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Tolkien Miscellany

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"A Tolkien Miscellany" is exactly what it sounds like -- a collection of five of Tolkien's lesser-known works. While these are found elsewhere, such as in the "Tolkien Reader," it's a pleasant way to pass an afternoon, taking in everything from translations to humor to poetry.

"Farmer Giles" is about a rather unusual farmer called on to defeat a rather easy-to-defeat dragon, after dealing with a deaf and blind giant. This is definitely a light, fluffy, funny story, while retaining Tolkien's scholarly, tongue-in-cheek edge. "Smith of Wootton Major" is the beautiful tale of a boy who eats a magical treasure hidden in a cake, and becomes enmeshed in a search for an elf king.

"Leaf by Niggle" ius more for the analytical thinkers among Tolkien's fans. "Leaf" is something of a glimpse into Tolkien's own soul, concerning his work and his own mortality. On a similarly intellectual note, the collection includes Tolkien's translation of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," a classic Arthurian story.

We then lapse into entirely different material. There is a long poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil," written in the style and meter of his songs about himself in LOTR, when he meets the hobbits. It explains a little more about the hearty Maia and his wife Goldberry, as does the second of the poems, "Bombadil Goes Boating." There are also several other poems -- some simple and cute, some dramatic and complex -- supposedly written by hobbits.

Anyone reading "A Tolkien Miscellany" will probably be surprised -- this has every kind of writing a fan could imagine the master of Middle-Earth doing. While "Lord of the Rings" is a classic, it's interesting to see Tolkien stretching his limits in these shorter works.

His translation of Gawain is probably the stuffiest thing here, although it's much more readable than most translations. Elsewhere, his work sparkles with beautiful descriptions -- like the faerie descriptions in "Smith of Wootton Major" -- and warm, almost playful verse. Tolkien even gets to take the sense of humor that is hinted at in his Middle-Earth books, and lets it run wild in "Farmer Giles of Ham."

While none of these have the scope and brilliance of Tolkien's larger works, "A Tolkien Miscellany" is an entertaining collection of the professor's shorter works.