It has been said that all good things must come to an end. In this case, the end of Children of Hurin also marks the end of my quest to read a book by each of my five favorite authors. It seems like a fitting way to end this journey, in that Tolkien is the oldest of my favorites, and if there was ever a modern author suited to end-of-quest tales, it was Tolkien. He was also the author on my list that gave me the greatest concern—not only has he passed away, but his body of published work is relatively small. I didn’t want to re-read the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, not because I don’t love them, but because I wanted to be able to read something new, just as I had with the other authors. Having read the Silmarillion several months earlier, I was hard pressed to think of what else to read. Sure, I could have gone for Letters From Father Christmas, or Farmer Giles of Ham, but neither of those somehow felt right. Tolkien’s tales of Middle-Earth were what cemented him as one of my favorite writers, and I wanted to go back to Middle-Earth as part of this project.Fortunately, the publishing gods smiled upon me, and gave me Children of Hurin. This is another in a line of books composed by Tolkien’s estate, taken from various notes, fragments, and other unfinished writings and molded into a coherent whole. In that respect, for the record, it’s very well done. The text flows seamlessly from chapter to chapter, and I never once had the sense that I was reading something out of place or inauthentic. This feels like Tolkien’s writing, and if it isn’t exactly what he intended, I have to believe it’s pretty damn close.But what of the story itself?The story of Hurin and his offspring is told as part of the Silmarillion, but not in the detail that Tolkien intended. Tolkien believed that this story was one that could be told apart from the Silmarillion as a whole—that it was strong enough and vibrant enough to stand on it’s own. And he is absolutely correct.Children of Hurin is an epic. It’s also a tragedy. If you come into this book expecting glorious battles and happy endings, you will be sorely disappointed (though if you come to Tolkien expecting nothing but happiness and light, I submit you haven’t read Tolkien very often or carefully). This is not a tale of good triumphing over evil, but a tale of a family brought down by an epic curse. More Macbeth than Star Wars, in other words.The writing itself is epic—Children of Hurin reads a lot like Beowulf or the Iliad. Tolkien apparently originally tried to write the tale as an actual epic poem, but was never quite able to make it work. Still, his prose captures that same spirit, rhythm, and cadence. As a huge fan of epic and epic poem, I love it.Despite the epic prose and tragic scope, the characters of Children of Hurin are very well crafted, and ultimately, very human. Their actions, while not always rational, are often understandable, and while the tragedy has its origins in the supernatural (it is Morgoth who curses the line of Hurin), there is not a strong sense that the plot is forced simply by supernatural means. Instead, we get the sense that these are perhaps well meaning, but ultimately deeply flawed people, who suffer for their choices, and the choices of others. The final scene of the book, when Hurin is finally reunited with his dying wife, is absolutely heartbreaking.There’s also a wonderful scene, much earlier, which really stuck with me, and I need to mention it here just because it’s so wonderfully crafted. It occurs shortly after Hurin’s capture by Morgoth, when Morwen, his wife, is trying to figure out what to do with herself and her children. Turin, the son, says something to the effect of “I know my father is dead. He must be, because I know that his love for us is so strong that if he were alive, no chains could hold him, and no amount of enemies could keep him from returning to us.”And Morwen’s answer is “I do not think either of those things is true, my son.”It’s a wonderful, if completely heartbreaking moment, where a child-like view of heroism clashes completely with the harsh realities of the world. It strikes me as a very Tolkien-esque moment; in many ways much of Tolkien’s work deals with the interplay between heroics, and the personal cost or realities of those heroics. At least, that’s my initial thought. In any case, it’s an immensely powerful scene.The text of the book is aided by the wonderful illustrations done by Alan Lee, who has done a lot of Tolkien-related art in the past. His illustrations are interspersed in no particular order throughout the book, but each one of them is gorgeous, and really adds to the flavor of the text. It would have been neat to see some more of them.This is yet another Tolkien book I’ll be re-reading in the future. It’s a fine addition to the Middle Earth canon.
Final rating: 5/5 stars The Children of Húrin was one of the beautiful stories taken from The Silmarillion (Children of Húrin actually being the extended version of the story of Túrin Turambar from Silmarillion) , and the most tragic of them all. And i agree, because the fate of the Children of Húrin was not an easy one, and it was full of despair and regret. I don't think this is book for those who don't like tragedy, but i doubt there is another tragedy like this which moved me to tears. Also, Tolkien was one hell of a writer for tragedies!Once upon a time, a human - Húrin, dared in his captivity to mock the god of fates, Morgoth. The Dark Lord in retaliation cursed his whole family and for him to watch everything that will happen to his descendants, because their lives will be forever filled with tragedy.The main character of the story is Túrin, son of Húrin. Since he was cursed by Morgoth - everything he does, says, always backfires on him and those around him. Everything he ever wanted was always taken away from him. The saddest thing is, as a reader you know it's going to be hard for him, but you just can't imagine what more could possibly happen.... I think this is the best fanart of Túrin ever Túrin was described as being "dark-haired and pale-skinned, ... his face more beautiful than any other among mortal Men, in the Elder Days. He was dark-haired as his mother, and promised to be like her in mood also; for he was not merry, and spoke little, though he learned to speak early and ever seemed older than his years. Túrin was slow to forget injustice or mockery; but the fire of his father was also in him, and he could be sudden and fierce. Yet he was quick to pity, and the hurts or sadness of living things might move him to tears". I think that just those sentences made me love him. Tolkien sure had the talent of characterizing his characters in just few sentences.Great influence in the plot are also Beleg, Túrin's best friend, who was caught in the web of the curse of Húrin's children, and Niënor, Túrin's sister, whose fate was destined to destroy Túrin. Beleg was actually quite interesting - fantastic warrior, honored by everyone, and loved by everyone. Yet, he starts to love Túrin (not in mm kind of way), and does everything he can to make his life easier and good. But even he could not stand the consequences of being in Túrin's shadow. Niënor is a lot more younger child then Túrin, probably 9 years or 8 (can't remember now), also a second female child (first one being dead) and she stayed with Morwen, their mother - until the time when they will be a part of the curse.The main antagonist would be Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire, whose main purpose was to destroy the lives of Húrin's children - to ensure their downfall.Overall: i just think that there should have been part from Silmarillion where it was explained what Húrin did after he was released (like i said, that part was in Silmarillion)....There was only one scene near the end. But never mind that, it's fantastic ♥btw, those who loved this story should hear the song: "Harvest of Sorrow" by Blind guardian, it's about Túrin & Niënor...and it's freaking beautiful! Under spoiler i put the lyrics:(view spoiler)[She is gone leaves are falling downThe tear maiden will not returnThe seal of oblivion is brokenAnd a pure love's been turned into sinAt the dawn of our living timeHope may cover all criesTruth lurks hidden in the shadowsDreams might be filled with liesSoon there will be nightPain remains insideSuddenly (oh) it seemed so clearAll the blindness was taken awayShe closed her eyes and she called out my nameShe was never ever never ever seen againHarvest of sorrow, your seed is grownIn a frozen world full of criesWhen the ray of light shrinksShall cold winter nights beginShe is gone and I fall from graceNo healing charm covers my woundsFooled's the dawn and so I amFooled by life and a bitter doomTo bring you the end of the dayAt the dawn of our living timeHope it soon will pass byFacing a darknessI stand (alone)Harvest of sorrow, your seed is grownIn a frozen world full of criesWhen the ray of light shrinksShall cold winter nights begin (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about The Children Of Húrin (2007)?
The Children of Hurin provides some great historical material to Tolkien's world of Middle-Earth and adds even more richness to the Lord of the Rings. This addition to Tolkien's extensive historical background of Middle-earth fills in the gaps and fleshes out stories that have been mentioned and hinted at in other works by giving us a detailed and colorful look at the tragic story surrounding Túrin and Niënor (Hurin's children) and the ongoing battle against Morgoth, the master of the Lord of the Rings' evil character, Sauron.This is a well-told tale with engaging characters and plenty of action that keeps the reader interested throughout. While not as enthralling as the Lord of the RIngs Trilogy, or as entertaining and wonderful as The Hobbit, The Children of Hurin is a worthy addition to the Middle-Earth cannon and is a more complete novel than most other source material that is out there. It stands on it's own well and one does not need to have read any of the other histories to follow along with what is going on here.Overall, a solid work that I'd recommend to fans of Tolkien's works or epic fantasy in general.
—Stefan Yates
The Children of Hurin will make you cry--it made me cry, and that's saying something. I cry rarely, and only when something is as touching as the movie "Cool Runnings". If you love the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit but have not been able to muster the patience and dedication it takes to read the Silmarillion, this book will inspire you to delve deeper into the ancient, tragic and glorious history of middle earth.The story is one of Tolkien's "Great Tales" and the text was compiled from previous unfinished manuscripts by J.R.R.'s dedicated and brilliant son Cristopher. Anyone who's read the Silmarillion will know the story, but not in as much detail as it is told here. The dialogue and descriptions aren't as dense as LOTR but the account is definitely way more detailed than that of the Silmarillion.If you're afraid of being lost by not knowing the back story, a simple reading of the preface will help. I think every Tolkien fan from the rookie to the most hardcore should read this!
—Joe
This a much darker tale than Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit. Curses, deceit and never ending woe seem to make up this tome. This being a reread I found that I was having a much easier time of keeping the characters names straight. His world and history building really helped me understand the two more popular books which I already love. I'm just sorry I didn't reread The Silmarillion first as it has the history for this book. Call George R.R. Martin a world builder if you like but I'm pretty sure he borrowed a lot of pages from Tolkien.Not only do I see the influence of Norse Sagas I also feel there are a few influences from Shakespeare and foremost comes to mind Romeo and Juliet. Turin and Nienor may not have been star crossed lovers but they were star crossed none the less. Glarung is far more evil then his Kindred Smaug. To enslave an entire people shows the cunning of this most wicked dragon. The mention of Sauron was a nice foreshadowing.I think Christopher did a fine job of putting this together from all his Father's notes and writings. I will say that I don't recommend this for anyone but Tolkien fans.
—Zorena
