Tolkien in Perspective - new book

[Eledhwen]

I received this email today from Greg Wright of Hollywood Jesus(see quote). I can't review the book yet as I haven't read it, but hopefully will soon. (It's probably also available through the Amazon link on this forum **edit** No it isn't! it's still pre-publication everywhere except through the links below). The second link is Greg's essay, which asks "Do we need another book about Tolkien?"

Greg Wright: I'm writing a quick note to let you know that my new book, Tolkien in Perspective, is now available through Hollywood Jesus. More information about the book, and how to get a copy, can be found on Hollywood Jesus at the following web pages:

http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/tolkien_in_perspective.htm

http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/lord_of_the_rings_feature.htm

[Eledhwen]

TOLKIEN IN PERSPECTIVE: Sifting the Gold from the Glitter
A Look at the Unsettling Power of Tolkien’s Mythology

When I received a copy of Greg Wright’s book, I wondered what would differentiate it from all the other books about Tolkien’s Christianity. I had been impressed by Greg’s coverage of the cinema version of Tolkien’s epic “Lord of the Rings” on the Hollywood Jesus website, with monthly essays covering the spiritual message behind what was included – and left out – of Peter Jackson’s trilogy.

Greg Wright is a self-confessed Tolkien fan, but writes with the awareness that Tolkien was a man in a fallen, modern world who made mistakes. He has humbly acknowledged the help he has received from Catholic Christians in the correction of his own preconceptions and the understanding of Tolkien’s spirituality. He shares these insights, and I would mark them down as required reading for all Protestant Christians. They help not only in the understanding of Tolkien and his work, but also of the Catholic faith in general.

Tolkien in Perspective begins with a news item that illustrates the enduring power of myth in our culture (that is, Greg Wright’s culture. Some of the American cultural icons so familiar to the author were somewhat vague to me). Wright gives easy to understand explanations of technical terms as he applies them to Tolkien’s writing and thought processes, so although this book is a theological work, those like me who are more challenged in that field will also find it readable and useful. Wright also gives a helpful literary definition of “myth”, which has acquired an everyday connotation with “untrue” that is less than helpful when understanding what Tolkien was trying to do. Using both modern historical/literary works and Scripture as examples, Wright explains the mythic content and why myth is an appropriate vehicle for conveying truths, and why Tolkien felt the need to write a mythology for England.

In Chapter 5, Wright asks, “What makes a book a Christian book?” He describes the Christian symbolism that can be read into Tolkien’s work, which contained no intended Christian analogies, and compares it with CS Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles, which were deliberately analogous, and books like The Left Behind series, which are set in an actual Biblical event. What is it that makes a book cross over from the secular bookstore to the Christian bookshop, and vice versa?

The second subtitle of Greg’s book, “A Look at the Unsettling Power of Tolkien’s Mythology”, is revealing. Tolkien’s books are good literature – still in print half a century after their first publication, and they are ‘unsettling’ and thought provoking, and no-one has been more unsettled by it than the Christian Church as it seeks to reconcile a pre-Christian mythology full of magic and fantastic beasts with Tolkien’s statement that “The chief purpose of life, for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all the means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks.”

Greg Wright is an ordained minister of the dramatic arts who holds degrees in Theology and English Literature, as well as computer Science. He has studied Tolkien’s work for 25 years.

Author: Greg Wright
ISBN: 0-9712311-6-8
Publisher: VMI Publishing
Pub. Date: October 2003
Category: Theology
Price: $13.95

[Eledhwen]

Sorry, I forgot to add the book cover to my post.