TREE AND LEAF [Mass Market Paperback]

J. R. R. Tolkien (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Unwin Paperbacks (1973)
• ASIN: B000SUF0ZC
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

More About the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892.1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Master's Voice, September 30, 2008

By 

Theoden Humphrey "Dusty" (Oregon, US) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tree and Leaf (Paperback)

I've always wanted to read Tolkien's other works; I've read the Silmarillion a couple of times, and never really enjoyed it as much as the Hobbit or LOTR. But nonetheless, I've had an old copy of a Tolkien book called Tree and Leaf for years -- it was my parents' originally -- and I finally dove into it.

It's short, only two pieces, but it was excellent -- and excellent in a way that makes me ten times more eager to look for other Tolkien ephemera than The Silmarillion ever did. The first part of this is an essay, expanded from a lecture Tolkien gave, called On Fairy-Stories. And not only was it interesting and well-written, it had some absolutely brilliant insights; I don't know if they were Tolkien's or simply common knowledge among Oxford literature dons, but I loved reading about the power of adjectives, and the concept of the sub-creator, and the idea that a fantasy world does not require a suspension of disbelief, but rather an acceptance of an internal continuity that allows a sub-creation of a new world within the pages, a world that, if well done by the author and well-read by the audience, requires no suspension of disbelief but merely a shift in sensory input, from direct input to that which is imagined from the words. Great idea that I'm not doing justice to, but intend to revisit and clarify further in my own mind, and use to my advantage. It certainly reaffirmed my belief that Tolkien was the leading light of the fantasy genre, both because of his immense gifts as a writer, and because he understood fantasy, its advantages and disadvantages, its requirements and its place in literature and our lives.

And as a final piece of proof, the second piece in the book is a fairy-story that Tolkien wrote, called "Leaf by Niggle," which was simply lovely from start to finish. Twenty pages, and it encapsulated the sense of being a frustrated artist in the real world, and the advantages of living, therefore, in an invented world -- advantages that are not just for the artists, but also for their neighbors -- in addition to having a nice moral on the power of art to lead us home. Once again, Tolkien takes his place in the big chair.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars insight in this creation, October 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tree and Leaf: Including the Poem Mythopoeia (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful book. Reading through it, the intentions of Tolkien are revealed. It makes all of the stories of middle earth more real, tangable, comforting. It can be read and reread; each time more layers, more connections are made. Tolkien confronts reality of fantasy in this essay and poem. He justifies our human need for subcreation, and comfort in art.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure, February 8, 2008

By 

Sherry Thompson "KhivasMommy" (DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tree and Leaf (Paperback)

I regret that this isn't currently in print, and it baffles me that this is so when Christopher and the estate seem to be printing everything else they can lay their hands on. (Not to say that's a bad thing!)

Tolkien's essay reveals the value or role of fairy stories for those who may be fantasy-challenged. Children already know that there are dragons. Fairy tales don't scare children by telling them this terrible secret. The role of the fairy tale is to reveal that dragons can be killed. The dragon is the catastrophe. The slaying of the dragon is the eucatastrophe.

Tolkien also notes that we are all subcreators, that it is a natural role for us. (I think he was writing about other authors but anyone who daydreams a story is creating as well.)

The best part of this book is "Leaf by Niggle." Tolkien wrote several short stories and I love them all, but this is a very special short story. In my opinion, Tolkien was writing about himself during a particularly clear moment of spiritual discernment.

I don't want to give away the plot but suffice it to say that the main character, Niggle, is working on a huge painting of an immense tree, filled with detail that grows in detail the more he paints. He would love to finish the painting but he has a neighbor who interrupts him repeatedly with some very real if down-to-earth needs.

And that's just the premise. The story just gets better and better, and I hope that it is all true. "True", not "real".

Please buy a used copy while you can, and treasure it.

Sherry Thompson (no matter who Amazon thinks I am)