Beren and Lúthien

Listened to this one solely because I enjoyed The Fall of Gondolin so much. But I was reminded why this is my least favourite First Age story... poetry. Scads and scads of poetry. It was gorgeously read by the brilliant Samuel West, but my god it just seemed to go on forever...

3.5 stars
This book is all about our well-beloved characters Luthien and Beren and we may see how they developed and changed throughout the different versions of their legend. It was lovely to have more information about Tolkien himself and to explore his world again. However, I would suggest this book only to big fans of the author and Middle-earth, because new readers may find it confusing and repetitive.

A true treat to see Tolkien's writing process for this story and its many incarnations as he revised it over the years. Any Tolkien fan will love it and I suspect those who enjoy lyrical stories, poetry and the evolution of writing a story will also appreciate it! Alan Lee's artwork is also a beautiful addition to the writing.