[anticitizen]

I can summarize The Silmarillion far more efficiently:

It is a collection of stories that share a fictional world and span thousands of years. It's not a novel so much as an anthology.

Hence the many characters, no long story arcs, etc. Break it down into short stories and it's much easier to tackle. You don't have to remember every single character's name, because you likely won't see it again after a certain point.