The Children of Hurin

Despite being a self admitted Tolkien fanboy I always begin reading one of his works with the thought "well surely this one won't live up to the hype. All of his works can't be that good" and once again I'm forced to admit it is that good. I would recommend this to lovers of mythology or those who have an interest in Tolkien's extended writings but found the Silmarillion unappealing.

In this work Tolkien succeeds at emulating the very myths and legends that inspired much of his writing. With this one pulling from the doomed heroes of European mythology, specifically Sigurd and Kulervo, from the Volsung and the Kalevala respectively.

The story is told in an overview style, as if it were being recounted. At times this can be grating as it fragments the narrative, giving you the information piece meal over the course of several years. However in this instance its somewhat diagetic in that it puts the reader in the same situation as Húrin, trapped on the peak of Thangorodrim, bearing witness to the doom of his kin yet unable to intervene.

Tolkien scholars have often debated to what extent could Morgoth's curse effect Húrin and his kin. It's feasible that Morgoth commanded the orcs to raid and pillage the region and the easterling occupation of a major settlement. As well as the unleashing of Glaurung on Beleriand. Beyond that, all the misery that befell Túrin was by his own hand. He has his mother's pride and his father's passion without any temperance. You could say that its Túrin's belief in his doom that makes it so. It raises an interesting question. How much does our outlook dictate our fate? If Túrin had kept a positive outlook he would have had faith in King Thingol, who up until that point had treated him as his own son, instead of going into self imposed exile before even facing judgement. He chose to only see the world for all its misery and none of its beauty, turning his curse into a self fulfilling prophecy. This ties back into one of the greater themes of Tolkien's works. Although there will always be darkness we must not despair. If we live with hope in our hearts and believe in the goodness of the world we can have a brighter tomorrow.

WHAT
A collection of manuscripts written by J.R.R. Tolkien trough many decades, put together and complemented by his son Christopher Tolkien. The book is close to a sequel to Silmarillion and has no connections with LOTR. The story is not very cohesive, but it is still an epic tale and bears some resemblance of the prose you see in his better known books. If you like Tolkien, this book is for you.

PLOT
Hurin, the great hero of men, was captured and cursed by Morgoth of Angband, the predecessor of Sauron. His entire lineage was condemned to suffer terrible fates. Fostered by the Eldar Elves, his son Tuirin tries to overcome his doom and free his father. But by his actions, misery and destruction follows him and afflicts all those that comes into his way, thus fulfilling his curse.

ANALYSIS
Have you ever had a problem naming characters? Well, Tolkien didn't, some of the characters in this story have many names, the protagonist having something like five. Tolkien uses the language he created to translate titles into names, such as “Bringer of Doom” or “Master of Fate”. As the character develops in the story, so does his name changes with him. This adds a nice touch, and doesn't feel to be abused.

The book starts very convoluted, in a Silmarillion “map my genealogy from the start please” kind of way. Clearly unnecessary for literary purposes, this is just Tolkien's pastime as a linguist. It takes a while for the real story to take shape.

Although there are some nice moments involving the world history, these are too vague. It is understandable due to the way it was brought about, but even if it were better told, it is not very good. It is a mixture of a classic Greek tragedy with an epic tale, where the hero is incapable of escaping his doom. It is not the tragedy that bothers me, but the very forced moments, like the characters acting unreasonably because “that's just who they are”. This kind of story works better in a poem, like Beowulf. And indeed it this was the intention of the author. It is better served as a short tale, something to give a background story to Middle Earth. Like the Smeagol backstory.

The character actions lack proper motivations and they fail to seamlessly transition from one point to another. For an example, Turin was fostered by an Elf King from his very early childhood, and he was treated as a son to him. He learned all the wisdom the Eldars had, but he still grew too proud. At one moment, he decided he did not want anything to do with the elves anymore and walked away to live with a group of criminals.

If the Hobbit would show why elves dislike dwarves, this book helps to understand why they also have mixed feelings towards humans. Turin proved himself to be arrogant and ungrateful. It also explains why so much hope is laid upon them, because he turns out to be one of Middle Earth's greatest heroes, as did his father before him.

I would rather it had connections with the events in LOTR, but I judge it for what it is. By the way, it helps to have some knowledge of the Silmarillion, such as who is Morgoth, the Eldar and the Valar to make more sense.

Still this was a nice enough reading. It is enough to inspire that epic feeling of heroic deeds you would expect from this kind of novel.