Tolkien and the Silmarils [Hardcover]

Randel Helms (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 1981

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 104 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; First Edition edition (March 16, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039529469X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395294697
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,439,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You have to know Professor Helms, April 1, 2004

By 

one of several random reviewers (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tolkien and the Silmarils (Hardcover)

I took a couple of courses from Professor Helms in the early 1990s, a good twenty or so years AFTER he wrote these books. What the reader has to know going into this work is that Professor Helms teaches a course on Biblical Backgrounds of Literature and has written a wonderful book entitled Gospel Fiction. Helms's slant is not Christian, per se, but he does analyze Tolkien through the lens of the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible. Plus, he is one of the greatest college professors I ever had.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tolkien and the Silmarils, March 25, 2003

By 

K. Freeman (Apple Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tolkien and the Silmarils (Hardcover)

I'm afraid I found this literary study of the Silmarillion rather slight. It seemed focused on shoehorning the Bible into every aspect of the work, while mentioning only in passing or not at all influences such as Volsungssaga/Nibelungenlied, Voluspa, and classical myth.

The most interesting aspect of the story for me, the tragedy of Feanor and his sons, is not the aspect which most interests Helms--very well. But an exegesis that offers no analysis of the Quenta's conclusion, the fates of Maedhros and Maglor, seems strange.

Suffice to say I didn't get much out of this.