Getting to grips with The Silmarillion: what it isn't and what it is

The Silmarillion is one of the most fantastic pieces of fiction I've ever read, in part because it is not written like a novel. It's mythology; terse and far-reaching and all around brilliant--I think some of the reason is because nobody writes this sort of thing anymore. It's like reading the Prose Eddas, and it feels very powerful.

It is in my opinion, far too complicated for a book in fiction genre. I remember I enjoyed the references, and information I got out of it, but to be honest, it felt like a task, and not something I enjoyed the reading it self.

Some people I've talked to about it, actually took notes, to be able to understand the relationships between the characters, stories and events.

This felt like work, or...better yet a study on something, and frankly, a study of a fiction world is a feat of futility.

I didn't think it was that bad. I mean, yes, there are lots of details, but it is not absolutely necessary to remember all of them. You can in fact skim over the things you don't understand quite, they won't affect the plot too much (a missing name usually doesn't matter! you don't need to remember precisely who, say, Ulmo is to get the gist of it, really [it is not that dense, it repeats things plenty]). If you get lost, sure, go back and find out what's going on. But by not being thorough and meticulously studying every detail, you'll get more "fun" out of it the first time you read it, and it'll have plenty left to offer you the next time you read it.

It's very enjoyable reading. Except for the tale of Túrin. That one was just depressing.

I can summarize The Silmarillion far more efficiently:

It is a collection of stories that share a fictional world and span thousands of years. It's not a novel so much as an anthology.

Hence the many characters, no long story arcs, etc. Break it down into short stories and it's much easier to tackle. You don't have to remember every single character's name, because you likely won't see it again after a certain point.