Customer Reviews

Myth Maker: J.R.R. Tolkien

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Neimark's "Myth Maker: J.R.R. Tolkien" is a biography of Tolkien the man, and makes no serious attempt at literary criticism or interpretation. That's fine, of course-- but the problem is that it's not a very *good* biography by any measure. Certainly, Neimark makes no points, raises no issues, and consults no sources that haven't been used in the much more insightful biographies by Daniel Grotta-Kurska (an unauthorized biography and Humphrey Carpenter (the Tolkien estate approved bio). Really, this seems seems to be a watered-down version of those biographies (more Carpenter's than Grotta-Kurska's, actually), briefly summarizing Tolkien's life and writings and doing so in fairly simplistic language. The low level of the prose, the simplistic presentation of Tolkien's life, and the presence of several illustrations inclines to be believe that this is a book intended for children (I'd say it was aimed at kids between 10-14... those who are old enough to read the Hobbit and Tolkien's other fiction on their own.). I'm not really sure what even Tolkien fans of this age will get out of this book though-- and I think any kids who are seriouslyinterested in Tolkien enough to want to read about him as a man would much prefer to find out *real information* in one of more substantive biographies.

I'm amazed that the previous reviewer could say the things that he/she says -- criticizing the book as simplistic, etc. -- as the book is obviously not written for an adult audience (as the book's jacket spells out!), and therefore should be evaluated as such. As a book for young Tolkien fans or would-be Tolkien readers, it is a good basic introduction to Tolkien's life without the detail of an adult-level biography like Carpenter's.

Writing a fair review is much easier if you have some notion of a book's intended readership.

Neimark's "Myth Maker: J.R.R. Tolkien" is a biography of Tolkien the man, and makes no serious attempt at literary criticism or interpretation. That's fine, of course-- but the problem is that it's not a very *good* biography by any measure. Certainly, Neimark makes no points, raises no issues, and consults no sources that haven't been used in the much more insightful biographies by Daniel Grotta-Kurska (an unauthorized biography and Humphrey Carpenter (the Tolkien estate approved bio). Really, this seems seems to be a watered-down version of those biographies (more Carpenter's than Grotta-Kurska's, actually), briefly summarizing Tolkien's life and writings and doing so in fairly simplistic language. The low level of the prose, the simplistic presentation of Tolkien's life, and the presence of several illustrations inclines to be believe that this is a book intended for children (I'd say it was aimed at kids between 10-14... those who are old enough to read the Hobbit and Tolkien's other fiction on their own.). I'm not really sure what even Tolkien fans of this age will get out of this book though-- and I think any kids who are seriouslyinterested in Tolkien enough to want to read about him as a man would much prefer to find out *real information* in one of more substantive biographies.

Tolkien's life was great and this shows how he spent his free time. It shows his life from beginning to end with hardly anything missing.