The Lays of Beleriand by J. R. R. Tolkien - Sep 1987

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Sep 1987. New Ed. Paperback. It is just two poems - unfinished - plus fragments of several more abandoned after a couple of pages, and loads of editorial info on top of that.\nYes, but - this is gorgeous writing. The pain of Túrin is as real and gripping as the 'Silmarillion' account was factual and distant, and the love of Beren and Lúthien shines with the power unrivalled in the rest of Tolkien's writing. And that's saying a lot! The unfinished aspect of the works just serves as a reminder of the difficulty with which work of this magnitude is achieved - as well as the fragility of creative impulse that sustains it.\nRather than despair over what is left unsaid, I find myself turning to this book more often than to 'The Lord of the Rings' - the power and the relative brevity (so that much can be ingested in one sitting - the verse is extremely readable) of the works make me fall instantly in love with them every time!