on editions -III

By the time I picked up the Silmarillion I was a loyalist. Except, as many LOTR fans will tell you, that means little in terms of liking the Silmarillion. But this is not a review of the book or anything, so suffice it to say that I loved it. Still do. It brings home the true breadth, scope, magnificence of the man’s creations.

I got it many years ago, before I could seriously start to contemplate buying it. I was gifted it- it had been chanced upon at a second hand book store and was obviously a very old edition. Besides the deepened colour and softness of the pages, though, it was in excellent condition. It was like this

except the cover was a dull blue.

I have since cherished this much, for I have not seen it anywhere else, and that feel of an aged but precious book meant it was close to my heart. Then, another shift happened (the first of two big ones), and- you guessed it-its gone. How do I do this, you’d ask? How can I be so careless with the books I cherish the most? Well, I’d be damned if I know. I can only hope, seeing the pattern of tragedy, that this is Fate. I now have a crisp spanking new copy of this.

Looks neat, feels good, I may even have bought it anyway….but its not the Silmarillion I have always known.