"On Fairy-Stories," which is the anchor and majority of this book, is the best essay I have read this year. My brain tingled the entire way through. I was horrified and actually shouted out loud when I turned the sixty-ninth page and found I had already made it to the epilogue.

What a beautiful, artful exploration of the ontology and significance of fiction writing.

The rest of this book is an excellent collection, and an absolute treat to read.

The poem is good, but excellent placed in the context of the essay.

The short story was truely effective. It's good enough that you might as well read it out loud with a friend instead of hoarding it to yourself. Short stories are best without spoilers...so avoid the end of this review!

And the homecoming is funny once you realize it's a headless homecoming. Ok, maybe funny is the wrong sentiment, but it is a fine peek back into literature and ideas a thousand years ago around the North Sea.

Leaf by Niggle SPOILER:
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So, this was CLEARLY a loose Catholic allegory, which I found interesting in itself. I thought the story was going to end at Niggle's death, but was surprised to read through the purgatory section. I'm not sure if the ending improved, or complicated the story, but it was a great and provoking experience none the less.

Tolkien's philosophical treatment of the importance of myth.

Part 1: essay
Part 2: short story
Part 3: poem

Oh, this was charming. As someone who has always appreciated 'fairy-stories' it is fun to see someone take them seriously and talk about why they are excellent things to read. Obviously Tolkien was preaching to the choir in my case, but there you have it. I also found ''Leaf By Niggle" poignant and intriguing. The poetry I found less enjoyable, but I regret to say that I generally do find poetry less enjoyable, so this is unsurprising.

Tolkien's writing is so beautiful and moving, and this collection of writings made me love the incredible gift that stories are all the more.

"The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man's history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy."

Mind blowing!
A more compelling argument/motivation for the Fantasy genre and the continued writing of fairy-stories would be hard to come by. The message conveyed is as relevant today as it was when Tolkien first penned it. His essay on Fairy-stories is followed by the poem Mythopoeia which highlights the strongest points made in the essay in a more charming way. Leaf by Niggle is a short story that emphasises the importance of each individuals' contribution to this world via the avenues of their own type of creativity and how each person's gift should not be taken for granted. Finally, the tale of Beorhtnoth's folly due to his severe pride reinforces the ideas that are hinted at throughout the book. As lord of your sub-creations, you cannot allow your pride to expose these loyal subject of your creativity to enemy forces. You must guard them and value them as the valuable contribution to the world they are. Never take creativity for granted, not even your own.

I found the story relatively interesting until the point when Niggle was sent to the institution, which I could not figure out why at first. Then I realized after finishing the story that Tolkien was implying that Niggle was on a journey to his death and the paradise which he is in at the end of the story is meant to represent heaven, for Tolkien makes it seem as if the place is a Paradise where Niggle can now live in peace while becoming friends with his neighbor, Parish. In terms of the essay towards the beginning of the book, On Fairy-Stories, unless you are interested in Tolkien's analysis of what a fairy story is, I advise that you skip that part if you want to read the actual story. Overall, out of the works that I have read by Tolkien so far, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and now this work, I found that this work was the most disappointing and is not reflective upon Tolkien's true skill as a miraculous writer. However, this work was worth reading once but I likely won't read it again for even though it was composed by one of my favorite authors, I find that most short stories in general are not spectacular and are only worth reading if you want something to do for a short while.

I enjoyed reading this collection of Tolkien's writing in various genres: the essay "On Fairy-Stories," the poem "Mythopoeia," the story "Leaf by Niggle," and the dramatic poem "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth."

In the essay "On Fairy-Stories," Tolkien makes a good case for the value of fairy tales based on his own experience: "It was in fairy-stories that I first divined the potency of the words, and the wonder of the things, such as stone, and wood, and iron; tree and grass; house and fire; bread and wine" (60). I'm beginning to learn that fairy tales should not be relegated to children's literature--I too need to have my imagination renewed by these stories.

I found "Leaf by Niggle" wonderfully encouraging. I hope there is such grace given to us in the end as was given to Niggle and to Parish.

Leaf by Niggle is now one of my favorite short stories. It's sweet and satisfyingly complete. It reads almost like an allegory - although it can't be since Tolkien hated allegory. But it's really delightful and reads so smoothly. On Fairy Stories is an interesting and important essay, however Tolkien is never quite clear as to what he means by fairy stories. Still a very important text to anyone studying fantasy and an interesting look into Tolkien's thoughts on the subject.

I started to read this book to understand what Michael D. O'Brien meant by "subcreation" in the prologue of his sequel to Fr. Elijah. And — which is stranger — why he used this concept to describe a work like Fr. Elijah, while Tolkien used it in a seemingly niche genre within the grander fantasy genre, that is, fairy tales. So, I discovered that Tolkien didn't intend to treat the matter exhaustively, nor explain or systematize it philosophically, but give us a philological analysis that only an erudite English professor like him could. Which also includes his unique experience as the "subcreator" of Middle Earth and a devout Catholic.

What he says about fairy tales isn't just about fairy tales. It goes for fiction as a whole.

"Subcreation" implies an order to Creation. In a sense, if a man can create another world in his head and share it with others, it's because of his nature and its properties of intellectual activity and imagination. God is at the beginning of everything, and if we can share truth through fiction, He wills us to do this. Our capacity to "subcreate" to communicate truth and good and beauty is far from a Promethean insurgency to create our idealized world purged from the flaws we see in the real one; on the contrary, God's still the First Cause of every work of fiction. It's interesting to think about this, for Tolkien seems to say that God's Grace, in redeeming men, seeks to redeem and elevate fiction as well.

This follows the fact that fiction ought to be a mirror of Creation, just as Creation is a mirror of God. St. Thomas said beauty is integral to being and truth and good, and requires harmony, integrity and luminosity. This is also the essence of fiction. But fairy tales and the fantasy genre as a whole are special, for they bring us back to our time of innocence, where hope shined brighter in our soul (Aristotle said the young are more vivacious for their hope and lack of experience) and we weren't yet hardened by the trials of adult life. Then, we see the benefits of consuming these works as adults: it helps us bridge the gaps between maturity and immaturity and integrate in our personality a part of the innocence we lost while tempering it with our acquired experiences. That's why Tolkien talks about Fantasy, Recovery, Escape and Consolation — it's a sort of journey that takes us to a deeper part of ourselves and the world around us and strengthens us to return to reality with a new perspective about things. It also propels us to desire to do good and flee sin.

The tale of "Leaf by Niggle" is a beautiful expression of everything I've just said. Niggle is a simple and good-hearted man, and the portrait of a good artist, since art is for the other, and it's just right to help people if you want to delight them with your art too — it's a matter of charity, not self-interest. He can't accomplish his goals and is misunderstood by his people, and is forced to travel and pass through trials and tribulations in a hospital, until freed by a tribunal. He learns to use his time and work at a consistent pace. He returns to his home and finds the Tree he was trying to paint — an idea come to life. He calls his neighbor Parish to polish the work and plant a garden and build a house, and then both part ways when a shepherd calls Niggle to the mountains. It's an allegory for going on after a work's end, to seek higher things, as every artist tries to surpass himself in every work. But we could interpret it as a metaphor for death after legacy, as the Shepherd, that is, Christ, calls Niggle to the Mountains of Paradise after his mission is done. And there's the fact that nobody recognizes him in his village, even after he finished the work of his life — for, as says Scripture, no prophet is accepted in his own country.

Being an artist is hard. Often, people can't recognize his worth or understand why he does what he does until the work is done. Then, they can see what he saw from the beginning and appreciate his journey, his hard work. Even so, there are artists the world will never know or recognize. And it's a solace to know that, even then, God will recognize them and, if they worked for Him, reward them in eternity.

Tolkien’s got a knack for drawing me into his work. I liked this book for the variety. I’m not sure if his points of why fairy stories matter was always strong but his zest helped to give a little more context to some of his other works. I also liked how his arguments and commentary is frank with no apology for defending the rights for anyone to read and enjoy fairy tales and mythology. He believes reading them is a good thing because, by exercising our imagination, it gives us a break from the mundane to feed the soul.

What an extraordinary collection of little gems! I eventually understood why "Leaf by Niggle" is considered a masterpiece by the Tolkien community: it is. Absolutely adored it. I also had wanted to read "On Fairy-stories" for a very long time and I believe it is an unmissable gateway into the works of the Professor. "Mythopoeia" and "The homecoming of Beorhtnoth" are lovely addictions to the volume. A must for any Tolkien lover.

Most of Leaf by Niggle and On Fairy-Stories read aloud with the Inklings. Fun stuff!

Leaf by Niggle:
Really funny, worked especially well read aloud. Kafkaesque.
4/5

On Fairy-Stories:
Insightful into Tolkien’s approach to fantasy and storytelling, but particularly interesting in a vacuum. 3/5

Mythopeia:
Cute, a very fitting follow-up to the essay.
3.5/5

The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth:
Somewhat interesting. I don’t have too much of a background in old English texts and tradition so some of it was certainly lost on me, but it’s a fairly short read regardless. Would’ve been potentially useful and informative to also include a translation of the actual poem fragment it is based on.
3.5/5