Congratulations on finishing. It's a long, demanding read. God I love a long, demanding read.

First time I read it, I had a similar reaction. Pretty much "What the hell was that all about?" The second time was a little better. It was the third read that left me in awe.

The Silmarillion is not a novel. It is a collection of stories distilled from the huge trove of writings Tolkien left behind. These stories were his passion. Of course, his experiences in the Great War helped shape the tenor of the tales, but I believe it was more his love of mythology that drove his creative endeavors. He loved language.

He began writing these stories when he was a young man. Decades later he wrote the Hobbit for his son. It was a story that was set in his created universe, but far distant than the mythology he was really interested in, the First Age.

The Hobbit was so successful, the publisher wanted more. And they wanted hobbits. So he, over many years, wrote The Lord of the Rings. But they were always an add-on to his older tales.

So while this is a collection of stories there are some arcs that are woven though out.

What would it be like to be an Elf, immortal but not invincible? To possess almost magical skills of creation but faced with a force that is always trying to destroy what they create.