Written more like a story and with wonderful insights into the life and background of Tolkien. Not a dull paragraph!

Certamente uma das melhores leituras de 2020. Livro muito bem escrito. Essa biografia do criador de "O Senhor dos anéis" é formidável. Uma observação: é maior do que pensei -- o que não deve desmotivar o leitor. Rico em detalhes.

This biography was suggested as a must read before re-reading The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy and it was surely a very insightful work into the time line and the Professor coming up with his mythology and what a fantastic read... next read is a pretty hefty book as it's the letters of Tolkien and I can hardly wait. I do recommend it to anyone who plans on taking a deeper dive into the bulk of his stories about middle earth.

Работата на Карпентър ме впечатли със своята стегнатост и подреденост. Той вниква внимателно и деликатно във вътрешния свят на автора, като истински биограф претегля положително и отрицателното без да изпада до нивото на съвременните търсачи на сензации. Постигнато е равновесие между представянето на личния и писателския свят на Толкин, отключвайки първоизточниците на историята за Средната земя, намиращи се както в научната сфера, така и във всекидневния живот и предпочитания на създателя й.

Sam je Tolkin izjavio da "istraživanje života jednog pisca ne otkriva gotovo ništa o delovanju njegovog uma". Složio bih se sa tim, budući da me užasavaju romansirane biografije pojedinih pisaca ili poznatih ličnosti, koje sam pokušavao da čitam i ostavljao ih, zgrožen utiskom da me podsećaju konceptom na materijale iz "žute štampe", te sam se čitave četiri godine, otkako mi ova knjiga stoji na polici, opirao da je pročitam. Karpenterova knjiga je drugačija. Osim što je nepristrasno pristupio analizi, po etapama, Tolkinovog života, tako je u jednom delu knjige analizirao i njegov književni opus, pokrivajući time gorenavedenu opasku samog Tolkina u vezi sa pisanjem biografije. Na vrlo interesantan način je govorio o svim gradovima i predelima koji su Tolkinu tokom života bili važni, dotakao se, neizbežno, I sv. rata i skica o "Padu Gondolina" u francuskim rovovima (što je još detaljnije u potpunosti obradio i dovršio John Garth u svojoj odličnoj knjizi Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth, vrlo detaljno razrađenoj, sa dosta referenci vezanih za taj period Tolkinovog života), o njegovom odnosu sa Edit, o njegovim predavanjima na Oksfordu, odnosu sa studentima i prijateljima, TCBS klubu i, na kraju, o njegovim strahovima, ubeđenjima, preziranjima (između ostalog - vezano za alegoriju u književnosti koje se gnušao) i stavovima vezanim za opšte životne prilike, ali i za književnost i filologiju. Time je Karpender zaokružio potpuno biografiju genija, izostavljajući patetične hvalospeve i malograđanske elemente, pokazujući svetu koliko je Tolkin, pored ogromnog talenta, uma i znanja, bio jedan prizeman čovek, koga je slava zadesila u trećem dobu i nad kojom je ostao zbunjen i neadaptiran do samog kraja.

Eine große Biografie über den größten Fantasy Autor aller Zeiten.

"Ohne Tolkien - Keine Fantasy" - Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft e.V.

A really nice biography of Tolkien, with just the right amount of detail. This biography is now forty years old and I wonder if there is a fuller, more detailed biography in the making?

Tolkien biyografisi; J. R. R.Tolkien'in yarattığı evrenin arka planında işleyen mekanizmaları , bir mitoloji inşa etme sürecini, kişilik özellikleri ve yaşantıları çerçevesinde akıcı bir anlatım ile yansıtan çok etkili bir kaynak kitap özelliği taşıyor. Tolkien'in doğaya olan sevgisi, eski dillere tutkusu ve yeni diller icat etme becerisi, eski metinlere hayranlığı ile şiir yazmaya yönelmesi, annesine olan bağlılığı, hızlı değişen duygusal dünyası, insanlar ile kurduğu yakın etkileşim, Narnia Günlükleri yazarı C.S.Lewis ile arkadaşlığı gündeme getirilen konular arasında.

J.R.R Tolkien; 3 Ocak 1892'de Orange County Başkenti Bloemfontein'da doğar. Küçük yaşta babasını kaybetmesi ile zor koşullar yaşayan ve sık taşınan Tolkien ailesi Sarehole'da 4 yıl boyunca bir kır evinde yaşar.Bu durum;J. R. R. Tolkien'in keşif duygusunun ve doğaya yönelik tutkusunun kaynağıdır. Eğitimi annesinin verdiği dil eğitimleri ile başlayan Tolkien'in Galce, Yunanca ve Latince dillerine duyduğu çekim, eski İngilizce yazılmış Beowulf şiirine yönelik sevgisi, orta İngilizce, Fince ve Norveççe metinler okuması onu dilin yapısına ve nasıl inşa edildiğine kısaca filolojiye yönelmesine sebep olur. Küçük yaşlarda başlayan yaratım süreci; Birinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında yaşadığı büyük kayıplar ile hız kazanır.

Bir mitoloji yaratma tutkusu ile Silmarillion'u ortaya çıkaran düşünce akışları ve yaşantılar; kötülüğü simgeleyen Morgoth'un elflerin kalesine saldırısını anlatan Gondolin'in Düşüşü; savaş sırasında hastanede yazdığı Turin'in öyküsünü içeren Hurin'in Çocukları, eşi Edith'e olan duygularını yansıttığı Beren İle Luthien gibi eserlerinin yanı sıra; çocuklarını eğlendirmek için yazdığı Noel Baba'dan Mektuplar, Roverandom, Ham'li Çiftçi Giles ve çıkış hikayesi, Sinclair Lewis'in Babbitt romanının Hobbit eserine etkisi ayrıntılı işlenerek,1937 senesinde basılan Hobbit eserinin arka planında yatan mekanizmalar gözler önüne serilir. Hobbit'in çocuklar tarafından çok sevilmesi, yayınevinin Hobbitler hakkında bir devam kitabı istemesine sebep olur. Bu amaçla yazmaya başlayan J. R. R. Tolkien; hikayenin kontrolden çıktığını ifade ederek, yarattığı mitoloji ile bağlantı kuran ve yayınlanması 17 yıl süren Yüzüklerin Efendisi serisine giriş yapacaktır.

Yazarın kişiliğine, yaşantısına ve eserlerine dair bir çok bilgiyi akıcı bir anlatım ile yansıtan eserlerinde geçen isimlerin, şiirlerin ve dillerin çıkış kaynaklarına yönelik etkili bir arka plan oluşturan bu kitap, Tolkien severlere önerimdir.

Много, много хубава книга. Животът на Толкин е интересен и има какво да се научи и разбере от прочита на тази биография. Беше ми много интересно. А.С. Бърг ми е вдигнал летвата страшно високо по отношение на биографиите, но тази определено се доближава до това ниво.

Humphrey Carpenter's biography of J.R.R. Tolkien offers a comprehensive exploration of the author's life, particularly delving into his early years and his profound fascination with languages. Carpenter's attention to detail provides readers with a rich understanding of Tolkien's formative experiences, shaping his future as a renowned writer. However, some may find the biography lacking in confrontational analysis, preferring a deeper exploration of certain aspects of Tolkien's life and work. Overall, it's a valuable resource for those interested in gaining insights into the origins of one of the most influential literary minds of the 20th century.

In 1892, a young British couple working for an English bank in South Africa had a son, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. By the time he was twelve years old, Tolkien had lost both his family and was brought up by a family friend. He developed a love of languages and mythology, fell in love, married, went to Oxford University, fought in the First World War, went into academic, became a respected expert in his (albeit narrow) field and died peacefully at the age of 81. But along the way he created nothing less than an entire mythology, a long and stirring epic of mighty battles between good and evil, of angelic hosts descending from on high, a mighty kingdom drowned beneath the waves and, at the last, a small hobbit being the only thing standing against the shadow. This is the story of J.R.R. Tolkien and his life.

Originally published in 1976, Humphrey Carpenter's painstaking biography remains the definitive account of his life. Other biographies have followed, but they either draw so much on Carpenter that you might as well just read the original, or they are more interested in stirring up controversy which doesn't really exist.

Carpenter divides his book into sections, focusing on Tolkien's traumatic childhood and the development of his early interesting in languages, then his even more traumatic life as a young man, fighting in the trenches of the Somme and trying to win the heart of a (slightly) older woman, and then his life as an academic and teacher, during which time he began writing The Silmarillion and, later The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Carpenter has an interesting task here because, although Tolkien's life was certainly not free of tragedy and incident, it was also arguably not wall-to-wall action. Tolkien, by his own admission, was a conservative figure. He did not travel widely, apart from the war he avoided from getting involved in any major political or national events, and he was at his happiest in a pub or friend's drawing room, drawn into an engrossing conversation about religion, myth, art or literature. A fascinating biography this does not necessarily make.

But Carpenter does make it work, by tying incidents in Tolkien's life into his mythology, noting how a 1911 trip to Switzerland inspired Tolkien's fascination with mountains, and encounters with Norse, Icelandic, Welsh and Finnish mythology gave him the names "Middle-earth" and "Earendel." This constant circling back to Tolkien's literary works is clever - it's of course why people are interested in Tolkien's life - and gives the book a strong thematic spine. This approach also means we get a good view of Tolkien the individual and Tolkien the writer and academic and how these two sides developed.

Those looking for drama and controversy will find relatively little, apart from Tolkien's dislike of his friend C.S. Lewis's Narnia stories and the occasional tension between Tolkien and his wife over religion (Edith was a Protestant who had converted to Catholicism on marriage, something she always resented). The truth is that Tolkien's wasn't that controversial a character, so the biography instead is able to delve deeply into his stories and the events in his life that shaped them.

Carpenter writes with an easy, flowing style, mixing academic musings with more relaxed accounts of home life. The book never becomes bogged down in detail, but some elements are explored in greater depth where necessary. I suspect that when he wrote this book, Carpenter had an idea to publish Tolkien's own letters in a companion volume (Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1981), whilst he certainly knew that Christopher Tolkien was planning the publication of The Silmarillion (1977) and possibly companion volumes, so that people who wanted more detail and depth on the mythology could find it elsewhere.

There's also a hint of poetry in the book, particularly the way Carpenter stakes out important touchstones in Tolkien's life - his love for his wife, his appreciation of trees - and uses these to anchor several key moments in the book: his early childhood in the countryside near Birmingham, a key moment when he was utterly stuck on Lord of the Rings and a neighbour's tree crisis sparked in him a revelation that helped him to complete the book, and his last few years in retirement. The result is that rarest of beasts: a biography of a literary figure that is fast-moving, rich in anecdote and detail, and simply enjoyable to read.

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (*****) remains the definitive Tolkien biography, a well-written, well-researched and fascinating account of the most important figure in the history of fantasy literature. If you are at all interesting in how The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion came about, this is essential reading.

Very nicely written biography, I learned a lot about one of my favorite authors and the world and environment that nourished his work.