Tales from the Perilous Realm (BBC Radio Collection)
by J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Sibley
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Book Summary Information
Author: Brian Sibley, J.R.R. TolkienPerformer: Sir Michael Hordern
Performer: Brian Blessed
Performer: Nigel Planer
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Audiobook
Published: 2002-01-07
ISBN: 0563528087
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Book Reviews of Tales from the Perilous Realm (BBC Radio Collection)
Book Review: I have all these in other collections.
Summary: 4 Stars
"Farmer Giles" deftly circumvents many of the conventions of this sort of story; in this sort of story, everyone expects the king and/or his knights to take care of the dragon problem, but they are worse than useless. The only one who can deal with the dragon is a fat redheaded farmer who can't abide tresspassers, even if they are large, scaly and breathe fire. His discussion of the meaning of "blunderbuss" has a nice little slap at those who would measure how advanced a culture is by its weaponry. (The definition--lifted from the OED, for whom JRRT worked--says that the blunderbuss has been superceded in 'civilized' countries, and JRRT remarks that Farmer Giles' country hadn't yet been civilized, so the blunderbuss was the only sort of gun around.)
"Leaf by Niggle" and "Smith of Wooton Major" have, despite JRRT's professed dislike of allegory, strong allegorical elements, dealing with the role of imagination in education, the value of art in the community, and the artist's balancing of his artistic life with his responsibilities as a human being and a citizen.
The poems in "Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Poems" seem like light verse, but once you look at them they have a lot more to them than they seem at first glance.
In "The Hoard", the precious metals and gems corrupt and destroy everyone who owns them; peace and harmony are restored only when they are returned to the Earth from whence they came.
"Cat" starts with the first rhyme a child learns to make (the fat cat sat on the mat) and ends with a profound statement about feline nature. And human nature too. As the fat cat on the mat is kin to the lion, leopard, and tiger, so your typical Englishman who works in a bank or a shop or on a farm, or teaches school or practices law, is the descendant of Norman crusader knights, Saxon and Viking raiders, and Keltic warriors.
"The Sea Bell" and "Firiel" are best taken together. Both the anonymous speaker in the first poem and the title-character of the second have a vision of another world that lies over against our own, the world of magic, of enchantment, of 'faerie'. The speaker in "Sea Bell" tries to grasp and clutch at that world, and in the end looses not only the good of that world, but of the mundane world; Firiel, on the other hand, knows that the mundane world is her world, and although she cannot live in that other world, she will treasure the memory of the vision all her life, and it will make her love this world all the more.
The other poems are lighter and more fun, although "Shadow Bride" is a little disturbing.
Summary of Tales from the Perilous Realm (BBC Radio Collection)
The definitive collection of J.R.R.Tolkien's four acclaimed modern classic fairy tales, finally together in a volume which reaffirms his place as a master storyteller for readers young and old.The fat and unheroic Farmer Giles of Ham is called upon to do battle with the dragon Chrysophylax; Niggle the painter sets out to paint the perfect tree in Leaf by Niggle; hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls partake in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil; and Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the Land of Faery via the magical ingredients of a giant cake.
FARMER GILES OF HAM
'A fabulous tale of the days when giants and dragons walked the kingdom' - SUNDAY TIMES
LEAF BY NIGGLE
'A haunting and successful demonstration of the qualities of faerie' - NEW YORK TIMES
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL
'Something close to genius' - THE LISTENER
SMITH OF WOOTTON MAJOR
'Whoever reads it at eight will no doubt still be going back to it at eighty' - NEW STATESMAN
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