20250509 Friday

Book log: The Fall of Gondolin

The Fall of Gondolin tells the history of the hidden city by the same
name, and it is the third of Tolkien's unfinished "great tales" along
with Beren and Luthien and The Children of Hurin. 

The book collects six versions of the tale, written between 1917 and
1951, with differing plots, names and lengths. "The Original Tale" is
the longest text at 75 pages, and it gives a detailed account of how
Morgoth attacks the city, deploying dragons made of iron and fire,
hundreds of balrogs and hordes of orcs. "The Earliest Text" is just a
paragraph hinting at the conflict that arises from Eol's unrequited 
love for Isfin. Christopher Tolkien has edited the book, and each 
version is surrounded and interspersed with comments, clarifications
and references to other texts of Tolkien's lore.


"The Last Version" was written after The Lord of the Rings and matches
its propulsive and visual prose. This immersive and action-fueled 
version grabs the reader and takes them along on Tuor's meetings with
Ulmo and Bronwe, and their perilous quest to warn the people of 
Gondolin. Unfortunately, the text was abandoned at the point where
Tuor and Bronwe arrive in Gondolin, and we are left with the feeling
that this text could have been an epic on par with The Hobbit and 
LotR.

In the last third of the book, Christopher Tolkien discusses the 
differences between, and the history of, the different texts, and 
adds some concluding remarks to each version. The best parts of this 
discussion quotes other parts of Tolkien's writing, tying the story
of Gondolin to the greater context of the lore.