I have finished Silmarillion but I have one BIG problem with it !

[Xen]

One must read it ! I am happy to say that I own LotR 1&2 and Silamrillion books. (Still waiting for LotR:RotK)

It is a great book I can`t argue with that but to my problem : there are sooooo many names and so many characters are in somehow family relasthiionsip in this book that I totally lost my mind. Don`t know who is who.

Sure there is "Name guide" on the end but still can anyone give me some feedback on the names and relasthionships on who is who ?

Thanks !

[dplax]

I don't think it is more confusing than a history textbook. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Xen]

Originally posted by dplax: I don't think it is more confusing than a history textbook. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Sure but actually is a history textbook ... about the Elves . [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[SixOfSpades]

Ah, looks like you're just going to have to read it again to get all the names right! At least Tolkien makes the lines of heredity evident, what with Tuor & Turin, and Huor & Hurin, and of course the Earendil/Elwing/Elrond/Elros set. Once you get a little more used to the names, it all comes together, since Tolkien did not simply make them up--the names (as all words in Quenya, Sindarin, etc.), are based on Saxon/Finnish/Germanic roots, so the difference between good and evil is....about as obvious as the difference between Gondolin and Nan Dungortheb.

On that note, you want a book with REALLY confusing names? Try <u>Story of the Stone</u> (aka Dream of the Red Chamber) sometime. Over 400 characters, all Chinese, most of whom are related--and they all share the same six names. I kid you not. Your sense of using the person's name to remind you of who the hell they are and who they're associated with is totally blown, as elements of that person's name are shared by at least 5 other people. Consider
Lin Dai-yu
Jia Bao-yu
Xue Bao-chai
Jia Zheng
Xue Pan
And what's more, their names don't carry a single clue to what gender these people are (except Grandmother Jia, of course). The only mercy offered by the book is that the translator (David Hawkes, IIRC) took the liberty of translating the names of all the servants, so if you see somebody with a name that means something (Aroma, Musk, Swan), you know they must be a maid.

The Silmarillion was supposed to be analogous to the Bible, it is both History text and religious text, in the confines of the Middle Earth universe. It was never ment to be a "story book" such as the Hobbit or the LotR.

[Xen]

Thanks Six ! I will read it again !