Jacksprat Gets Lost in Fiction

Review of “The Silmarillion” By: JRR Tolkien             This was the creation story of Middle Earth and the history leading up to the third age when Sauron created the rings and the war between the beings of Middle Earth and Sauron.             “The Silmarillion” was organized into five distinctive parts that gave the history of Middle Earth up until the third age.  Tolkien started with the creation story via Iluvatar and Valar.  Iluvatar was like God, Melkor was the Devil, and the Valar were like the Angels.  The third part was the story of the Silmarils and the wars with Melkor, whose name was changed to Morgoth. The last two parts covered “The Fall of Numenor” and related the events of the third age, which were what “Lord of the Rings” was about.              Unlike “Lord...

Review of Beren and Luthien By: JRR Tolkien             A man, Beren, saw the beautiful Elf princess, Luthien, dancing in the forest and it was love at first sight. He wanted to marry her, so Beren went to her father, the Elf Lord Thingol and asked for her hand. Lord Thingol didn’t approve of humans and opposed the marriage and sent Beren on an impossible quest to retrieve a Simaril, a jewel, that was currently on the crown of the Dark Lord Morgoth.             Beren and Luthien’s the story of a mortal and immortal falling love, was the story he wrote before Aragorn and Arwen’s epic love story in the Appendices of “Lord of the Rings”. Like a lot of Tolkien’s early work, it was written in the form of an epic poem and explored the theme of love conquering evil, though the ending was bittersweet.  Since it was fairytale, it had the love at first trope on Beren’s...

Review of “The Trouble with Mrs. Montgomery Hurst” By: Katie Lumsden             In the county of Wickenshire the most eligible bachelor Mr. Montgomery Hurst got engaged to an outsider, a widow from London with 3 children, and everyone in the community had an opinion on it. The older generation of county were determined to get their children married, and the younger generation felt the pressure to get married even when they didn’t desire it.             “Montgomery Hurst” was a fun and joyful read with an atmosphere that was cozy with its suburban setting, despite the characters being surrounded by gossipy neighbors. As I was reading, I was eager to turn the pages and consume the next chapter to find out what would happen next.  The drama was familiar for those of us who were entertained by Jane Austen and Anthony Trollop novels where the conflict was, who wa...