E niente, grazie Professore!
Ogni volta che rileggo Leaf by Niggle mi commuovo, in particolare nella scena delle Voci. Professore, si parla sempre del suo amico CS Lewis come di un grande apologeta del Cristianesimo ma Lei ha saputo creare (mi perdoni, Sub-Creare) una piccola perla in questo raccontino che è un'allegoria del purgatorio-paradiso.

Leaf by Niggle vale da solo la lettura di questo volume, ma una menzione va fatta anche per il saggio Mythopoeia, in cui Tolkien ci spiega che non occorre essere bambini per poter apprezzare le fairy tales.

Grazie, grazie di cuore!

Before reading Tolkien's essay On Fairy-Stories I had anticipated an enlightening defense of the Fairy-Story genre, however, this expectation was not met for me. A lot went over my head and, while there were a couple passages that made sense, there weren't really any mind-blowing parts for me.

Mythopoeia also seemed to go over my head after the first read. I would have to look into other outside sources to better understand this one.

I really enjoyed Leaf by Niggle. I thought it was a very genius and artful way of presenting Tolkien's perspective on his own life through pure symbolism. What made it enjoyable and interesting was figuring out and understanding exactly what Tolkien was trying to do. I would actually love to see some sort of short film done of this as long as it is done artfully.

The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth was also interesting. I was very thankful for the background information given at the beginning since I would have been lost without it. I found it fairly easy to follow the dialogue and understand the themes of the short play. I thought that the story of Beorhtnoth was a very interesting one and one of the finest historical examples of pride being someones downfall.

Overall, you will probably more than one read-through of the first two sections to understand much so, if you're not in the mood for something heavy like that, just read Niggle's story. It's not long and I think all Tolkien fans should read it since it is a great way to better understand Tolkien's vision of his life and mythology.

χρόνος ανάγνωσης κριτικής: 53 δευτερόλεπτα

Ο Τόλκιν επειδή δεν έκδωσε πολλά βιβλία όσο ήταν εν ζωή (9 στο σύνολο σε
αντίθεση με τα 30 και βάλε που κυκλοφορούν σήμερα) και επειδή ο γιος του
ανέλαβε την επιμέλεια του έργου του πατέρα, συμβαίνει το εξής:
Πολλά γραπτά και έργα του τα συναντώ ξανά και ξανά.
Την πρωτοκαθεδρία έχει η ιστορία των παιδίων του Χούριν που την διάβασα
σε πολλές εκδοχές τουλάχιστον 6 φορές. 

Σε αυτό το μικρό βιβλίο των 150 σελίδων περιέχονται 4 έργα.
Το δοκίμιο / διάλεξη On Fairy Stories που ξαναδίαβασα μαζί με το διήγημα
Leaf by Niggle στον τόμο Tales from the Perilous Realm. 
Ένα σύντομο 6 σελίδων ποίημα / επιστολή Mythopoeia και το έμμετρο θεατρικό
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth. 
Τα δύο τελευταία τα διαβάζω πρώτη φορά αλλά θα υπάρξει και δεύτερη διότι στην
περσινή φρέσκια έκδοση The Battle of Maldon περιέχεται
ξανά και το θεατρικό του Τόλκιν.

Το δοκίμιο On Fairy Stories θα το ξαναδιαβάσω ένα μήνα μετά (Δεκέμβριο του ‘23)
στην συλλογή δοκιμίων The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays. 

 Με άλλα λόγια αυτή η συσίφεια επανάληψη έργων του Τόλκιν με έφερε σε ένα κορεσμό. 
Τώρα που γράφω αυτή την κριτική (Μάρτης του ‘24) μόλις έχω τελείωσει με το
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo. 
Βλέπω φως στο τούνελ. Έχω ακόμη 6 βιβλία του Τόλκιν να διαβάσω και μετά τέλος. 

Αυτή ήταν μια άκρως ληξιαρχική κριτική αλλά μιλώ για τον Τόλκιν από το 2021
όταν πρωτοξεκίνησα αυτό το φυσικά όμορφο πρότζεκτ αλλά βαρέθηκα
 να λέω τα ίδια και τα ίδια.

Sublime

This rather odd collection of poetry, story and essay is a gem. It begins with Tolkien's exposition on what makes a fairy story and why such stories are for all of us (as always, I'm taken with his clarity and vision) and then moves into "Mythopoeia", a response to CS Lewis' assertion that myths and fairy tales are "breathing a lie through silver." (Tolkien insists that myths and fairy tales are True.) The end of the book is a translation of another mythic poem, quite interesting. But the real treasure to me, is the funny little story tucked into the middle of the book: "Leaf by Niggle." This is apparently an allegory of Tolkien's own life and while it is a quirky little tale, it spoke volumes to me. It was written around the same time as The Fellowship of the Ring and it illuminates Tolkien's very humble and hobbit-like character.

This book is not very long, but there is still a lot to unpack here. First it contains an essay by Tolkein: On Fairy Stories which amounts to defense of fairy tales in general and suggests that there is in fact a very valid reason for them to be appreciated by more than just children. It is dense, yet magical. This is followed by the poem, Mythopea, nearly the essay in verse form, and still quite enjoyable. Then follows a short story called Niggle which, amoung other things, is the bringing to life, the animation of the concepts raised in the opening essay. A truly charming story. Finally closing the collection is a poem, or play, that builds off the Battle of Maldon - showcasing Tolkein's immense talent at alliterative verse.

This assortment of collected writings by Tolkien is a veritable smorgasbord of insights, offering reading access to his brilliant mind. Each entry is varied in style and genre (e.g., short story, essay, drama, history, legend, poetry) but each is rich, complex, and illuminating. The book is loosely unified by Tolkien's well-developed understanding of mythopoeia, that is, myth-making. He aligns himself with a Christian and biblical view of human creative faculties, arguing (and exemplifying) human imagination not as a process of creating ex nihilo but as an out working of artists as sub-creators, operating within the realm of truth and reality already established by God the Creator.

There are aspects of "On Fairy Stories" (which occupies about two thirds of this book) that are clearly part of an academic debate that i know little about, and there are fun tidbits that are hardly universal truth (like Tolkien's condescending feelings toward theater), but the book really shines as the author explores escapism through fiction and why that speaks to so many so profoundly.

I adore Tolkien. I adore his mind, his craft and the pure genius that it took to create and build my most favourite places (apart from the Lake District) which is of course, Middle Earth. It is crystal clear, that Tolkien is masterful in the writing of adult fairytales, and although I didn't enjoy this collection as much as other works, I've still left feeling Tolkien-ized.

This is a rather small collection, which begins with an essay about fairy stories, and his defence as to why they are credible. This purely shows the reader just how dedicated he was to his art.

Mythopoeia, is a letter from an individual that writes fairytales, to a person that disbelieves in them. This was engaging for the most part, but it wasn't dazzling.

Leaf by Niggle is a an interesting little story, that I think one can appreciate better, by reading the first two parts of the book first. This is where you'll find the essence of Tolkien.

Lastly, we have The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, which wasn't as good as the previous, primarily because it was a tad confusing, and lots of foreign names were used.

Overall, this book was insightful, and it really gives a person a taste of just how intelligent Tolkien really was.

What a delightful collection of four specific works to help us get to know Tolkien.

Tree and Leaf brings together a few shorter works that help illuminate Tolkien's thoughts on the uses and purposes of myth and story. The essay "On Fairy-stories" outlines Tolkien's thoughts on what exactly makes up a fairy-story, as opposed to a fairy-tale, etc, and how story does not tell a beautiful lie, but a better truth that speaks to who we are. Mythopoeia, a poem in response to detractors, is in many ways the same thoughts from Tolkien's essay but in poetic form. "Leaf by Niggle" draws out the tensions of calling, responsibility and the "sub-creative" powers which we are endowed with as the imago dei. The one oddity, though by no means detracting from the book, is the translation of "The Homecoming of Beorthnoth." It is an inspiring and intriguing story, but does not completely fit with the ideas of creation and story.

I really enjoyed picking apart Tolkien’s theory of subcreation throughout this entire book, as well as his views on his life as an artist/subcreator and on the northern heroic spirit. I loved Lord of the Rings, and Tree and Leaf felt more like you’re conversing or being taught by Tolkien himself on the nature of fairy tales and fantasy.