Since nothing too new has happened in the our lives (I'm still working, Cooper is still internship-searching, we are still aunt and uncle to beautiful Kale'a, and things are plodding along in a fairly regular way), much of what is new that I experience is in books.
I've always been a pretty voracious reader, and I have thrown myself into books ever since I graduated, now that I can read whatever I want almost whenever I want. I'm not saying this reading is always a good thing necessarily; there are better ways I could use my time in many circumstances. But admittedly, I am loving this new book freedom, and after I spent two years in writing workshops for my degree, I am finding I have different opinions of books now.
I just started rereading The Lord of the Rings. I promise, this is only the second read-through, and the last time I read them was in 2002. So I think I'm allowed my re-read now. :-) I really enjoy them. There is a lot in the books that they didn't include in the films (which I LOVE anyway...I think they are spectacular and I compare every subsequent epic movie to them, unfairly, I suppose), and I am reliving the joys of Tolkien's poetry sprinkled throughout, his rich descriptions, and the delightfully stilted language and tone. It has been a wonderful reread. I'm nearing the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and I'm looking forward to the other two books, because I've heard many criticisms that the films messed up the battle sequences (who was there, where they occurred in the plot line, etc), and I don't remember them, so I'm curious about refreshing my memory and seeing what Tolkien wrote those scenes.
But now that I have been in workshops for the last two years, I can't help approaching every book I read with a more critical eye than I used to. And there is one thing, that if I was sitting across from Tolkien in a a writing workshop, I would suggest to him (as cheeky a thing as that seems):
Details. You have a lot of them, Mr. Tolkien. First, a sincere compliment: I admire the thought you put into this Middle Earth. I love that you have a detailed map in the back of the book, and that you were obviously pouring over these maps in your own mind as you wrote, making sure the characters were traveling in a logical, consistent direction throughout their quest.I love that there is a three-dimensionality to this world you've created, not always stated, but always there is a sense that there is history, culture, conflict that underlies the action and character relationships. But here is my constructive criticism: details can lose a reader. It may interest YOU to know that when Frodo pauses on the road, he sees moors and grass in one direction, fading into the silver glimmer of a river, and mountains and snow in another. But your reader doesn't necessarily need to know that. We also don't need to know the precise kind of bush the Fellowship ducked under when in hiding (it was holly, I believe). We also don't need to know the three Elvish, Dwarvish, and human names for every land form, and an explanation of each area's history is not always necessary, particularly if it has little to do with the problems the characters are facing at the moment.
Now, admittedly, I am coming from a writing generation whose mantra is "less is more." We are returning, in many ways, to a Hemmingway minimalism. But I think a healthy balance can be obtained. Sometimes details are necessary, interesting, and help a reader feel that the fantasy world the story occurs in is more real and tangible. Other times though, they bog down a reader as they muddle through the writing equivalent of a cluttered desk, trying to find that one thing they need to understand the plot and themes. And knowing about the texture of the ground and the shape of the leaves on the trees doesn't always serve that purpose.
I realize I can't be too critical. Tolkien is published, I am not (except in an obscure writing journal that probably only my parents and I have copies of). His books are classics and continue to be read by people more than fifty years from their original publication. So...maybe my criticisms are completely unwarranted. But I firmly believe that just because something is published doesn't mean it's perfect. The one short story I published, in that literary journal, was ripped apart in my graduate writing class. That either proves my point, or just shows that I'm not that great a writer. Ehhh...who knows. But Mr. Tolkien, I love your books, even the second time around, and applaud your achievement. And now that you're dead and gone, your books are what they are. Never to be revised again.
I would've ended it there, but that sounds like a downer of an ending. Mr. Tolkien, I admire your achievement, well done.
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