I found this great essay about Tolkien by Gene Wolfe. He describes Tolkien's influence on him and discusses why Tolkien's work is so beloved and important. Among other things, he says:
Terry Brooks has often been disparaged for imitating Tolkien, particularly by those reviewers who find his books inferior to Tolkien's own. I can say only that I wish there were more imitators -- we need them -- and that all imitations of so great an original must necessarily be inferior.
There is a lot of wisdom and greatness in Tolkien's work. I've been thinking of re-reading them this summer and this essay convinced me. It's interesting to read Wolfe's kind comments about Brooks as well, since I was a big fan of the Shannara books as an adolescent, hungry as I was for books similar to Tolkien's.
Wolfe's own fantasy is pretty amazing in its own right. I recently read 'The Sword of the Lictor,' book three of his 'Book of the New Sun' series, set millions of years from now on Earth. He's an excellent writer and worth reading.
If I do re-read The Lord of the Rings it will make the fifth time I've read it. I would have read them more often, but it I've found they can make for a daunting journey. They are so close to the heart that at times they feel difficult. They're still the best things I've ever read and I'm looking forward to diving back into Middle Earth.
4 comments:
I recommended Terry Brooks to a student who was stuck in a slump...can't find a good author.
I love Tolkien and I'm so glad you and Matt got me to read them.
Thanks for the advice about the car. I hope this guy on friday doesn't try to rip me off.
terry brooks is fun especially for younger readers. How did it turn out with the car?
I enjoyed reading Wolfe's comments regarding Tolkien and fantasy in general. What I especially appreciate is the lack of pretension and his emphasis on wonder as the primary aspect of fantasy. Critics of the genre often fail to understand that the goals of fantastic fiction are different from, say, Pynchon and therefore demand a different orientation. I often see apples and oranges comparisons between works of fiction that fail to recognize crucial differences between works. It is a sadly inhibiting way of looking at fiction that I am glad many writers pay no heed to.
Often, critical positions can be summed up as falling into the "It's just a..." category: "it's just a superhero movie, it's just a sci-fi novel, it's just a fantasy short story." Good or bad, popular or villified, the art is held hostage by these people who take a reductionist view. It seems wiser to me to attempt to appreciate any work on its merits and in relation to how it adapts or transforms the genre conventions it is associated with.
Hey Robin, how are you?! Glad you liked the essay. You're right of course--too often these genres are dismissed and criticized for the wrong reasons. I think you would like Wolfe. Mervyn Peake is another writer you might check out if you haven't discovered him yet.
Hope everything is well w/you--we should talk soon. Headed to NY this summer?
Post a Comment