The Children of Hurin

I read this to my three-year-old son, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Its debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list speaks to the power Tolkien’s stories still hold for us today, and this story is certainly worthy of it’s author. I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect, especially reading it for the first time together with my impressionable child. In some ways,...more

I read this to my three-year-old son, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Its debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list speaks to the power Tolkien’s stories still hold for us today, and this story is certainly worthy of it’s author. I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect, especially reading it for the first time together with my impressionable child. In some ways, it was the perfect “starter Tolkien” story for a sword-happy young boy: There were little boys flying on eagles, a hidden kingdom, a band of forested outlaws, a cave-fortress on/in a hill, a fire-breathing dragon, Orcs, Elvish Kings, Queens, and even a princess. The hero, Turin Turambar, had a magical helmet, a black enchanted sword named Gurthang, and performed mythic feats of bravery and strength. From a literary standpoint, Tolkien throws in a reference to every great story from mythology and the kitchen sink, too. There are parallels to the legend of Robin Hood, the biblical story of Ruth, and the Greek tragedy of Oedipus Rex. ****BEGIN SPOILERS**** On the other hand, of all Tolkien’s stories, this most recent work is also his great (and successful) attempt at tragedy. Not only did Turin die at the end (on the point of his own sword, by his own hand), he left a path of misery and death at the end of almost every chapter. He kills his best friend by accident, scorns the advice of all his elders, allows (by neglect) his true love to be killed, marries his sister (unknowingly), and then indirectly causes her death, and that of the man who truly loved her. Then he kills himself. Oh, yeah, and all the while, Turin’s father (Hurin) is being held captive by the villain, who forces him to watch (magically, of course) his son and daughter self-destruct. Now try explaining that to your toddler. ****END SPOILERS**** Nevertheless, it has been good for us, and we’ve talked a lot about anger, consequences, being nice to our friends, and being a good listener. And we’ve talked a lot about death, dying, killing, and violence. I really do think it’s better to face tough issues head on instead of sheltering them from it. I also believe that with the printed word — unlike television or film — a child’s imagination is not capable of conjuring up images he can’t deal with. All in all, I wasn’t expecting it to be over so quickly. This will forever be the first novel I read with my son. The first novel he “experienced” at all, for that matter. I'm glad it was a good one from an "old and trusted family friend." We’re already planning for the next one: I’m thinking maybe Tolkien’s Farmer Giles of Ham or maybe even something by Isaac Asimov or Shakespeare. Of course, he’s already asking me to read Beowulf to him. I’m just glad I’ve found one more common love to share with my son in this life.   hide

This story is dark, make no mistake about that. If you thought the Lord of the Rings, with its Orcs and Ringwraiths and deaths of major characters and nearly-failed quests was dark, I don't know what you'd call this. "The negation of light"? "If you could get below absolute zero on the Kelvin scale, this is what it might be like"? ---- No, not quite as dark as that last one. It's not...more

This story is dark, make no mistake about that. If you thought the Lord of the Rings, with its Orcs and Ringwraiths and deaths of major characters and nearly-failed quests was dark, I don't know what you'd call this. "The negation of light"? "If you could get below absolute zero on the Kelvin scale, this is what it might be like"? ---- No, not quite as dark as that last one. It's not depressing, oddly enough. A rather clean darkness, this seems to be, not without hope even at the worst moments. I might say that it's tinged, just in tone, with the Catholic idea that everything is able to be saved. I don't want to give the idea that it's religious at all. The background and plot of the story, and even to a large degree the morality of the heros, is much closer to that of the North European pre-Christian epics. Often the tone recalls the Finnish Kalevala or the Volsunga Saga or just general Norse mythology. A few parts even reminded me irresistably of Beowulf (yes, that was by a Christian author, but one like Tolkien in more ways than one). The biggest difference from the Norse myths or the pagan epics lies in something which at first they appear to share in common: the driving force of a curse (or fate) and its effects on the heroes. I hope it won't ruin the story for anyone if I mention that the Hurin of the title starts off the story by gaining the particular emnity of Morgoth. (For those who aren't familiar with the Silmarillion: if you want an idea how bad Morgoth was, you should know that Sauron - the grand bad guy of the Lord of the Rings - was at this time only Morgoth's lieutenant.) To get back at Hurin, Morgoth curses the poor guy's family. The entire tale is simply the story of how this curse works out; of how Morgoth's object is achieved. And it is in this that the story is rooted in a more Catholic view of life. Because unlike pagan mythology, the curse here never directly controls the fate of either of Hurin's children. Rather, Morgoth has to work actively to bring about its effects. He does this by playing on Hurin's son, Turin's, weaknesses - weaknesses such as pride and impulsiveness - till these become the prominent features of Turin's character. Eventually, Turin (and to a lesser degree, the more minor character of his sister, Nienor) becomes the primary agent of his own family's destruction. The difference I keep talking about lies in the fact that never does this destruction become inevitable. Turin continually brings it on through his own choices. Although Morgoth brings about many of the book's critical situations, Turin (or Nienor, or Morwen, their mother) make the choices which cause the real tragedy and the darkness of the book. And this tragedy is simply the fact that the characters play into Morgoths hands, giving him the advantage of a moral as well as physical victory over the children of Hurin.    hide

Perhaps the saddest book I've ever read, this book, the first "new" Tolkien book in 30 years is "...long and sad in the telling, as are all takes of Middle Earth." While it is beautiful in its composition and deep in its scope, it contains in it at all times a sense of "doom" that seems inescapable, and yet clearly is withing the scope of the freewill of the characters. A tragedy beyond anything...more

Perhaps the saddest book I've ever read, this book, the first "new" Tolkien book in 30 years is "...long and sad in the telling, as are all takes of Middle Earth." While it is beautiful in its composition and deep in its scope, it contains in it at all times a sense of "doom" that seems inescapable, and yet clearly is withing the scope of the freewill of the characters. A tragedy beyond anything Shakespeare ever wrote, one cannot shake a sense of Hamlet. One must appreciate the tone and theme of Silmarillion to fully enjoy this book, though it's scope is more limited both in terms of time and people. Nevertheless, there is a lot to take in and most of Beleriand is used as the canvas for this portrait. The reader will find that the map is a bit more abbreviated than that in the Silmarillion. The nature and effect of evil is a major theme, both in terms of evil personified in Morgoth (to whom Sauron was but a servant), as well as the effects of pride and hubris in the protagonists. The ending had a couple of crescendos, and moved me to tears. Only the Silmarillion has done this to me before.   hide

The Children of Hurin is a tragedy, the first I've read by Tolkein. He handles it well. Hurin is cursed by Morgoth, and his family suffers terrible consequences. In ancient Norse or Greek legend, the curse would have been in spite of the family's honor, pride, and valour. Tolkein turns this on its head by making the valor, beauty, and pride of Hurin's family the very means by which the curse...more

The Children of Hurin is a tragedy, the first I've read by Tolkein. He handles it well. Hurin is cursed by Morgoth, and his family suffers terrible consequences. In ancient Norse or Greek legend, the curse would have been in spite of the family's honor, pride, and valour. Tolkein turns this on its head by making the valor, beauty, and pride of Hurin's family the very means by which the curse works its toll. Tolkein puts his characters into novel ethical situations and allows for complex factors to make some of the decisions great and others horrible. It would be interesting to contrast the moral attitude in this story with the moral attitude of the Lord of the Rings. The tale of Turin promotes a passive resistance to evil: outright victory is not possible. The Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, promotes an active resistance, in which the evil character can be, and eventually is, completely defeated. I wonder if this is the difference between Tokein's response to WWI and WWII. Whichever is the case, this story rivals the great classic tragedies.   hide