Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

When you've spent most of your free time reading books for the greatest part of your life, you get used to having books fall more or less neatly into defined genres. There is of course nothing wrong with this – but those couple of times when you do meet a book that defies categorization, the whole world of literature suddenly feels a lot wider and full of things yet to explore. Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is one of these books.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell certainly manages to fit many things into its almost 800 pages. The setting is England and some other familiar parts of Europe in the early 1800s, so you could call it historical fiction. The title characters are two magicians striving to bring magic back to England, so you'd be compelled to call it a fantasy novel. All this is narrated and described in a confidently satirical style that bends itself to witty humour as well as pinpointing the most despicable qualities of human nature; look up any review of this novel, and it will always be likened to the style of Dickens and Austen, aka the gold-diggers of irony, with good reason.

I was probably eleven or twelve years old when I first tried to read this book, and I couldn't get past the second chapter. This review will show that I found great appreciation for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell now, at the age of 23, but I would still say that it doesn't show its most favourable face in the first chapters. Even I, who adore big, slow-paced novels like The Lord of the Rings and Les Misérables, think that it takes Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell a little too long to get properly started. The starting premise for the story is that Northern England was reigned by a mysterious Raven King, also known as John Uskglass, who brought magic with him from the land of Faerie. By 1806, the Raven King's realm has been a part of regular England for hundreds of years and magic has dwindled into a purely theoretical, academic pastime of educated gentlemen. Suddenly, Mr Norrell steps in; in his Yorkshire home he has hoarded himself England's most impressive collection of magic books, and now he claims to be capable of practicing magic as well. The first chapters of the book are all about the Learned Society of York Magicians finding out about Mr Norrell and debating back and forth whether he is really capable of magic. It takes ages for Mr Norrell to actually prove himself right and subsequently decide that he must move to London and make magic more widely known. Then it takes an even longer time for the other leading man, Jonathan Strange, to appear.

Mr Norrell is a very well-written and unknowingly hilarious character with his deadpan-snarky, book-hoarding habits and I had loads of fun reading about him, but he is not the go-to man for making a dynamic storyline. As I read on about him awkwardly establishing himself in the London social life and making some very questionable friends, I got more and more impatient to meet Jonathan Strange. He serves as a charming, energetic, over-confident foil for Mr Norrell, and he is exactly what the story needs to reach a natural flow. By the middle of the book, there are a lot of great characters and mysterious story lines to look out for; first of all, there's the diabolical fairy whom Mr Norrell summons in order to complete a magic spell. He is never given any other name than "the gentleman with thistle-down hair" and he forces a Cabinet minister's wife and butler to attend all-night balls in his fairy-kingdom Lost-Hope, while also encouraging the butler, Stephen Black, to take revenge on all white Englishmen for making his people slaves. Meanwhile, Mr Norrell's servant Childermass appears to be hiding things from his employer, such as his acquaintance with Vinculus, whom Mr Norrell dismisses as a street charlatan who has nothing to do with real magic, but whose crucial importance is quite obvious to everyone else – for one, he makes a very mysterious and sinister prophecy about two English magicians and John Uskglass.

As you will notice, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell picks up its pace considerably after the somewhat stationary initial chapters. I don't think I've read anything except Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as obsessively as I did the last third of this one. Little by little, the whiplash-witty Jane Austenish comedy of manners had morphed into a very dark tale of magic beyond human understanding and I had absolutely no idea where the story would end up, and I had to know. Boy, did this big book turn out to be the complete opposite of dull.

Illustration from the book, by Portia Rosenberg

Let's talk about the brilliance of the characters first. Susanna Clarke knows how to bring characters to life to the extent that you start seeing their faces in front of you and hearing their voices in your head. Mr Norrell, Jonathan Strange, Strange's wife Arabella, John Childermass, Stephen Black, that completely insane gentleman with the thistle-down hair – all of these characters and many others are masterfully done, but Mr Norrell was an especially great accomplishment. He isn't exactly likeable most of the time, but I got to know him so well in just the space of a couple of chapters that whenever he did those petty, self-centered things that he does, I found myself thinking "oh yes, that's exactly the kind of thing Mr Norrell would do", as if I was despairing over an irredeemable relative. (Not that I have any, especially if my relatives happen to be reading this.) The novel also features a couple of real historical personalities, and the best of these was Lord Wellington, later made Duke. Of course, the point that sealed my appreciation for this book was when Jonathan Strange got involved in the Napoleonic Wars – the little war nutter just loved all the exposition about the movements of Wellington's and Napoleon's armies, and all that soldierly atmosphere. Oh, and Lord Wellington – instead of going overly reverential about Britain's greatest war hero, Susanna Clarke once again creates a personality that you really feel like you get to know, and who is more hilarious than he probably intended.

The war campaign sections remind me of another aspect, besides the characters, that I really appreciated in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – the way it treats its fantasy element. It took me quite a while to grasp what "practicing magic" actually means in the universe of this book, and the solution is beautifully simple in the end, like all exceptionally clever concepts tend to be. Clarke manages to establish the existence of magic in the English history so convincingly that it supports the setting in the book's timeline as well, even though the reader is only given little snippets of the history of the Raven King and his once-realm in Northern England. You really get to understand what a fickle job Strange and Norrell are undertaking, trying to revive something that hasn't existed in England for hundreds of years. The portrayal of magic in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell makes a very interesting comparison with most typical works of the fantasy genre, as it feels both smaller and bigger; smaller, in the sense that there are no climactic wizards' duels, no quests to save the world from an evil force, and Strange and Norrell often deliberately dismiss most of the flashy stuff that we are most used to associating with fantasy and magic as impractical; but bigger, because as the element of magic slowly takes over in the narrative, it places people's lives and fates at stake. If these characters are battling with anything, it would be the darkness in their own selves.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was the first book in a very long time that I read as a Finnish translation, and I want to say a couple of words about the translation – because it was the best translation of a novel that I have ever read. Helene Bützow (whose other translation works include Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy) has done a fantastic job in providing the kind of vibrant, flowing translation that Susanna Clarke's writing deserves. I learned English at a very early age, and I soon started reading all English books in their original language, because the quality of the language almost always suffers in the translation process. There's always something in a translation that doesn't feel quite natural, something that makes it obvious that you're not reading the words of the original writer. Bützow, however, manages to convert the unabashedly  British atmosphere of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell into Finnish that is not only tolerable, but actually beautiful to read. She demonstrates how expressive and descriptive the Finnish language can be at its best by putting in absolutely lovely words such as hailakka, juurakko and villavatukkainen herra (which is the translation of "the gentleman with thistle-down hair"). The only thing I found a bit curious was that "Raven King" had been left untranslated. Not that any reader should have trouble understanding what those words mean (the novel is quite clearly targeted at adult readers, after all), but "the Raven King" is used as a title rather than a name, which is apparent by the inclusion of the article in the English version. "Raven King" translates into "Korppikuningas" in a very straightforward way, and in my opinion that translation has the same dark, mysterious feel as the original title. What would you say, Finnish readers?
Finnish readers could also tell me their opinion of this review on Helsingin Sanomat, from 2005. While I've been on the subject of Finnish language at its best, I was truly appalled at how that review shows our language at its worst. I don't despise that piece of writing just because it rates the book so negatively, but because that's supposed to be the leading newspaper in the country and the use of language is so... Well, what would you say?

So, if someone wanted to broaden their perspective of fantasy literature, I would point them towards Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – especially if they happened to share my love for historical fiction and/or British irony. Susanna Clarke's novel is a very thoughtful and absorbing experience once you get past the first chapters, and it will have you both sniggering out loud and turning the pages in feverish excitement. Although, if you're a hardcore feminist, you might be somewhat disappointed about the use of female characters – I have to admit I was a bit, and I'm not in the hardcore feminist habit of looking for faults in every female depiction in every work of literature.

Now then, to finish off the post (which has been unusually long, like my couple of last posts have been too – what happened to my appreciation of concise writing?) I would desperately like to set up some discussion about Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. You see, despite the fact that the book got quite a bit of attention on its publication and was marketed as "Harry Potter for adults", it doesn't seem to be nearly as widely-known as it deserves. I myself know exactly two people (excluding myself) who have read it, and because this book was such a thought-provoking experience for me I would love to be able to properly discuss it with like-minded people! So let's get some conversation going on in the comments, shall we? And in order to give us the freedom to discuss whatever aspects of the book we want to, I'll say that people who don't want spoilers, don't read the comments, or the discussion questions I'm about to put up next. Yes, discussion questions! Of course, you can say absolutely anything you like about this novel, but I thought ready-made discussion topics might help kick off the conversation. And if you're interested in further reader participation, I could point out that I included a poll in my Hobbit review just for you readers!

• What do you think about the female characters in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell? The ones that can be described as "major" or at least important in any way are Arabella Strange and Lady Pole, and their main job in the narrative seems to be getting enchanted by the gentleman with thistle-down hair. This doesn't really lessen my enjoyment of the book, it just struck me as somewhat odd – given that Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, whose works had a great influence on this one, wrote hugely important female characters in their novels.
• Who else was completely shocked about what happened between Mr Norrell, Lascelles and Childermass when they returned to Hurtfew Abbey in the end? Returning to Yorkshire where the story began was a very refined move in my opinion, I liked it a lot, but oh my God, that scumbag Lascelles cut Childermass' face. And Norrell chose to let him stay in the house. Now excuse my language, but what the Hell Norrell?! Mr Norrell did a fair share of not-so-great things in the course of the narrative, and that last one was The Worst. Do you think that sharing the curse of darkness with Strange was enough of a punishment to him, and did he ever realize how wrong he had been in some of the things he did? I would say no and no. At least, the book itself never shows us Mr Norrell repenting his actions, and that bothered me. Especially as I absolutely loved how Childermass developed in the book and cried like a baby when he went to the stables to ride away from Hurtfew Abbey and all the servants were there to show him respect.
• I'm tremendously interested in cultural differences within countries, but I know very little about the North/South differences in England. Can anybody enlighten me on this? Does the division of the Raven King's Northern England and the "regular" Southern England serve some pre-existing perception on those cultural differences? 

Anyone who joins the discussion in the comments will have my eternal gratitude for giving me the opportunity to converse about a book that it seems nobody in Finland has heard of. Thank you in advance! Should I start putting discussion questions in all of my reviews?

The Hobbit, or There And Back Again

In 1936, a 10-year-old boy had the power to decide whether or not his father's publishing house was going to print out a manuscript that he had been given to read. In 2014, a 23-year-old woman is immensely glad that the boy said "yes" – because that manuscript was one of J.R.R. Tolkien's, which we nowadays know as The Hobbit, or There And Back Again!

I don't know if I belong to a minority here, but I read The Lord of the Rings before The Hobbit. I was deeply impressed by the character of Bilbo Baggins right from the start, and was absolutely thrilled when one of my friends told me there was actually a sort of prequel to Rings that was centered around my favourite hobbit. This same amazing person then gave The Hobbit to me as a birthday gift, and since then I have been reading it more or less once a year – so here we have one more example of a "children's book" that can cross over age classifications.

This is the part where I'm done with the introduction and intend to move on to my thoughts on the book, but before I do that I just have to mention really quickly that all the pictures in this post are by John Howe, who has made many wonderful illustrations for Tolkien's works. He even impressed Peter Jackson, who hired him (and Alan Lee) to do conceptual design for the films. So remember to admire John Howe's artwork while you read the post, alright?

Bilbo's Front Hall

In this age when movie-goers everywhere have seen two-thirds of Peter Jackson's epic, block-buster take on The Hobbit, is there anyone who doesn't know the story? Well, it seems I need that plot summary for myself in order to decide what things I want to point out, so here goes: Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who lives a quiet and comfortable life in the finest hobbit-hole of the village until the wizard Gandalf comes by with the idea that Bilbo would make a good addition to a company of 13 dwarves who are about to embark on a long journey to the Lonely Mountain, which they intend to take back from the evil dragon Smaug whose attack on the mountain ended a once-thriving kingdom. Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarf company, is the descendant of the King under the Mountain and becomes more and more obsessed with gaining back his home as well as the fabulous treasure that the dragon guards. The 13 dwarves and the bemused hobbit encounter many adventures and dangers on their long journey, and little by little Bilbo proves his worth as Gandalf predicted. He also plays the famous match of riddles against Gollum and acquires a mysterious ring without having any idea how important this discovery will be.

An Unexpected Party

I should warn you that this book review is in great danger of becoming a Shameless Tribute to the Incomparable Awesomeness of Bilbo Baggins. Really, though, who can blame me for that? What is there not to admire about Bilbo Baggins? He is the very definition of an unlikely hero who has to end up in tight spots in order to show his best qualities. The dwarves would never have got past Mirkwood without Bilbo! He develops from an uncertain tag-along to a respected member of Thorin's company, and finally he makes decisions of his own when he realizes that Thorin's quest might not be so rightful and respectable after all. There is a great Genius Bilbo Moment in almost every chapter, and each of them builds his character significantly. He accepts that he is small and apparently insignificant to everyone around him, and he is smart enough to use it for his advantage. Everyone should take notes from Bilbo, seriously.

Gwaihir's Eyrie

One of the most common criticisms agains The Hobbit is that Bilbo is pretty much the only well-rounded character. The company of dwarves is mainly a bunch of confusingly similar names with no individual personalities, apart from Thorin whose long-kept bitterness and growing greed get a fair amount of attention especially towards the end of the book. The other 12 dwarves, on the other hand; Balin is the wise one, Bombur is the fat one, and Óin and Glóin light the fire – that's pretty much all you get out of them. One of my favourite things in the first Hobbit film was how they managed to make the dwarves into proper characters. Frankly, I don't mind their under-development in the book that much, because Bilbo makes up for them and there is so much going on anyway.

Smaug the Golden

The Hobbit is a proper adventure story in the sense that there's a wonderful variety of  locations. The places I always look forward to most when I travel with Bilbo and the dwarves are Rivendell, Beorn's house, the Woodland King's court and Lake Town. Tolkien doesn't devote quite as many pages to setting the scene and describing everything in minute detail as he does in The Lord of the Rings, but that's alright because I don't mind having the freedom to imagine. I'm especially intrigued by the elves of Mirkwood – the first Middle-Earth elves I met were the noble, serene and profoundly wise Eldar in The Lord of the Rings, and I quite like their wilder relatives in the dark, scary woods. Even if they are a little unreasonable in imprisoning the dwarves, you have to give them credit for going on hunting trips in a forest infested with giant spiders. Besides, King Thranduil turns out to be pretty decent in the end.

Smaug Destroys Lake Town

To finish off the review, let's get back to Bilbo's Incomparable Awesomeness – I managed to shut up about it for two paragraphs already, didn't I? Somewhere back between the first and second Hobbit films, there was a website that I can't find anymore which posted a rather brilliant poll on Bilbo's best moments. So I'm going to list all of Bilbo's great deeds in a similar fashion and ask you to comment on what is your favourite and why. And, to be absolutely mean, I'm going to make you choose just one. If you haven't read the book and don't want spoilers on the remaining Hobbit film, you probably should skip the poll.

So, what in your opinion was Bilbo's bravest deed on his journey to the Lonely Mountain?

1. Deciding to go on an adventure in the first place
2. Sneaking up on the trolls
3. Playing riddles with Gollum
4. Saving his friends from the giant spiders
5. Getting everyone out of King Thranduil's dungeons
6. Burgling from Smaug
7. Giving the Arkenstone to Bard and King Thranduil behind Thorin's back

My choice would be number 7, without a doubt. After doing so much to aid the dwarves, Bilbo realizes that Thorin has been overcome by greed and the best thing to do is that one thing that will upset Thorin the most. 

The Children of Húrin

The Children of Húrin – written by J.R.R. Tolkien and edited by his son Christopher Tolkien – is one of those books that looks deceptively small and easy to consume, but which I nevertheless keep re-reading year after year. Now I had been itching to read it once more and then write the review that it very much deserved, and the Tolkien Blog Party hosted by Hamlette at The Edge of the Precipice provided the final inspiration.

The Children of Húrin is one of the many drafts concerning the history of Middle-Earth that Tolkien never finished during his lifetime. However, it was among those that he came nearest to completing, and it appeared posthumously in The Silmarillion as well as Unfinished Tales, both of which were collections of Tolkien's Middle-Earth drafts edited by Christopher Tolkien. Even as I read this story in both of these books, it immediately became a favourite of mine. Christopher Tolkien then did a little more work on the text, making it into a more complete narrative that was published as an independent book in 2007. I remember very well that I was one of the first people in Tampere to snatch it off the shelves of the local bookstore and it was a great day for me, even though there was no queuing and mass hysteria involved such as with the Harry Potter books.

I know quite a few people who are avid fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's world in general, but who feel a bit nervous about going aboard The Silmarillion to see the earlier days of Middle-Earth. "Should I read it? What's it really like?" they carefully ask. All this is completely understandable! Tolkien goes on quite a bit about his beloved Eldar and their history in The Lord of the Rings as well, and these digressions don't always seem entirely necessary to advance the plot (on a side note though, yours truly is a complete nerd for history of any kind and all the smallest details, so I was never bothered...) So how would it feel to read an entire book devoted to Tolkien's incredibly vast and detailed history of Middle-Earth?

Well, like I said on that little side note, I read all sorts of "background material" with more enthusiasm than the average reader, so I can honestly say that I love The Silmarillion and everything related to it, and I can't really see how anyone could be bored by stuff like that. But I can also say, just as honestly, that for anyone that feels daunted by Tolkien's style in handling Middle-Earth's history, The Children of Húrin is an excellent place to start. So in case you were already beginning to wonder if I'm ever going to get round to the actual review – yes, I am going to tell you why exactly I love this story so much. I'll also do it completely free of spoilers.

Túrin Turambar, an illustration by Alan Lee. Normally I'm not a big fan of grey, but I absolutely love these colours.

As much as Tolkien dedicated his time to devising the history and languages of the Eldar, in The Children of Húrin, the focus is placed on a family of mortals. The setting is in Beleriand (a Western part of Middle-Earth that has perished completely by the time The Lord of the Rings takes place) in the First Age, and Morgoth brings darkness to both Elves and Men – his servant, Sauron, would later become a Dark Lord himself. Húrin is a great leader among the Men, but he goes to war against Morgoth and is taken prisoner, so his son Túrin grows up mostly fatherless. As the war goes very badly against the allied forces of Elves and Men, Túrin's homeland becomes unsafe and his mother Morwen sends him to Doriath – and as I like to point out connections to The Lord of the Rings for the benefit of those that have read that but not this, I should mention that the legendary love story of Beren and Lúthien begins in Doriath. Meanwhile, as Morgoth continues to hold Húrin prisoner he puts a curse on him and all his descendants. It seems that the curse is in fact coming to action as one misfortune after another falls on Túrin. The mistakes that he makes send him on travels all across Beleriand while he strives to escape the shadow upon him. Each time he manages to find a safe haven for a while and thinks he has found peace, the ongoing war with Morgoth forces him out. Eventually, his path crosses with a mysterious young woman who has lost her memory.

Despite the fact that Tolkien himself didn't get this story past the drafting stage, the final, published version of The Children of Húrin is an entirely coherent work with a beautiful narrative structure. Tolkien's devotion to his mythology and his son's respect for the same and willingness to bring this material to Tolkien's admirers come brilliantly together. I don't know in any great detail in what ways Christopher Tolkien edited his father's draft and what additions he made, but I certainly couldn't tell by the book itself which parts were edited in.

For a Tolkien-written book, The Children of Húrin is very forward-paced and compact. Something essential takes place in each chapter, and the scenery changes in almost every other. All this movement keeps the reader very much engaged, especially as Túrin, the main protagonist, develops with almost every turn of the page. There are plenty of thought-provoking secondary characters as well; my favourite ones would absolutely be Túrin's mother Morwen – the most determined woman Tolkien ever wrote, even Éowyn would envy the strength of her heart – and his best friend, Beleg the elf, who is the best companion anyone could ever have and a total master at shooting with a bow. The friendship between Túrin and Beleg provides a much-appreciated ray of light to a tale that is mostly filled with darkness and doom – though, to be completely honest, this same friendship is the centre of one of the greatest tragedies that take place here. Oh my, now that I wrote that out I'm even sadder than while reading the book itself...

Which conveniently brings me to the tone and thematics of the story. If I was to come up with a really psychedelic, one-sentence description of The Children of Húrin, I would say: "It's kind of like The Hobbit, except that there are no hobbits in it and everything always goes wrong." In terms of pacing, this is an adventure story, but in terms of tone it's a tragedy. What makes it a thought-provoking tragedy (instead of just a severely depressing one) is that it constantly brings up the question of whether Túrin's misfortunes really are all caused by Morgoth's curse, or does he bring it on himself by being too proud and stubborn. Túrin's character flaws are highlighted by the fact that he is a mortal man who lives most of his life among the elves – while the elves are ready to stay put under Morgoth's shadow and wait for an unspecified moment in the far future when they feel it is the right moment for action, Túrin feels his own mortality very strongly and says and does unwise things in his frustration. Exploring the mentalities of Túrin's family and the elves makes for a rather interesting contemplation on the possible reason why Tolkien wanted these two different races to co-exist in his mythology in the first place.

Even though The Children of Húrin is very, very sad, it is not depressing. The sceneries and the characters that we come across on this eventful journey are exquisitely vibrant, and even when the story deals with pain, loss and inevitable fate, it does so in a most beautiful way. If I might make a guess, a reader who picks up The Children of Húrin is very likely to be interested in The Silmarillion and other similar works next. Then again, for those who aren't that eager to learn absolutely everything about Tolkien's mythology, this one is very much worth a read anyway because it doesn't require such a conviction in order to be appreciated. I for one am extremely glad that The Children of Húrin was expanded and made into a book of its own, because it has more than enough story and theme to deserve that.

A Tolkien Blog Party of Special Magnificence – 2014

What a joy it was to find out that Hamlette is once again hosting A Tolkien Blog Party of Special Magnificence at her blog, The Edge of the Precipice! I've been in such a lovely Tolkien-iverse in my mind all day, and decided to re-read The Children of Húrin to mark the occasion, so you can expect a review somewhere during this week. I adore that book, let me just say that now. But before I get there, let's fill out the nice tag that Hamlette has made for her blog party.

1. Who introduced you to Tolkien's stories?

I got interested in Tolkien all on my own – though there's no doubt that the massive Tolkien hype of the day (the Return of the King film had just come out) had much to do with the reason why I got intrigued in the first place.

2. How old were you when you first ventured into Middle-Earth?

Like I said, all the LOTR films had been made when I started reading the book, so it must have been somewhere in 2004... which means I was thirteen years old. Funny, I was quite sure that I'd been a couple of years younger than that, but it must be thirteen.

3. Did you read the books first, or see the movie versions first?

I definitely read The Lord of the Rings before seeing any of the films. Possibly, I saw the films before I read The Hobbit or any other Middle-Earth related books.

4. A dragon or a balrog – which would you rather fight?

What a scary choice to make! I would go with the dragon, because they have exactly one redeeming feature compared to balrogs – they don't live deep underneath creepy mountain passageways. So with a dragon, there would be a smaller chance that I'd end up fighting somewhere pitch-black underground. Oh, and the dragon might even have the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch. One can always hope.

5. Who are three of your favourite characters? (Feel free to elaborate on why)

No matter how hard I think about this, I'll have to go with the same three characters that I named in last year's Tolkien blog party. I'll try to elaborate differently this time!

Number 1: Bilbo Baggins. I remember so well how I became an adamant Bilbo fan during the very first pages of The Lord of the Rings at my very first read, (apparently at the age of thirteen, seriously, how can it have been so late in my life?). Something about his character, his personality and what the other hobbits said about him (mainly how odd he was) just instantly clicked with me. In addition, the last two years for me have been very much about re-establishing my personal goals and coming to terms with the strengths and flaws about my personality, and I've found even more respect for Bilbo as an immensely inspirational character. I also think it's quite an accomplishment that he goes on quite cheerfully about his life and outlandish contacts "outsiders" despite what practically everyone in Hobbiton says about him. Bilbo just is the most awesome hobbit in my mind, and always will be. 

Number 2: Aragorn. Two of my very favourite passages in the book are Aragorn's first appearance (as Strider) at the Prancing Pony, and the first pages of The Two Towers when he's tracking down the Uruk-hai. He knows a lot of stuff about all sorts of lore, is just the man you want when a fight breaks out, and has wonderful understanding and compassion to people and races that are very different than him. Despite all this wonderfulness, I've never felt that his character is too perfect. 

Number 3: Éowyn. The Lord of the Rings is even more male-centric than Shakespeare's plays, which is saying something, but at least there's Éowyn. She carries a great mental burden all her life feeling like she can't rise up to her aspirations because she is a woman but never hesitates to show her loyalty to others. I respect her characterization more each time I re-read The Lord of the Rings. (But I still don't like Miranda Otto's portrayal of her, sadly.)

6. Have you ever dressed up like a Tolkien character?

I haven't, but now that I think of it, that would be so much fun. There would be so many great costumes to choose from...

7. If someone asks you to go on an adventure, how do you respond?

"Heck yes! Can you give me ten minutes to pack?"

8. Have you read any of the "history of Middle-Earth" books?

I haven't, but I saw them on the library's shelves just this week and was sorely tempted to borrow some. However, I already have so much to read right now and Middle-Earth is the kind of thing you really want to give your full attention.

9. Would you rather drink a bowl of Ent Draught or a glass of Old Winyards?

I don't drink anything with alcohol, so it would be Ent Draught. I would probably love it, it sounds so fresh and vitalizing. But then again, I wouldn't necessarily want the side-effect of growing taller... Yes, I'm saying that even though I'm no more than 155 cm tall. I like my size!

10. List up to ten of your favourite lines/quotes from the books or movies.

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” 

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” 

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” 

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” 

“May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” 

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep...that have taken hold.” 

“Where did you go to, if I may ask?' said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.
To look ahead,' said he.
And what brought you back in the nick of time?'
Looking behind,' said he.” 

"But no living man am I! You look upon a woman."

Great Movie Expectations

I've been thinking whether I should blog about movies in addition to books, theatre and music. Well, obviously I've reviewed a couple of movie musicals already, but that's because they're, you know, musicals. So far, I've decided that I might at least talk about movies that are based on books! I won't change the sub-heading to "my thoughts on music, theatre, literature & films" though – that would look a bit clumsy, don't you think?

Today, however, I'm going to talk about some trailers instead of actual films. There's two films coming up that I can't wait to see!

More trailers of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug have come up after this first teaser, but it's still my favourite from all of them. I think the main reason for this is King Thranduil, played by Lee Pace! When he appeared in the trailer, I stopped breathing for a while. I promise you I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say that Thranduil in the film looks exactly as I've always imagined him – the presence, the voice, every little detail in his face, and that crown, which is pure awesomeness. Seeing Thranduil like he was picked straight out of my mind has seriously made me wonder if any of my grandmother's ancestors who were burned as witches in the Middle Ages passed some of that witch blood (and the gift of foresight) to me...

King Thranduil, brought to material reality by Lee Pace, first imagined by Mizzie-Me

Besides Thranduil, Elf-King of Amazingness, it looks like this middle part of the trilogy will include all of my favourite parts from the book: Beorn, Bilbo kicking some giant spider butt, the Silvan Elves, and Lake Town. It would also seem that we get to see Smaug already, and oh my, what a dragon voice! I think they did a seriously good job with that – it's clearly inhuman, but not overdone.

However, one thing which probably will be as overdone in this film as was in the last, is the fight/action sequences. I was always okay with all the battle stuff in the Lord of the Rings films, but frankly, I got bored when in the first Hobbit film, the escape from the goblins under the mountain went on and on and on. And there are some not-in-the-book fight scenes coming up in the new film, which isn't entirely bad – I know I'm going to like all the Gandalf bits that were never shown in the book. However, I'm very suspicious about the scene where he elves are stalking Bilbo and the dwarves who float in open barrels for all the world to see, for goodness' sake! In the book, Bilbo came up with a genius plan that a) got the dwarves out of the dungeons without anyone ever seeing them, and b) made sure nobody would drown in the process. In the film, they don't seem to think any of this matters.

Speaking of changes and additions to the book, I'm actually very open-minded about the Legolas/Tauriel subplot, whatever it's going to be. I don't have a problem at all with Legolas being present since there's no reason to doubt he actually was there (he's Thranduil's son after all), and I'm really liking Evangeline Lilly as an elf. I'm really interested to see what these two characters will be up to. Luckily, the movie will premiere in Finland on December 11th already and not months after the official premiere (which sadly happens here to every movie that isn't expected to be a huge box office seller). I can't wait, there's so much to see!

What about this next new film, who's going to see it?

I'm really interested in this film because of its setting. I'm obviously a fan of the film Mary Poppins, and Saving Mr Banks is about the making of that film – the main focus being, it seems, on how Walt Disney managed to get the film-making rights from P.L. Travers (the author of the Mary Poppins books). I think both Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson will be superb in their roles as Mr Disney and Ms Travers, but the film is in a rather tricky position to tell the story it intends to tell. It is widely known that the working relationship between Disney and Travers was incredibly strained, and Travers was very displeased with the film Mary Poppins. So how is Saving Mr Banks, produced by Walt Disney Pictures (yes, really), featuring the father/hero/god figure behind that very same enterprise, going to handle a story where, in real life, someone (Travers) very vocally expressed how they disapproved of something Walt Disney did? Something tells me the film is not going to show P.L. Travers' negative reaction to Mary Poppins, and I think even people who don't have Medieval witch genes can agree with me. So there are a couple of other options.

1) Portray P.L. Travers as an unreasonably critical kill-joy and Walt Disney as the good guy who makes people's dreams come true. This way, the film can justify the fact that Ms Travers hated the Mary Poppins film by "well, she was just a cranky British lady who couldn't be pleased no matter what you tried to do."

or

2) Just take some artistic liberties and make it so that in the end P.L. Travers loves the outcome of Mary Poppins and Walt Disney gets to be the hero who convinced the cranky British lady.

So yes, I'm a bit skeptical about the accuracy of Saving Mr Banks, but I'm sure it will be fun to watch otherwise. It's got two leading actors that I respect very much, the music in the soundtrack is great, and the bits with the Sherman brothers (the two guys behind the piano who made the songs for Mary Poppins) are very funny. The film is officially released in December, but it looks like the Finnish premiere will be near the end of February (see what I told you about Finnish movie release dates?)

A Tolkien Blog Party of Special Magnificence

So it's not just a Celebrate Musicals Week now – it's also a Tolkien Blog Party Week, hosted at The Edge of the Precipice! It's going to be a busy week with both of these parties going on, but it's sure to be a lot of fun too. And I was quite embarrassed to notice that the 22nd was in fact a Sunday, not a Monday like I thought, so that's why I'm late for this. So typical of me. But let's get on with the Tolkien celebration now and answer these questions by Hamlette! Late happy birthday to Bilbo and Frodo!

1.  Have you read The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit? If so, how many times?

Of course, both! How many times, though? I remember reading The Lord of the Rings three times in Finnish before I switched into the English version, and in the last couple of years I've had the habit of reading it every summer. The same goes with The Hobbit. 

2.  Have you seen any movies based on them?

I've seen all the Jackson movies made so far (including the first part of The Hobbit) and even the Ralph Bakshi animated version which was a rather interesting experience.
3.  Who first introduced you to Middle Earth?

Nobody really – I just got interested in the books after hearing everyone talk about them, and the Jackson movies (all three of which had come out by then but which I hadn't seen).


4.  Who are your three favorite characters?  (Feel free to elaborate on whys.)

Bilbo is my absolute favourite of them all. Do I really have to tell you why he's so awesome? I just relate so much to his desire to see the wider world, and how he just doesn't care that everyone in Hobbiton thinks he's nuts!

Aragorn has got to be the second favourite. His first appearance is one of my most-anticipated moments in the book as well as the film Fellowship of the Ring.

I like Éowyn in the books, especially after the battle of Minas Tirith, but not in the movies unfortunately – Miranda Otto's Éowyn cries too much!


5.  What's your favorite Middle Earth location?

King Thranduil's court in Mirkwood.


6.  If you could belong to one of the races of Free Folk (Men, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Ents), which would you choose?

This is going to be such a predictable answer but I'd pick Elves. They speak beautiful languages and I like all their locations, such as Rivendell and Mirkwood. They ride their horses bareback which I like to do as well.


7.  Would you rather eat lembas or taters?

I'm not big on eating bread but lembas isn't just any bread... So I'd pick that.


8.  If you lived in Middle Earth, what weapon would you prefer wielding?

I think it would be better if I didn't use any weapon at all, I have such a terrible aim! I could borrow the hobbits' idea and use a frying pan.


9.  What draws you to Tolkien's stories?  (The characters, the quests, the themes, the worlds, etc.)

I can read The Lord of the Rings again and again because it's such a huge story that I find something new to think about each time. I just love how detailed and complete Middle-Earth is.


10. List up to five of your favorite lines/quotes from the books or movies.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” 

“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?” 

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” 

“And now leave me in peace for a bit! I don't want to answer a string of questions while I am eating. I want to think!"
"Good Heavens!" said Pippin. "At breakfast?” 

"Nine companions. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great! Where are we going?"

Potter things that I've done

I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for the first time when I was nine years old and I'm immensely proud of belonging to the "Potter generation". During these many years of loving the Potter series, I've of course had time to do many bizarre things that only other Potterheads can understand. It's confession time for Mizzie-Me!

• It's probably not even worth mentioning that I waited for my letter from Hogwarts after I turned 11 – didn't we all?
• I envied my sister like crazy when her high school arranged a trip to London. I begged her to go see the King's Cross station on my behalf – come to think of it, I don't remember if she did!
• I once had the most epic birthday party with a Philosopher's Stone theme. We made a sort of obstacle course around the house according to the rooms that Harry, Ron and Hermione went through to save the Philosopher's Stone. I'm not exactly sure what year this party was, but I have a feeling it might have been my 10th birthday.
• For some weeks after I'd read Chamber of Secrets, I was honestly scared of going to the bathroom because I half expected a Basilisk to rise up from the toilet seat every time I opened the lid.
• I wished our house was more like the Burrow.
• My sister and I tried to beat each other at which one could do a better imitation of Fleur's and Madame Maxime's French accent in Goblet of Fire.
• I've exhausted my brain a hundred times trying to decide which animal I'd be if I was an Animagus. I still haven't decided.
• I still wish that I could easily find all my lost things with a simple Accio charm.
• I planned a letter to J.K. Rowling in great detail, but I never neither wrote nor sent it.
• Poor dad had to listen to me and my sister nearly shouting our voices hoarse when he picked us up after we'd seen the Goblet of Fire film. We just couldn't stand most of the things about that movie: Harry and Ron's hairdos, the ridiculously long "dragon pulls itself loose and chases Harry around for what feels like half an hour" scene, and Mad-Eye Moody looking like a drunk, to name a few.
• I feel like punching the air in triumph every time Professor Flitwick does or says something cool because he shows how short people can be awesome.
• One weekend in July 2007, our family went cruising around the lake on our new boat. All I did during that supposed family time was shut myself into one of the boat's cabins and consume Deathly Hallows like my life depended on it. I'm afraid I was so mean that I sent my sister (who didn't get her own copy and was going to read the book once I was finished) mean text messages like "This is the best book in the whole series!" and "Wow, there's something really interesting about ghosts in here!"

What memorable things have you done in the name of Potterlove?