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stefania18's review against another edition
4.0
Another summer, another moment of Tolkienian reverie
helenafaustina's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Not my favorite but good from a literary point of view.
the_sunken_library's review against another edition
3.0
The tale is actually only 41 pages, the majority of this book is made up from two versions of the same speech given by Tolkien about his inspiration "The Kalevala" (a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology) and an interpretative essay on the impact/role this short story/retelling had on the Silmarillion by the editor, Verlyn Flieger, plus a bunch of glossaries.
While I don't doubt the impact and relevance this "exercise" (which it is in my opinion, more than anything of substance) - his first dabbling in "Language informing Literature", practicing his ballads and generally getting to grips with "Epic" style, this could have been included as a preface to a new printing of the Silmarillion or in the next Tolkien volume.
While I don't doubt the impact and relevance this "exercise" (which it is in my opinion, more than anything of substance) - his first dabbling in "Language informing Literature", practicing his ballads and generally getting to grips with "Epic" style, this could have been included as a preface to a new printing of the Silmarillion or in the next Tolkien volume.
lfsalden's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.
Wrote a sermon on this one - Kullervo's path through the Hero's Journey parallels what we know about trauma and trauma recovery from modern neurobiology.
Wrote a sermon on this one - Kullervo's path through the Hero's Journey parallels what we know about trauma and trauma recovery from modern neurobiology.
tamara_joy's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide, Rape, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Animal death, Incest, and Abandonment
xknight95's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed the actual story written by Tolkien (even if it was a bit confusing at times and incomplete). It is such a tragedy that the story will never be completed. The other 150 pages or so were not that interesting for me.
naddie_reads's review against another edition
2.5
An interesting look into Tolkien's early draft of The Story of Kullervo, which was inspired by Finnish mythology, though it does read like a draft since this was published posthumously. This edition also included essays on Finnish mythology and some notes on the conception of the story; it was illuminating to understand the context of the story's origin considering how Tolkien's aim was to sort of bring about an English mythology that would be on par with the myth from the Norse, Greeks, etc. as part of some kind of national pride project (before WW1 would then start, so maybe cool it off with the whole national pride thing, peeps).
The story itself isn't a necessary read for those who are looking for Tolkien's canon works in the Middle Earth (which is a fully realized 'English myth' that finds itself universal audience), but worth a look through if you're interested in Tolkien's drafts.
The story itself isn't a necessary read for those who are looking for Tolkien's canon works in the Middle Earth (which is a fully realized 'English myth' that finds itself universal audience), but worth a look through if you're interested in Tolkien's drafts.