The Story of Killervo by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Verlyn Flieger (2015)

Don't be misled -- one would assume that the whole of this 163-page book would be The Story, with maybe a few explanatory notes at the end from the editor. But no. the actual story takes only 41 pages. So what about the remaining 122 pages, you might ask. Two papers which Tolkien presented about the source material for the story, the Finnish poem cycle The Kalavela, are included. They are almost identical, one being taken from a handwritten draft and one being taken from a typed manuscript from when he read the presentation the second time. The rest of the book comes from the editor, concluding with a scholarly paper he wrote for a university publication. In other words, we have more of the editor's words than we have of Tolkien's words.

The Story of Kullervo was Tolkien's first known attempt at myth-making, and while the basic plot was not his, he amply illustrates his talent for the task. The essays give us background information about his source material, which is of interest. The introduction lets non-scholar Tolkien fans see how he used incidents from The Story in some of his later writings. As far as I am concerned, all the rest is repetitious and filler and a way for the editor to make money and pad his publication vita.

This book costs $25. The story by Tolkien and the two essays can be downloaded free from Project Muse. (Look for Tolkien Studies Volume 7.) Tolkien enthusiast, if you want to save money you may want to choose that option, unless (like me) you prefer to have the book in your hand or on your shelf for future reference.