I had been away from it for a few days, and so I had to read the opening again, which goes over the rather confusing genealogy of the elves--hard to keep it straight, even with the charts in the back. And I have to keep consulting the map to get my bearings. But I've read both The Silmarillion and The Lays of Bereliand, so I know the bones of the story, so that helps. And now that I'm well into the story, I am beginning to enjoy it very much.