I tried to read Hunchback at one point and promptly decided Hugo was one of those authors who would drive me crazy if I had to read him. Since I already had to read too many such authors for English (Dickens is my bane), I decided not to torture myself.
I had a retelling of Beowulf illustrated by Jim Fitzpatrick. It was one of my favorite stories, and I adored the drawings of Grendel. Dad's got German blood, so I grew up knowing fair bits of Die Nieberlungenlied,and he's also got a lot of Scandinavian blood, which means I got huge doses of Nordic mythology along with the more usual (in America) Greek. Mom's got a lot of Scottish, so on her side I got hit with a great deal of Celtic mythology and folklore. So I hit Tolkien very much with a sense of, "Been there, done that," and I found the versions I grew up with juicier in the writing. I'm impressed at all the trouble Tolkien went to to create a fully realized world, but for me, it does not compelling reading make. Plus, I have to fight the urge to throttle someone every time I hear Tolkien attributed with creating things like tall elves (Tuatha de Danaan, anyone? Alfar?). I'm glad so many other people enjoy him, I just wish there was a little more respect for the idea that not all of us who don't are illiterate swine. I mean, I think it's pretty clear from my personal experience that part of the problem can be that we are literate.
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I had a retelling of Beowulf illustrated by Jim Fitzpatrick. It was one of my favorite stories, and I adored the drawings of Grendel. Dad's got German blood, so I grew up knowing fair bits of Die Nieberlungenlied,and he's also got a lot of Scandinavian blood, which means I got huge doses of Nordic mythology along with the more usual (in America) Greek. Mom's got a lot of Scottish, so on her side I got hit with a great deal of Celtic mythology and folklore. So I hit Tolkien very much with a sense of, "Been there, done that," and I found the versions I grew up with juicier in the writing. I'm impressed at all the trouble Tolkien went to to create a fully realized world, but for me, it does not compelling reading make. Plus, I have to fight the urge to throttle someone every time I hear Tolkien attributed with creating things like tall elves (Tuatha de Danaan, anyone? Alfar?). I'm glad so many other people enjoy him, I just wish there was a little more respect for the idea that not all of us who don't are illiterate swine. I mean, I think it's pretty clear from my personal experience that part of the problem can be that we are literate.