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Tolkien would have been a good friend. Maybe he was Tom Bombadil. I mean, because that happens so often, the author is mirrored in a character. Tom is kind and
by swayvil 4y ago
Tolkien would have been a good friend. Maybe he was Tom Bombadil. I mean, because that happens so often, the author is mirrored in a character. Tom is kind and generous, but with a serious hidden side. Deep and a bit scary.
Maybe Tolkien had a hidden side. I'd like to have known him. His craft, 1000x polished, we see that. But the man. To talk with him. That must be honey and cream.
Tolkien, Lewis and Lovecraft all were big fans of Dunsany. He was all about the deep, strange, and a bit scary. He talked about the elves, these true aliens, and their world. He dipped into the mythology of the isles. So rich.
You see that in British scifi too.
- shrubble 4y agoTolkien saw himself and his wife as Beren and Luthien, I believe. Some see Bombadil as God visiting his creation, others as a pre-Christian god. Bombadil is wholly unaffected by the Ring if you recall and is able to both notice it and see thru Frodo being invisible. Edit to add: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jrr-tolkiens-grave https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jrr-tolkiens-grave
- User23 4y agoDunsany is wonderful too. The King of Elfland’s Daughter is charming and a masterpiece. Oh to go beyond the fields we know.
- haroldp 4y agoSitting some years ago in the ancient tavern at Over, one afternoon in Spring, I was waiting, as was my custom, for something strange to happen. In this I was not always disappointed for the very curious leaded panes of that tavern, facing the sea, let a light into the low-ceilinged room so mysterious, particularly at evening, that it somehow seemed to affect the events within. Be that as it may, I have seen strange things in that tavern and heard stranger things told.
- swayvil 4y agoIn case anybody is compiling a reading list, George McDonald too. Back when they spelled fantasy with a ph.