A piece of context…

One of my guiding principles since I was 11 comes from the moment in LOTR when Saruman at bay in Isengard offers to talk to Gandalf like reasonable forgiving both sides adults and Merry and Pippin think it's all over.

— Roz Kaveney (@RozKaveney) November 3, 2022

I have no idea what this thread is about and don’t know most of the people she’s referring to, but that scene in the LOTR (books) is one of the best-written in any work I’ve read. I’ve never understood people who hate Tolkien’s writing as he achieved exactly what he wanted to very precisely with his words — which is more than I can say for most writers.

Saruman’s speech after he’s defeated is so convincing it almost swayed me. That chapter is one of the few times where I thought, I wish I could’ve written that.