The Story of Kullervo by J R R Tolkien

The Story of Kullervo by J R R Tolkien

"Shows how Finnish mythology and folk tales were instrumental to how Tolkien created his own legendarium."--Boston Globe

 

Kullervo, son of Kalervo, is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien's characters. "Hapless Kullervo," as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny.

 

Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and tried three times to kill him when he was still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and the magical powers of the black dog Musti, who guards him. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruelest of fates.

 

Tolkien himself said that The Story of Kullervo was "the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own," and was "a major matter in the legends of the First Age." Tolkien's Kullervo is the clear ancestor of Túrin Turambar, the tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. Published with the author's drafts, notes, and lecture essays on its source work, the Kalevala, The Story of Kullervo is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien's invented world.

 

"A fascinating read."--NPR

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780544947245
ISBN 10	054494724X
Title	The Story of Kullervo
Author	J R R Tolkien
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	William Morrow & Company
Year published	2017-08-08
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.