Defending Middle-earth, Tolkien: Myth and Modernity ~Patrick Curry

–published 1997, revised 2004
–Houghton Mifflin Company
–157 pages (198 with references, bibliography, and index)
–4.25/5 stars

I first became aware of Patrick Curry, as well as a number of other Tolkien experts, via the author-related documentaries on the extended editions of the three Lord of the Rings films. Each time I view them I am fascinated with the insights these men and women offer and I long ago determined to read the Tolkien books of those who were published authors. I began this quest a few years ago reading Tom Shippey’s superb book, The Road to Middle-earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology. It is a deeply academic work, particularly the first part of the book dealing with philology, but one I highly recommend, even if a person were to skip to the latter half of the book to read Shippey’s brilliant and well-reasoned debunking of Tolkien critics.

My recent return to high fantasy via George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones not surprisingly put me in a Tolkien mood, so I decided to indulge this whim by purchasing and reading Curry’s book. While not as in-depth as Tom Shippey’s work, and certainly not a perfect work from where I stand, Defending Middle-earth is an excellent and relatively quick read in defense of a work that has defied all odds and abundant criticism to become one of the most beloved pieces of literature ever written. As a personal bonus, Defending Middle-earth has gone a long way towards helping me to coalesce my thoughts on ecology/conservationism and Christianity to the point where I am feeling an urge to actually write about it. But more on that later.

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