The Story of Kullervo - Softcover

Tolkien, J R R; Flieger, Verlyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 054494724X ISBN 13: 9780544947245

Publisher: William Morrow & Company, 2017

Synopsis

"Shows how Finnish mythology and folk tales were instrumental to how Tolkien created his own legendarium."--Boston Globe

Kullervo, son of Kalervo, is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien's characters. "Hapless Kullervo," as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny.

Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and tried three times to kill him when he was still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanōna, and the magical powers of the black dog Musti, who guards him. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruelest of fates.

Tolkien himself said that The Story of Kullervo was "the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own," and was "a major matter in the legends of the First Age." Tolkien's Kullervo is the clear ancestor of Túrin Turambar, the tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. Published with the author's drafts, notes, and lecture essays on its source work, the Kalevala, The Story of Kullervo is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien's invented world.

"A fascinating read."--NPR

About this title

Review:

"The tale blends Tolkien s trademark prose and epic poetry, and it isfascinating to catch this tantalizing glimpse into his brilliant mind . . .Will pleasereaders who wish to unveil how Tolkien s creative process evolved." -- Booklist

"Evokes the mythic grandeur that would come to characterize [Tolkien's] forays into the fantastic." -- Publishers Weekly

"Brings these first fruits of Tolkien's fertile mind into the public eye at last . . . a fascinating read . . . Tolkien geeks will find plenty to geek out about . . . Tolkien's version of the Kullervo story and his writings about it have never been available to the public before, and to those who get a kick out of tracing the history of Tolkien's invented world of Middle-Earth, this edition is a great find. Flieger's edition lets Tolkien's text speak for itself, with all its imperfections and archaicisms; her beautifully precise notes easily clear up any confusion for the modern reader." -- NPR.org
"

"The tale blends Tolkien's trademark prose and epic poetry, and it is fascinating to catch this tantalizing glimpse into his brilliant mind . . .Will please readers who wish to unveil how Tolkien's creative process evolved." -- Booklist

"Evokes the mythic grandeur that would come to characterize [Tolkien's] forays into the fantastic." -- Publishers Weekly

"Brings these first fruits of Tolkien's fertile mind into the public eye at last . . . a fascinating read . . . Tolkien geeks will find plenty to geek out about . . . Tolkien's version of the Kullervo story and his writings about it have never been available to the public before, and to those who get a kick out of tracing the history of Tolkien's invented world of Middle-Earth, this edition is a great find. Flieger's edition lets Tolkien's text speak for itself, with all its imperfections and archaicisms; her beautifully precise notes easily clear up any confusion for the modern reader." -- NPR.org

About the Author:

J.R.R. TOLKIEN (1892-1973) is the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

VERLYN FLIEGER, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Maryland as professor emerita in the department of English, where her specialties were the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and comparative mythology. Her publications include Tolkien on Fairy-Stories with Douglas A. Anderson, and Green Suns and Faërie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 054494724X
• ISBN 13: 9780544947245
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192