This is a surprisingly good, very readable biography of one of the most popular authors of all time. J.R.R. Tolkien was born in South Africa, the son of an English banker. After her return to England and the death of her husband, Tolkien's mother, Mabel, converted to Catholicism. Shunned by relatives after this, she was assisted by a kind parish priest who took care of her two sons after she died at age 34.

Michael Coren skillfully recounts Tolkien's life - growing up as an orphan, his lasting interest in language and learning and his battle experience in World War I. All the way through he includes interesting and enlightening details - especially ones that we will recognize as relevant to Tolkien's stories. Despite the secular publisher, Tolkien's faith is discussed in some detail (and quite fairly) with Joseph Pearce's book, Tolkien: Man and Myth, (Ignatius Press) featured as a prominent source. Coren does include brief summaries of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings which include some real plot-spoilers for those who haven't yet read them (they also aren't the most accurate book summaries I've ever read). I would suggest reading this biography after already having read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Although intended for youth reading, the story is delightful and interesting for adults (as well as a nice quick read).

This book is not a "must read", but it is an enlightening read (best for high school and up). I have not read any other compilation of letters like this, so even the concept was new to me. There isn't a format, a thesis or an argument to unify the book. Rather, it is the life, work and times of Tolkien which generate the letters. He writes to his wife, his children, fans of his work, his publishers and various friends. The book is a subset of his letters (edited with the help of his son Christopher). Much of what is represented is in response to questions about his works - Middle Earth, elves, hobbits etc. - and so it is much more interesting to read if one is familiar with his works. One missive in particular was written to his son about love and marriage (MOST interesting). Others relate events of his life. The letters to his publishers reveal how difficult it was for him to write.

In explaining these things, much is revealed about his understanding of the world (both philosophically and theologically). Reading the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, he, in one letter, describes as a "keyhole" view of his subcreation, Middle Earth. This in itself is revealing. It seems to have been very time consuming and difficult for Tolkien to produce his works. Through the letters, you begin to see that this is partly due to the fact that he was a perfectionist. He would let you see something through the keyhole (eg. a fairly brief mention of the story Luthien Tinuviel looked upon as an historical event) but wasn't really satisfied until he tackled the complete story of Luthien as well. He must have had an enormous amount of material in his study and in his head! He indicates that there are only two things in the Lord of the Rings that he does NOT know about - one being "the cats of Queen Beruthiel". ... the point being that he DOES know about the rest in great detail. He has firm ideas about the creation and descent of the elves, the work and character of the Valar/Angels, the history of the landscape, the fables associated with the morning star, Earindel. And nothing gets more attention than the languages used. He made them up for fun - it was a true love of his. He knows where they started, how they mingled with others down through Middle Earth's history, their forms, changes and pronunciations.

But I lost my thread. His philosophy and theology are very evident in his works of fiction - they make the world of Middle Earth seem real BECAUSE they are so well grounded. They blossom in these letters. He can stand back from the events and tell an inquisitor WHY something in Middle Earth happened - and that is very edifying. His perfectionism has driven him to understand our own world well enough to figure out what is really possible in Middle Earth. He makes the critical distinction between what is accidental and what is essential so that Middle Earth may diverge from our own place in space and time yet still appear REAL.

As an example, he responds to a priest who challenges Tolkien's ideas about elves - elves are undying in Middle Earth. Tolkien explains the notion that this is not an essential problem with God's creative abilities - even if it seems impossible that we would see it ourselves. You have to read his explanation - the whole point being that he DID think about it and had reasons for it even before he put it in the books.

It is gratifying, as a Catholic, to learn that Tolkien's good philosophy and theology are heartily Catholic in nature. And to learn that his greatest inspiration, comfort and love was the Eucharist!

It is interesting to read that one letter of fatherly advice to his son about love and marraige. This is one area where he makes so much sense you want to cheer. It is not mushy sentimentalism and it is not clinical psychology. It is the very human assesment of the how fallen-nature and super-nature manifest themselves in finding and keeping a spouse. And as such it is darned good advice for anyone!

You will also learn a lot about Tolkien in this book. And even though he is not perfect - there is so much to learn. There are areas in which you want to emulate him. And areas in which you may find him shy of the mark. You can do your own philosophizing about where to draw that line - and his manner and style - so humble - INVITES you to reflect like this. This book is like a life experience. His life is, after all, another life. It is good and not so good and filled with the decisions that help make us who we are.

What a happy thing, especially after all the Harry Potter fuss, to have such a revival in interest in the great Lord of the Rings trilogy because of this new movie (if Harry Potter leads people to Tolkien, I couldn't say much against him). I really believe (and I have noticed this with children of neighbors and friends) that in the end Lord of the Rings tends to be more beloved than Harry Potter. Although Harry Potter can be a little more accessible to younger and/or less experienced readers, the Lord of the Rings is a real adventure story, whereas Harry Potter is more of a fantasy/mystery with a much smaller scope. The Lord of the Rings movies are also making the books more accessible to a new generation of fans.

Overall, Tolkien fans (who are considered rather "fussy") seem to be rather pleased with the movie, and with good reason. Although it's very difficult to turn such a complex and imaginative story into a movie, and the movie will certainly never replace the book, overall I think the movie-makers did a fantastic job. First, and most importantly, I think they captured the overall themes (the temptation of power, the reality of evil, etc.) very well. The characters are very well-cast and quite believable. As might be expected in a movie version, the plot is simplified, several characters are compressed into one, etc. The neat thing is that significant portions of dialogue are taken directly from the book and the essentials of the plot are really quite faithful to the original story. My husband and I (who have both read the books) enjoyed the movie very much. Since we were expecting the birth of a child at the time and she decided to arrive significantly past her due date, we were able to see the movie twice in the theater, which is a real rarity for us.

For those unfamiliar with the books, this first part of three books introduces us to the main characters in the story - Hobbits - and the other races of Middle Earth - dwarves, elves, men and wizards. We see the beauty of the hobbits' homeland - the Shire - and their simplicity and love of nature. We are introduced to Bilbo who discovered "the Ring" and prepares to leave it to his nephew Frodo. When Gandalf discovers the true identity of the ring - the One Ring that was forged by the evil Lord Sauron to control all living things - Frodo sets out to bring the ring to a safer place and thus begins his quest.

This movie is not intended for young children. The story is very complex and focuses on major conflicts between good and evil. Turning it into a movie without making it silly and laughable creates rather intense cinema. Happily the moviemakers sought a PG-13 rather than an R rating and thus there is almost no blood and gore and no bad language or other objectionable content. The movie does, of course, portray battle and action scenes and a number of rather frightening creatures that some young children find too scary even when reading the book. It is sometimes easier to allow younger children to watch this sort of movie when it is released to video/DVD where the entire effect is less intense and scenes may be edited at will.

Although I think that watching the movie will lead many people to pick up the book, I think it best to read the book before seeing the movie so that one's first impressions in the imagination come directly from the book rather than another's re-creation of it. Parents, in particular, might do well to read the book before seeing the movie because, particularly if they aren't regular movie-goers, I think the violence and intensity wouldn't make much sense without being familiar with the plot and themes.

The extended version of the movie, which was released to video and DVD in November 2002, is really worth seeing. It incorporates 30 minutes of additional footage into the movie which helps make the story more understandable and enjoyable, but made the movie too long for the theatrical release.