I didn't think it was that bad. I mean, yes, there are lots of details, but it is not absolutely necessary to remember all of them. You can in fact skim over th

I didn't think it was that bad. I mean, yes, there are lots of details, but it is not absolutely necessary to remember all of them. You can in fact skim over the things you don't understand quite, they won't affect the plot too much (a missing name usually doesn't matter! you don't need to remember precisely who, say, Ulmo is to get the gist of it, really [it is not that dense, it repeats things plenty]). If you get lost, sure, go back and find out what's going on. But by not being thorough and meticulously studying every detail, you'll get more "fun" out of it the first time you read it, and it'll have plenty left to offer you the next time you read it. It's very enjoyable reading. Except for the tale of Túrin. That one was just depressing.