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Originally Posted by Esty
It amuses me that the author is more tolerant than some of his fans; he allowed those who aren't interested in his appendices on languages etc. to "neglect these pages; and the strange names that they meet they may, of course, pronounce as they like."
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That's good because I frequently do pronounce things just as I please, mostly out of habit and that once a thing enters my mind it tends to be memorised in a certain way and it's hard to change that. Plus when I first read the books I most certainly did NOT turn to the page giving correct pronunciations first!
And anyway, I always say Tol-kin, not Tol-keen. And I don't care
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Originally Posted by Legate
I did not fully realise, till the time I re-read this foreword now, that actually, the most brilliant or at least one of the best books (as some minimalists could say) in the world was written almost whole during the time of the Second World War. I mean, isn't it strange? Just think about it. I don't know what do you imagine when someone says "1939-45", probably depends on where you come from and other factors, but I think: battles, people dying, bombardements, innocent people dying, concentration camps, the most horrible deeds against humanity, gestapo, ending with an image of tanks passing through silent, half-destroyed city with houses with doors locked, blinds pulled... and now I should also add to this chain of images the image of the Professor sitting somewhere and writing LotR? This LotR? This fantastic, beautiful, kind book we all so love to read? It is in complete contrast?
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Good stuff, and I can just picture Tolkien locked away in his little room writing away. Writing under the strict conditions of the blackout and limited fuel supplies, he was no doubt writing with his nose a couple of inches off the paper, hoping no chinks of light would show. If he was writing during the blitz itself, then he will also have been disturbed by air raids; I wonder if his precious drafts of Rings stayed up in his study while he joined the family in the shelter? No doubt they did.
I'm tempted now to go and look in the Companion & Guide to see what his life involved during wartime - as it must have been like mine now, not enough hours in the day!
