El libro de los cuentos perdidos

A return to the very beginnings of Tolkien's Middle Earth ethos and the Elder Days. A rich collection of wild and energetic tales much different than the distillation found in The Silmarillion, such as the cosmological poem "Habannan Beneath the Stars." There is much here that is stylistically reminiscent of The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron. Recommended for those interested in the mythos of men and elves, or the Tolkien completist. ( )

Rating this a 3 primarily so as not to invoke Dave's ire. He's right that the tales are "turgid, tedious, and unconscionably self-indulgent." But then, he also uses "belike" in a nonsensical way.

Where I differ from him is in trying to imagine what the reviews would be in a world that didn't contain Tolkien's other published works. First of all, I shudder to think of such a world. Secondly, we don't live in that world, so what's the point in rating a book from that subjunctive point of view? Such arguments are simply attempts to justify one's own peevishness.

The Book of Lost Tales is a solid 3. No, the tales are not great, and yes sometimes they are downright terrible. But the book does precisely what it's supposed to do: Provide early, unrefined versions of stories that NEVER got to a point where Tolkien himself was comfortable publishing them. It's for the Tolkien lovers who want to delve into that minutiae. There's no reason to criticize the book simply because you're not one of those people.
( )

I read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarilion (in that order). I read them after seeing the movies. I love those books. Part one of the Book of Lost Tales is interesting and continuously shows the author's surprising amount of imagination. However, my comments here are based upon reading only about half the book. It really is like reading a history book and doesn't draw you in to fall in love with any characters, places, or groups of people. I may pick up the book and try finishing it later, but it's going on the shelf for now. I was planning on buying the whole set. I'm glad I bought only the first one. ( )

Universo fantastico di immagini e di personale mitologia, i ''Racconti ritrovati'' segnano l'inizio della creazione fiabesca di J.R.R. Tolkien. Vi si trovano, in forma germinale e perciò misteriosa e allusiva, i grandi temi narrativi del cosmo tolkieniano, che accompagneranno poi per decenni la sua straordinaria produzione: gli Ainur, i grandi Dèi, che si innamorano del mondo da loro creato e vi si rifugiano, edificando le dimore leggendarie; la lotta mai conclusa contro Melko, il dio enigmatico e maligno; l'avvento nel mondo degli Elfi, creature di Ilévatar. Nella magica Casetta del Gioco Perduto proprio gli Elfi inscenano dinanzi agli occhi di Eriol, il marinaio assetato di avventura e di antiche conoscenze, queste storie del mondo che precedono la nascita del genere umano. Iniziati tra il 1916 e il 1917, quando J.R.R. Tolkien aveva solo venticinque anni, i ''Racconti ritrovati'' sono qui accompagnati dal puntuale commento di Christopher Tolkien, il figlio del grande scrittore, che offre la chiave di lettura e l'ideale raccordo con gli altri testi del ciclo tolkieniano, e in particolare con ''Il Silmarillion''. Insieme ai ''Racconti perduti'', questo libro forma il primo volume dell'opera monumentale di Tolkien, ''La storia della Terra di Mezzo'', per la prima volta qui presentata nella traduzione aggiornata a cura della Società Tolkieniana Italiana. Titolo originale: ''The Book of Lost Tales - Part I'' (1983).

For serious Tolkien fans, this is a must-read. For those who only liked the movies, this is not the book for you! Christopher Tolkien's scholarly approach is sometimes meticulous to the point of tedious, but I'm sure we all appreciate his care to present his father's work accurately and in context. I was left in even greater awe of Tolkien's genius and immediately began reading The Book of Lost Tales Vol. II. ( )