Beren and Luthien by J.R.R. Tolkien was the Book Club choice for February 2024. It is fantasy.

What an absolute gem this tale is, an epic love letter from Tolkien to his wife, Edith. A glimpse into the depth and breadth of his love for Edith laid bare for all the universe to read.

The book itself was editing by their son, Christopher. Christopher Tolkien was very protective of his father’s legacy, and that protectiveness is laid bare in the editing of the iterations of the tale throughout the course of his father’s life and writing. I cannot fault the protectiveness of Christopher when it comes to the love of his parents.

However, as a reader the explanations and commentaries in this book interfered in the beautiful tale being told. The content of the text itself was clear without the inserted commentary by Christopher Tolkien. What is an evolving, changing love tale between Beren and Luthien becomes a stilted reading of a tale with far too much editing and explanation inserted.

I ended up skipping the editorial insertions less than halfway through the book. The editorial insertions kept taking me out of the epic love story and thereby frustrating me. The tale of Beren and Luthien is more than capable of standing on its own without being propped up by editorial insertions.

Overall, I loved Beren and Luthien in spite of the editorial insertions. The language is beautiful, the love epic, and there is much to be learned for the lore of Middle Earth. I don’t fault Christopher Tolkien, his life was spent guarding his father’s legacy and this was even closer to his heart.