I listened to the Silmarillion a couple months back. Strong recommend! That’s it, that’s the post, cut here. This was my first time through the JRR Tolkien Basement Tapes. (The History of Middle Earth are the Bootleg Series I guess?) He’s the genre’s Mount Fuji, I know, but when I was a kid I bounced off the Valaquenta. I wanted to know about Beren and Luthien and the ride of Fingolfin and the fall of Gondolin and Gil-galad and the battles against Morgoth, and all that’s in there, but you also have to get through an exhaustive description of each Valar first, and the long long journey of the elves west to Valinor. It’s of a piece with the epic / scriptural models, yes, the Bible has its begats and the Iliad has Book 2 where Homer does the Marvel Comics crossover event team-up page for every Achean culture hero, but it was rough going for this expectant eight-year-old. Though I ran out of steam right after the death of the trees, when the tragic cascade begins. Maybe it was dread that stopped me.
So, so true. Your post makes me think of little stories and big stories -- I am, having reached my chess goal (at last!), back firmly in the land of consuming story, this time absorbing Unwell https://www.unwellpodcast.com/ -- a Gothic and eldritch tale of galaxies and indescribable horrors... and the struggles of a middle-aged woman who moves into a small town to take care of her mother, and the complicated and fraught love they have for each other. Having read and enjoyed my share of Monsters from the Abyss, I find this telling of an eldritch story ten times more compelling, set as it is against a background of fights and hugs and being there for your parent as they age.
So, so true. Your post makes me think of little stories and big stories -- I am, having reached my chess goal (at last!), back firmly in the land of consuming story, this time absorbing Unwell https://www.unwellpodcast.com/ -- a Gothic and eldritch tale of galaxies and indescribable horrors... and the struggles of a middle-aged woman who moves into a small town to take care of her mother, and the complicated and fraught love they have for each other. Having read and enjoyed my share of Monsters from the Abyss, I find this telling of an eldritch story ten times more compelling, set as it is against a background of fights and hugs and being there for your parent as they age.
I love this comparison—I'll check that podcast out when I have a minute. Congratulations on your chess successes!