Wonderful book about one of my heroes,Christopher,one of a dying breed...and I'm now finishing my second read. I sadly never met J R R T as he died before he replied to my letter but I met Christopher four times. Wonderful man. The stand out essay for me is The Son Behind the Father by Vincent Ferre.Listening to the music by Verlyn Flieger is pretty damn good too. Oh it's no good really picking out the best bits as it's all good,really good.The Son Behind the Father underlines for me what I always felt since reading the Silmarillion the day it was finally published in 1977,that Christopher was a highly creative artist too,bridging gaps and personal arrangements of his father's material.Christopher was a truly fantastic editor,one of the very best in literature but he was so much more than that,a folklore artist shrouded in the mist of myth intertwined personally and creatively with his father whilst selflessly carrying the ring further and longer than anyone other than his father. I will be eternally grateful for what Christopher did and does for the Tolkien legacy in these uncertain times and his is a stunning achievement. Bravo Sir,you had faery blood and you broke your staff at the end of days but how I've wished over the years that Christopher wrote a biography of his Father which would have been phenomenal although he was evasive when asked and may well have got in the way of further volumes of the history. So much in one lifetime. Such stamina. Such undilution of vision. Such purpose. Such will. Such trust.
J R R Tolkien released so much masterful work. The Hobbit and Lord of the rings are,of course bona fide masterpieces and I adore both,especially Lord of The Rings,but for my money the best was to come,for the quality of writing superior in many parts within the unfinished material to The Hobbit and even The Lord Of The Rings.Tolkien's shining Silmarils really are the History of Middle-earth volumes,Unfinished Tales,and The Silmarillion .All outshining the books released in J R R Tolkien's lifetime. That is Christopher's joint achievement with his father...a silver medal to his father's gold.Oustanding achievement Christopher I really like the invite too of the 21st party. ...Wheelbarrows at Dawn. RIP
19