Tales From The Perilous Realm [With Roverandom] (1998) - Plot & Excerpts
The collection of the five short stories and concluding essay on fairy tales all fit well into this one volume collection of works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Even though only one of the short stories is related to His popular Lord of the rings series, the other stories do well in displaying a diverse look into the imagination of the author. Roverandom:3 out of 5It was a stretch for me to get through this story. The ending was long and drawn out. Despite that, Tolkien remained the master of his characters, in this story perhaps his greatest development is Roverandom, the dog. The story quickly becomes complicated and I think I would have preferred it to be read to me, rather than read myself. It wasn't a horrible story that's why it keeps a moderate three star reccomendation. It could use a bit more organization and editing, but I still enjoyed it.Farmer Giles of Ham:4 out of 5This is a very simple-yet wonderful story. By that I mean, the story would not be to hard to imagine yourself, and tends to rely on symbolism of the most popular types while not quite all the way, namely the hero, Farmer Giles. He is an odd hero, but quite an entertaining hero. The magical creatures of the tale are also humerous and often pittied, by their sheer bad luck with the fortunate protagonist, Farmer Giles. His name doesn't say it all, not one bit.The Adventures of Tom Bombadill:5 out of 5Here you finally have it! The answers to your questions from the 6,7 and 8th chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring and a minor appearance in the end of The Return of the King. We get a rich, poetic history of the man. I loved the poems, and that was amazing, because I can't read most poetry. This one stood by my low standard of good poetry. I read most of them out loud, and it made the words really come to life. Each adventure is short and sweet, leaving me wanting to make my own Tom Bombadill adventures in poetic rhyme.Smith of Wooton Major:3 out of 5This tale all in all had some descent parts but I found it very confusing in remembering who was who and what their signifigance was to the story. A very original idea as far as stories go, very different than anything I've read of his, and was very alike in tastes as his first tale, Roverandom.Leaf By Niggle:5 out of 5Instant favorite of mine. Tolkien does his best work here, and it almost feels like an atempt at a analogy to his biography, though I know he would hate me saying that. But from what I learned from, "J.R.R. Tolkien A Biography" by Humphrey Carpenter, I found quite a few parallels in this story to his personal life as a writer and a professor at Oxford. Both where split between their social lives and their hobbies of which they held great value. I love the ending to this tale just as much as the intro and meat. This is a tale I will easily come back to read over and over again.On Fairy Stories:4.5 out of 5I enjoyed this essay, perhaps to find out just how Tolkien saw his work and how he explained the contraversies that go with fantasy of his Fairy stories. I took quite a few golden nugget quotes from this essay as well as some good recommendations for future readings of good fairy stories. To read tolkien in a serious-essay-manner is both insightful and at times very humerous. He knows when it is appropriate to give a stab at satire to support his point. I really appreciated his section towards the end that explained his opinions on fantasy in midst of God. His ideas on "Sub-creators" was refreshing and helpful in my own walk through my fantasy lands that I pen on paper. An interesting set of stories from Tolkien that explores the Realm of Faerie, his mythological land. It should be of interest to those who are interested in Tolkien the writer as the tales have very little connection with Middle-Earth, apart from some of the poems that make up the Adventures of Tom Bombadil.The first tale is "Roverandom", a fantasy story about a dog who irritates a wizard, gets turned into a small toy dog, is found, lost and reawaken by another wizard. He then gets sent on a series of adventures involving the Man on the Moon and under the sea before he returns to his proper size, a much wiser dog."Farmer Giles of Ham" is a hilarious tale of a farmer who accidentally turns away a giant trampling his land, leading to much fame. But worse is to come when a dragon invades and his town expects him to dispatch it too. And he does scare it away, with the help of an interesting sword. And when the dragon does not return with the expected treasure hoard for his release, it is up to Giles to lead an expedition to claim it. In the end, it is his worldly wits that will lead him to save the dragon and to claim a kingdom from his King."The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" is a collection of poems about Bombabil and the various creatures he meets like Old Man Willow and hobbits. Other poems also talk about faeries, elves and it probably the closest tale in this book to his Middle-Earth stories, where Tom Bombadil already features."Smith of Wootton Major" is the most 'fairy-tale' like story here, involving a boy who eats a cake with a Fairy Star in it, leading him to various adventures in Fairyland. But in the end, he has to leave that world and pass on its magical gifts to another child."Leaf by Niggle" involves a painter who simply cannot finish his painting which is unusual for the amount of detail hidden in it. When he is forced to leave his work behind and embark on a journey that involves somewhat forced labour, he gets a glimpse of the forces that are making his change his behaviour. And one day, he is ready of the journey home to see his completed painting come to life in an unusual world.The book ends with an essay by Tolkien on Fairy-Stories, in which he discusses the various types of fairy tales, what makes a fairy story and who is the target audience of such tales.
What do You think about Tales From The Perilous Realm [With Roverandom] (1998)?
Recommended During "Read Whatever You Want Book Club" September 2013Available via MOBIUS
—rcjcamp
This book was so cool! I love all the poems and short stories. Tolkien is a genius.
—mel
Roverandom has to be one of the best Children's short stories ever written!
—Joanne1984
