# What would you say to someone who is reading Sil BEFORE they reading LOTR?



## agarwaen (Jan 20, 2003)

What would you say (or rather what advice would you give) to someone who is reading Silmarillion before reading any other works by Tolkien? My friend wanted to know more about the elves(she has seen the movies), so I directed her to Sil... but now I wonder what advice to give her as she reads it and what to have her read next? Do I direct her to the first 2/3 of UT and then to appendix A of RotK so that she reads the history of the Ages of Middle-earth in order? AND THEN HAVE HER READ LOTR? Or should LotR come right after Sil?

Just looking for peoples opinions here... let me know what you think. 

thanks


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## Celebthôl (Jan 20, 2003)

firstly i'd say enjoy, then i'd say depending on her age i'd say read the sil first if your older i.e about 13 + for a better read but if shes quite young dont read the sil yet wait a few years. if she is interested in the histories then read the sil, plus its nice to understand parts of LOTR that are related to the sil, i.e how the "magic" rings were made, the arrival of the Istarí etc!

Thôl


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## Wynston (Jan 20, 2003)

I'd say jumping from the Sil right to LoTR would work great. She can go back and read UT etc. later. The background of the Sil will only enhance the experience of LoTR, and when she's done with the book, she should move to the appendecies, then to UT.


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## Éomond (Jan 20, 2003)

Yeah, I would agree with Wynston, reading the Silmarillion then LotR is a good idea.


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## Orodreth (Jan 21, 2003)

My advise for anyone who want to read the Silmarillion: prepare to re-read! My strategy is to read the Silmarillion, but ignore most of the names, especially similar ones, but know what happens because believe me, there are far too many to remember on the first go (unless you are really smart, unlike me). Then, once you know the stories and aren't bogged down by names, re-read the Silmarillion, but this time try to match the names to the stories. I hope it works for you!


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## Confusticated (Jan 21, 2003)

I wouldn't recommend that anyone read _The Silmarillion_ before reading _The Lord of the Rings_, but if someone is doing that, I would just tell them to take their time and enjoy the tales.


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## agarwaen (Jan 21, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Nóm _
> *I wouldn't recommend that anyone read The Silmarillion before reading The Lord of the Rings...*



Any particular reason Nóm? I just think it would be cool to know all the legends of ME & Beleriand before delving into LotR. That way one has the better understanding of what is really going on; especially with the Elves departing to the West, the choices facing Arwen, and the conflict between Elves & Dwarves... When I first read LotR I had no clue what was _really_ going on until I read Sil.


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## BlackCaptain (Jan 21, 2003)

psh... im 13 and i have to read the LOTR two or three times before im skilled enough in reading to read the Silmarillion...


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## Anduril (Jan 21, 2003)

It might be some kind difficult to read "Sil", but it's a good start; in many passages of LOTR the characters mention some "legends" that in "Sil" are true things or happenings.
In fact, it could help you to understand the global context of the books...

Enjoy "Sil" and then dazzle yourself with LOTR...


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## Gil-Galad (Jan 24, 2003)

I would tell him:
"You are making a big mistake!And you will understand nothing from it.STOP READING IT AND START READING LOTR!!!!!! "


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## Lasgalen (Jan 26, 2003)

I have to agree with Nom and Gil-Galad. The Sil is so in depth. Having a feel for Middle Earth (gotten by reading LoTR first) would make reading the Sil a more pleasant experience (maybe pleasant is not the right word considering how much tragedy is in there). 

-Lasgalen


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## Ithrynluin (Jan 26, 2003)

> _Originally posted by agarwaen _
> *Any particular reason Nóm? I just think it would be cool to know all the legends of ME & Beleriand before delving into LotR. That way one has the better understanding of what is really going on; especially with the Elves departing to the West, the choices facing Arwen, and the conflict between Elves & Dwarves... When I first read LotR I had no clue what was really going on until I read Sil. *



It is definitely a better idea to read the LOTR before the Sil. It is an easier read (not that it's not complex), meaning it is less "concentrated" than the Sil, and it is more of a long tale. The Sil is a collection of stories that vary in size and depth. A reader new to Tolkien can EASILY get lost among the myriad names, places, events, concepts...


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## Confusticated (Jan 26, 2003)

> _Originally posted by agarwaen _
> *Any particular reason Nóm? I just think it would be cool to know all the legends of ME & Beleriand before delving into LotR. That way one has the better understanding of what is really going on; especially with the Elves departing to the West, the choices facing Arwen, and the conflict between Elves & Dwarves... When I first read LotR I had no clue what was really going on until I read Sil. *



_The Lord of the Rings_ looks different after you've read _The Silmarillion_. If it is read before, and then after, a person can see TLotR both ways. I'm sure _The Silmarillion_ would look different if read before tLotR too, but I don't know if it would be for the better. One thing that I think makes the events in The Sil. so amazing is that when we read of them we are learning more about things hinted at in tLotR, but most of all, it is because we're reading about the begining ages of a world that we already know and love - Middle-earth. Another important point is that when we read The Sil. we have the sense that these events took place long ago, they feel ancient... and we might view it that way simply because we already know the third age and are looking back from that point in time. This is a point that Christopher Tolkien brings up in the Foreward of Book of Lost Tales. He says that tLotR provides a "vantage point" that gives depth of time to The Silmarillion. 

One of the first thoughts I had when I began to read The Sil. is that I was glad that I had read tLotR first, this is for one of the reasons I named above - I already knew and loved Middle-earth.

I guess the only thing that can be done for someone who hasn't read either would be to explain to them how the books are written diffrently, and where they stand in timeline of Middle-earth. This way, they can decide which they think they should read first.

Another of my personal opinions is that The events in The Sil. make those of tLotR look smaller. They do, however, add more meaning to tLotR for me... so it evens out. This is probably an individual thing though.

I don't think it is wrong to read The Sil. first, I just wouldn't recommend it.

Just an extra point: I would also recommend that someone read _The Hobbit_ before tLotR.


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## jallan (Jan 26, 2003)

Normally I would not recommend reading _The Silmarillion_ first.

It's contents are really supposed to be summaries of longer versions of the tales, and it is something like reading a dry handbook of Greek mythology instead of first reading Homer or Ovid some of the other tales in colorful retellings.

However, Tolkien originally planned to publish _The Silmarillion_ along with _The Lord the Rings_, though the plan fell through, and Tolkien ended up never finishing _The Silmarillion_.

If the plan had gone through, would Tolkien have arranged the volumes, probably two in his mind, so that _The Silmarillion_ was first or so that _The Lord of the Rings_ was first, though of course _The Lord of the Rings_ should be read after _The Hobbit_?

Some months ago I received an e-mail out of the blue from a post-gradulate university student in Indonesia, who had seen the film _The Fellowship of the Ring_, loved it, and desperately wanted to read the book.

But she had checked the Indonesian translation and was not happy with its style. She wanted to read the book properly, in English, which she knows fairly well.

She had somehow obtained my e-mail as a "Tolkien person", and wanted to arrange a trade of some kind for _The Lord of the Rings_ book in English.

Apparently her Indonesian credit card is not accepted by most web sites.

I suggested she also order _The Hobbit_ also, to read first, and mentioned as well _The Silmarillion_, as relating events occurring before _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Hobbit_ in the same series of tales, and also mostly written before _The Lord of the Rings_.

I explained it was somewhat dry, and most people turned to it after.

She decided she wanted to read everything in exactly the _right_ order, and ordered through me _The Silmarillion_, _The Hobbit_, and _The Lord of the RIngs_ in exchange for some CDs of Indonesian music.

She then got bogged down with a number of other matters, but when last I heard from her she was reading _The Silmarillion_, claiming she did not find it dry at all, but a wonderfully fascinating beautiful story and was about half-way through.

However, she likes to read in quiet when alone, and wasn't able to do this much at that time, and when she did have the chance, she would start at the beginning again, because she enjoyed it so much and didn't want it to end.

I did advise her very strongly not to read the last section "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" which gives away too much material that one should come across fresh in _The Lord of the Rings_, and that it especially gives away the ending of _The Lord of the Rings_.


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## ??? (Feb 4, 2003)

I would tell them that they should read LOTR first.


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## Eriol (Feb 5, 2003)

I would like to reinforce jallans's point:



> I did advise her very strongly not to read the last section "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" which gives away too much material that one should come across fresh in The Lord of the Rings, and that it especially gives away the ending of The Lord of the Rings.



Other than that, it should work out fine if the reader is really interested. If he finds it dry, then he should switch to LotR.


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