Literary hostility to J. R. R. Tolkien | Hacker News Reader

Literary hostility to J. R. R. Tolkien

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9 pointsz79 comments

Jealous haters are jealous. There’s not much depth to be found here I’m afraid. You see it with every successful person or thing: it’s easier, cheaper, and better for clicks to rage and attack than to provide a nuanced discussion.

If you can’t identify the good qualities of something popular you’re an idiot. You don’t have to agree of course, but you should be able to assess it (and not assume everyone that likes it / cares about that quality is also an idiot).

This is like fanzine writing, combative and narrow. If the history of the literary evaluation of Tolkien really interests you, I'd recommend Steve Walker's The Power of Tolkien's Prose (2009). It is short, readable, and calmer and better informed than TFA.

> In 1956, the literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote a review entitled "Oo, Those Awful Orcs!", calling Tolkien's work "juvenile trash", and saying "Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct for literary form."

I would love to dismantle this criticism piece by piece, but others would no doubt be delighted to do that in my stead. I'm just going to say that the year is 2022 and absolutely no one remembers who the fuck Edmund Wilson was, while Tolkien is one of the best-selling authors of all time and his books sell millions of copies every month even half a century after his death. For a man with supposedly no skill at narrative, hundreds of millions of people have thoroughly enjoyed his narrative. How many movies have been made based on Wilson's books? That's right...

> Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes.

Wonder why.

> absolutely no one remembers who the fuck Edmund Wilson was

Can’t we strive to be more civilized on this site?

By your logic 50 Shades of Grey is also above criticism.

No, he's talking about decades later. It remains to be seen if 50 Shades is still popular 50-80 years later.

I suspect not.

For having sold tens of millions of copies, one must concede that 50 Shades of Grey has some literary qualities.

I don't think ad hominems or the success of LOTR belittle the critics here at all. As someone who really enjoyed both the books and the movies, I read through this list nodding my head at each flaw. I think it's healthier to just admit that even things that are cherished can have flaws.

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