The Story of Kullervo was JRR Tolkien’s first attempt at writing prose (he wrote some poetry earlier). Already his talent and ability as a writer shows! The story is based on a part of the Finnish epic poem the Kalelava, which was a written version of long passed down Finnish narrated folklore.

Tolkien never wrote a finalized edition of the story, and it was only published a few years ago, long after his death of course. He did however, morph the idea into "Of Turin Turambar", which was a major part of The Silmarillion. So, if you have read The Silmarillion, you have the gist of the story. The Story of Kullervo is still well worth reading however, showing how Tolkien had his beginning ideas and the changes that he made when he wrote "Of Turin Turambar". It is also interesting reading for itself alone.

A caveat, when you read the story, make sure that you reference the notes listed after the text, because otherwise you may become very confused! The notes are not referenced at all in the text itself, but in the after-notes there are page numbers to indicate what they are referencing. I mention this because Tolkien used different character names for the same persons multiple times as he wrote it, changing even from one paragraph to the next. The text was printed as Tolkien wrote it originally, the notes are his editing thoughts or explanations from the book’s editor.

There are some interesting essays by Tolkien included in the book, I especially liked the one about the Kalevala. It was never finished however, and sadly cuts off in the middle. I have never read the Kalevala, and when researching I realized that is the basis of the old Finnish film Sampo, which was released in the U.S. as The Day the Earth Froze, and which was famously riffed by the Mystery Science Theater crew! I will certainly add the Kalevala to my reading list - for influencing both Tolkien and MST3K!
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It made me understand that even great and clear writers once were not so great and clear.

I'm a big fan of Tolkien, and I was interested to see a book with his name on it that I hadn't ever heard of.

This story is a retelling of a Finnish folk tale with modifications to suit Tolkien's own preferences. It is the earliest extant Fantasy story from Tolkien.

It is also quite bad. Clearly unfinished, having been abandoned at some point long before a final draft, the story is inconsistent. Character names and relationships change, new ones appear from nowhere. The story itself is also quite short, so the bulk of this book is explanation, notes, and elaboration from another author. That material is pretty dry and academic, but it is interesting to see the connections to Tolkien's later work and also the the stories that it was based on. ( )

Incomplete story and somewhat dry. Sheds some light on the origins of the Turin Turamber story in the Silmarillion so not completely without merit. ( )

Incomplete story and somewhat dry. Sheds some light on the origins of the Turin Turamber story in the Silmarillion so not completely without merit. ( )