Novels

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Most definitely! If you haven’t read any Tolkien, I would recommend starting with The Hobbit. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia are excellent for children or adults.

TeresTala
 
The_Catholic said:
Does anyone like books by J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis?
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Love ‘em both! I just got finished reading a book about C.S. Lewis today. It was called The Narnian. It was very interessting. It had a lot of discussion about Lewis and Tolkiens’ friendship.
 
Yep, love both of them. I like Tolkien better though, he was just brilliant.
Another book you should check out is Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clark. It came out two years ago. It’s just an awsome book. It’s written in the style of Jane Austen. It’s about two wizards in early 1800’s England. I highly recomend it. You do have to get past the first 40 or 50 pages before it picks up though.
 
Both are fantastic, but I have a preference for Tolkien. He had an amazing mind, and his work, when one examines it closely, is decidedly Catholic.
 
The Lord of The Rings is an amazing work. I fell in love with Narnia so much I cried when I finished a book as a kid. The bit at the end of Voyage of the Dawntreader was absolutely perfect for a young Catholic mind!!!
 
My favorite C.S. Lewis book is The Great Divorce. I’ve read it 4 times now and have given copies as gifts.
 
I’ve read every popular book by Lewis and nearly all of Tolkien (I’m still struggling with The Silmarillion). I often wish each had written more so there would be more to read, but sadly, there isn’t. Still, what they left us is so rich, especially Tolkien, that I never tire of either’s writings.
 
Della said:
I’ve read every popular book by Lewis and nearly all of Tolkien (I’m still struggling with The Silmarillion). I often wish each had written more so there would be more to read, but sadly, there isn’t. Still, what they left us is so rich, especially Tolkien, that I never tire of either’s writings.
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I had a hard time with The Simarillion. Not exactly sure why, but just had a hard time reading it. Loved everything else. I have to read LOTR one every year or so. I usually start on Bilbo’s birthday, but I’m late this year.
 
I love them both. The lotr trilogy were my favorite books. ever. C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity is good too. Also the Narnia collection, of course.
 
mommyof4 said:
I had a hard time with The Simarillion. Not exactly sure why, but just had a hard time reading it. Loved everything else. I have to read LOTR one every year or so. I usually start on Bilbo’s birthday, but I’m late this year.
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The Silmarillion is quite interesting I find, as is the 12-volume History of Middle Earth. These works were compiled from Tolkien’s notes posthumously by his son Christopher. They reveal Tolkien’s thoughts (often developing over the years) on philosophy, theology, and of course linguistics (of which he was a professor at Oxford). In particular the prologue to the Silmarillion, the Ainulindalë, which is about the creation of his fictional world is blatantly based on Christian belief regarding the Rebellion of Satan and his angels (or at least John Milton’s version of it).

Oh, I’m such a geek 🤓
 
mommyof4 said:
I had a hard time with The Simarillion. Not exactly sure why, but just had a hard time reading it. Loved everything else. I have to read LOTR one every year or so. I usually start on Bilbo’s birthday, but I’m late this year.
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I’ve been spoiled by the films. I love to play them and listen as I go to sleep–not every night, but often. I ought to dive into the books again, though, to get the original words and ideas straight from JRRT instead as interpreted by Jackson and Co.

I saw the Ralph Bakshi animated version while in college, bought the books, and read Frodo’s part of the story through in one weekend. I was in the Assemblies of God at the time. By the time I got done my religious outlook on life had taken a 180 and I was a different person. Lewis had allowed me to think again and JRRT had allowed me to feel again (rightly). I’ll always be grateful to both of them for my exist from the sect and my reception into the Catholic Church.
 
The_Catholic said:
Does anyone like books by J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis?
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I’m so deep in Middle Earth lore that that’s like asking if I like drinking water or breathing air. Lewis I am far less fond of because he doesn’t quite hit that geek/mythology fanatic button the way Tolkien does. But Narnia is an amusing tale with some truly inventive writing and a habit of making the ordinary seem mysterious.

Still, Tolkien is what I read when I want to think, and Lewis is what I read when I want to relax. I’m through book 4 of Narnia, never read any other Lewis (Please, no recommendations, I have a lot of research to get through).
 
LittleRose said:
Both are fantastic, but I have a preference for Tolkien. He had an amazing mind, and his work, when one examines it closely, is decidedly Catholic.
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He himself denied any deeper meaning. I choose to beleive him. He was more enamoured of languages, histories, geneologies and lore, and he absolutely despised allegory. His being a Catholic does not make the books Catholic.

But then I am not a general fan of injecting meaning into a work that the author did not intend.
 
mommyof4 said:
I had a hard time with The Simarillion. Not exactly sure why, but just had a hard time reading it. Loved everything else. I have to read LOTR one every year or so. I usually start on Bilbo’s birthday, but I’m late this year.
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Because The Silmarillion is an incredibly advanced read. I love that kind of thing and even I had some difficulty with it.

I will say; I think The Silmarillion obliterates all contentions of a deeper allegory in the tales. The only things even remotely comparably to any modern, mono-theistic religion are the existence of a creator, and the Undying Lands.
 
Caesar said:
The Silmarillion is quite interesting I find, as is the 12-volume History of Middle Earth. These works were compiled from Tolkien’s notes posthumously by his son Christopher. They reveal Tolkien’s thoughts (often developing over the years) on philosophy, theology, and of course linguistics (of which he was a professor at Oxford). In particular the prologue to the Silmarillion, the Ainulindalë, which is about the creation of his fictional world is blatantly based on Christian belief regarding the Rebellion of Satan and his angels (or at least John Milton’s version of it).

Oh, I’m such a geek 🤓
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As someone enamoured of mythology, I hasten to point out; the idea of a discord at the beginning of time is not by any stretch of the imagination unique or original to Christianity.
 
Liberalsaved said:
As someone enamoured of mythology, I hasten to point out; the idea of a discord at the beginning of time is not by any stretch of the imagination unique or original to Christianity.
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No, but if we look at the opening chapters we can see a definite parallel between Tolkien’s mythology and the Christian story of the Rebellion of Satan. Note the following:
  • In the Ainulindalë, Eru-Ilúvatar is the omnipotent Creator of the Ainur (angelic-beings or demi-gods) and the Timeless Halls in the void.
  • In Christian belief, God first created Heaven and the Hosts of Angels.
  • Eru gives to each of the Ainur individual strengths and weaknesses. Some of the Ainur are greater than others. The greatest of the Ainur is Melkor.
  • God gives to each of the angels individual strengths and roles. The greatest of the angels is Lucifer.
  • Eru commands the Ainur to sing before him, first individually, then as a great choir. Each of the Ainur adds their own styles to the music. Melkor’s music is great, but for his own glory and power- many of the lesser Ainur begin to sing along with him. Manwe, the brother of Melkor, strives to overthrow the music of Melkor and regain the harmony of the music set down by Eru.
  • Lucifer corrupts one third of the angels of Heaven to his side, and attempts to overthrow his own Creator, so he may rule a creation that is not his. He is defeated and thrown down by St. Michael the Archangel.
There is more, but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone 😉
 
Caesar said:
No, but if we look at the opening chapters we can see a definite parallel between Tolkien’s mythology and the Christian story of the Rebellion of Satan. Note the following:
  • In the Ainulindalë, Eru-Ilúvatar is the omnipotent Creator of the Ainur (angelic-beings or demi-gods) and the Timeless Halls in the void.
  • In Christian belief, God first created Heaven and the Hosts of Angels.
  • Eru gives to each of the Ainur individual strengths and weaknesses. Some of the Ainur are greater than others. The greatest of the Ainur is Melkor.
  • God gives to each of the angels individual strengths and roles. The greatest of the angels is Lucifer.
  • Eru commands the Ainur to sing before him, first individually, then as a great choir. Each of the Ainur adds their own styles to the music. Melkor’s music is great, but for his own glory and power- many of the lesser Ainur begin to sing along with him. Manwe, the brother of Melkor, strives to overthrow the music of Melkor and regain the harmony of the music set down by Eru.
  • Lucifer corrupts one third of the angels of Heaven to his side, and attempts to overthrow his own Creator, so he may rule a creation that is not his. He is defeated and thrown down by St. Michael the Archangel.
There is more, but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone 😉
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Certainly, all these influences are true. However, there is also heavy Norse influence, in the fact that there are Halls where the dead go (Men and Hobbits to the Timeless Halls, Elves to the Halls of Mandos) in order to await their role in a great final battle. In Christianity no one dwelling on Earth has a direct role in the final battle. Then there will be a new world…just like Ragnarok.
In addition, the world is actually created by the Valar and Maiar and not by Illuvatar.
 
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