Leaf by Niggle - JRR Tolkien

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This is another weird short by Tolkien, but man it has me feeling strange. The story is about Niggle, who is a painter, and he begins painting a leaf, that then leads him to painting a tree, and then the forest around it, and then the ravine, and then the mountains beyond, with this picture just growing and growing and getting bigger and bigger, with deadlines looming and distractions coming, etc, etc.

Sound familiar? This book is actually about a lot more than that, but I'll focus on that bit for now. I think you have to really understand Tolkien's life to appreciate the story. It was written well before LOTR was ever published, and it is crazy to think about it in that context. Tolkien, like Niggle, was busy trying to write his stories but of course his world just kept getting bigger and more complex and he could never finish. He was as high as one can go in his career at Oxford, yet all he wanted to do was get back to his growing canvas.

But the crazier part, and the part that broke my heart, was that in this book, nobody cares about Niggle's work. Niggle is taken away, and his canvas was used to patch up the neighbors roof. All remnants of it and Niggle himself are eventually completely forgotten, his masterpiece never being appreciated. Nobody in this world cares about things that are not practical and they judge Niggle for never contributing anything meaningful to the world.

Can you imagine a time where JRR Tolkien was despairing at the thought of his creation being forgotten completely? The book is a comfort in a way, because Niggle is able to one day complete his work and move on in a sort of afterlife dream. But at this point, Tolkien had only sold The Hobbit and I think it was clear that people only thought his stories were fit for children. In fact, I wonder if Tolkien's role in history was enabling people to continue to embrace wonder and imagination into adulthood - almost as if he paved the way, and overcoming ridicule to do so. I think it's cool that the ending to this story is quite somber and sobering, but in real life this particular story has a happy ending with millions of people in awe of the final product.

I just thought this story was so important in so many ways. The nature of art, of wonder and magic, of appreciating creation. I thought it was such an interesting look at the heart of one of the world's greatest ever creatives. This tiny little story hit me hard. A profound impact. I don't think it answers any questions, but asks many and leaves you with a million thoughts swirling around. A truly moving piece.