Tolkien's elves aren't exactly happy. If anything, they're living embodiments of memory and grief. And it's clear that Tolkien was ambivalent about them, in ways that a lot of his readers don't see.
Sure, and I can see that. But I still don't actually like fantasy with Tolkein-style elves in them. The more living embodiments of whatever-the-heck they are, the less interested I am in them. They seem to occur in inverse proportion to my interest in the books. :)
Ah, well, I don't read much imitation Tolkien myself. I'm like, "It's fantasy; it's the first book of a trilogy; it has a Celtic mythology background; it's 'in the great tradition of J. R. R. Tolkien'"-shove it back on the shelf. But Tolkien himself is the great original all those uncreative hacks are ripping off.
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