeply understood. He was born a philologist extraordinaire. As a teenager JRR Tolkien learned Welsh, Gaelic, Old English, Gothic, Old Norse, Spanish, German, and other languages in their modern form. Then he learned their history and origins. Finally, bored, he began to make up languages, fully formed, fully logical. He created Sidarin and Quenya which would become his Elfish language. These languages were possible. They had consistent roots, sound laws of grammar, and inflexion. From these languages sprang his mythology - or was it vice versa? As Tolkien said himself "your language construction will breed a mythology." For Tolkien myth, born of the folk-soul, was the basis for language.

Tolkien created a world where monotheistic Truth contended with polytheistic relativity. For Tolkien there was good and evil in the world and Good always had to win.

This book is a theological and philosophical page-turner.

Tbh this is extremely basic and kind of muddled.

Bradley J. Birzer conseguiu fazer o livro parecer uma conversa num pub. O autor inicia com uma breve introdução a vida de Tolkien que todo fã já conhece, mas a escrita é tão prazerosa que consegue te prender como se aquele fosse o primeiro contato com aquelas informações. Depois ele traz um capítulo interessante sobre Mito e Subcriação, tema tratado por Tolkien no Livro Árvore e Folha. Ali Tolkien explica um pouco a sua visão sobre contos de fadas e o papel dos contos de fadas no imaginário das pessoas. O autor consegue mostrar como Tolkien entendia os mitos como sendo responsáveis por expressar verdades muito maiores que os fatos ou os acontecimentos históricos. E se você é realmente fã e deseja se aprofundar nas leituras sobre Tolkien, as notas de rodapé são muito importantes pois trazem obras indispensáveis que não encontramos em língua portuguesa. Depois o autor passa para um capítulo onde apresenta o teor religioso de Tolkien e o quanto isso foi empregado em sua obra. O capítulo sobre heroísmos também é excelente, ali o autor mostra como alguns personagens são fundamentais, como Sam, Aragorn, Faramir, e o autor defende que o verdadeiro herói da história é Sam. No capítulo 5, o autor se debruça sobre como o mal é retratado nas obras, os comentários são interessantes, sobretudo no fato das críticas que Tolkien recebeu por não ter se aprofundado demais na personalidade e nos detalhes dos personagens malignos. O capítulo sobre a Terra Média e Modernidade é interessante pois o autor mostra o quanto Tolkien tinha aversão a coisas modernas, o quanto ele valorizava a natureza, e até mesmo os grupos ambientalistas que se baseavam em Tolkien para defender seus ideais.
Excelente! Recomendo demais a a leitura!

Very good study on Tolkien's Christian background and influence

As a longtime Tolkien reader, this was nothing but a pure joy to read. The philosophy and faith infused throughout Tolkien's legendarium is vividly told through quotations from Tolkien's interviews, letters, and conversations with friends, as well as examples from his stories. I thought I had a good grasp of the influences woven throughout, but I learned a lot! Highly recommend. I'll definitely be reading again!

Fairly interesting but fatally repetitive on topic

The forward and introductions to this book make it clear the potential and actualized resistance to this academic look at Tolkien's life and work. The reason for this is a general shift in societies perception of relgiion, and while Tolkien has tended to escape some of the scathing and often embattled treatments of Lewis, any book that gives a fair and rationalized look at the faith that informed Tolkien, and inparticular his famous trilogy in Lord of the Rings is bound to lead to a degree of resistance. LOTR is so ingrained in the culural psyche that a stong tendency is apparent in certain efforts to coopt it and shelter it from its own sensibilities (Narnia apparently is a much easier target with its overt religiousity).

Birzer's wonderful and must read book for any Tolkien enthusiast is not an apologetic. It is an academic examination of the literature and history on its own terms. He makes the point that people's biases and often hatred for religion (and in particular Chrsitianity) has led to a lot of bad readings and a lot of poor understandings of Tolkien and his works. Which is unfortunate, because this also then inhibits our access to history as a whole, and even a more well rounded view of relgion, myth and Christianity as well.

Tolkien has much to say and to teach us about what what myth is, the power of linguistics/language, and the nature of story and the development of storytelling methods/traditions. Birzer does an amazing job at bringing this stuff to the surface rather than coloring it through Modern presuppositions. And what emerges is a kind of clarity and motivating concern that allows us to see Tolkien (and the Inklings of course) as a part of a much larger discussion and historical moment. It allows us to see Tolkien in the midst of critics and allies and likemnded thinkers with equally boisterous opinions and convictions about the state of things and the study of things. We also get to see where he distinguishes himself as an academic, as a writer and as a thinker. Tolkien can help us to see and understand the development ot traditional storytelling methods in the ongoing Westward shift, and Birzer helps us to use that as a window into LOTR (and the larger body or work that accompanies it) on its own terms. And for me, it brought the story to so much greater light. I had read some of this book before and encuontered Birzer's work elsewhere in articles and interviews and podcasts, so this wasn't out of the blue for me personally. But having to chance to sit down and give this book its full due was absolutely worth it.

A must read for anyone who has been moved by Tolkien's works and wants to know why. But perhaps even more important, a must read for those who don't understand or who misunderstand what Tolkien has created. Far more than escapist literature for hippies and geeks, The Lord of the Rings is a sanctifying myth that illustrates some of the foundational truths of life to a world that has forgotten them. Bradley Birzer truly understands the significance of Tolkien and his work and explains it in a clearly written, organized, well-researched and thoroughly documented way. Superb in every respect. Highly, highly recommended.

I had read this book a few years ago, but I am revisiting it now as it is one of the materials my students are reading in our class in Tolkien.

I enjoy this book a great deal because I think it strikes a very important balance of recognizing both the influence of pagan mythology and Christianity on Tolkien's writing. Until you come to realize this fact about The Lord of the Rings, you are missing critical influences on his work.

Also, this book features an entire chapter on heroism. Man, if we ever needed heroes, I think 2020 America is begging for them. Sam is of course my favorite hero, but the entire chapter is a great discussion.

This is one of my favorite commentaries on The Lord of the Rings, and my students enjoyed the first half of it. I am sure they will have similarly good reviews when we meet again this Thursday.