Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Publication info: Houghton Mifflin, 1993 (first published in three parts in 1954 and 1955)
Pages: 1137 (including extensive appendices)
It has been quite a while since my last post, and I'm sure that all three of you fans are wondering where the heck I've been all this time. My answer is one word: school. I'm barely keeping up with my required reading as it is, so my recreational reading has definitely taken a hit. But don't worry. I'm going to try to find a way to get back into it.
I actually finished reading The Lord of the Rings about two months ago, but it is still pretty fresh on my mind. This has been the Year of the Ring for my wife and me. In the spring we watched the extended films (in about five sessions). Then we started working through all the special features. In the summer we both read the books, watching the special features for the films along the way (there are a lot of them!). Then we finished the books and watched all the films again. And we still have several special features to go.
Even with all of this, we haven't gotten tired of it. The Lord of the Rings is worth being immersed in. I'm not usually interested in high fantasy, but since Tolkien pretty much defined the genre, I find his work fascinating. All along the way while reading the books, I wanted to look up and learn about different aspects of the history and peoples of Middle-earth. It's simply amazing how complete the world is, how dynamic and varied. It's an entire world, with many races and cultures and languages, and with thousands of years of history, all originating from one guy's head.
I'm sure that most of you (in other words, at least two of you) are familiar with the story of The Lord of the Rings, from the films if not from the book, so I'm not going to rehash it for you. But I will say this: the experience of The Lord of the Rings is not complete without the book.
The movies were wonderful. Obviously they were carefully and lovingly done. There were some things I thought the movies did better, such as the scene at the Cracks of Doom. But until you've read the book, you won't know how deeply thought out and intricate the world of the story is. I can't explain exactly why, but the book is just so satisfying to me. The movies are a lot of fun to watch, and some parts get me pretty emotional, but the book brings a satisfaction I can't get with the movies.
One prominent example is the penultimate chapter, "The Scouring of the Shire." I know it wouldn't have been realistic to put this part in the movie, especially since people already complain about how The Return of the King had about five endings before it actually ended. But I loved this story of the final conflict of the war. It shows how the happily-ever-after is hard won (not that the hobbits didn't have a hard enough time already). It shows that the effects of war follow you home, in Frodo's case literally into your home. And I think it makes Saruman's decline all the more tragic and pathetic. It was wise not to tack this chapter onto the end of the movie, but I think it would make a great short film.
I love The Lord of the Rings. It's not without its flaws, but its good qualities make up for them. It's one of the best stories of good triumphing over evil that I know of. And one thing I especially like is that every character makes an important contribution, even the "comic relief" characters.
Give this book a chance if you haven't already. If you have given it a chance, give it another one. It's long and sometimes slow, yes, but I think it's worth it. It's just so satisfying.
Showing posts with label J. R. R. Tolkien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J. R. R. Tolkien. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The Hobbit
or There and Back Again
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Publication info: Houghton Mifflin, 1997 (originally published in 1937)
Pages: 272
Once upon a time, when I was a young boy, my dad would read to me before I went to sleep. I don't know how many books he read to me in all, but one that really stood out was J. R. R. Tolkien's famous novel The Hobbit. I could tell that this book, along with The Lord of the Rings, was something my dad loved, and he instilled that same love in me.
The problem was that, as a kid, I often fell asleep while he read aloud, and even while I was awake I didn't always understand everything. So after recently watching Peter Jackson's excellent film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, I decided to go back and read the books again, beginning with the book that started it all, The Hobbit (which, you've probably heard, Peter Jackson is making into a film to be released next year).
What a fun little fantasy! I say "little" because, as I understand it, Tolkien wrote this book before developing the massively complex world of Middle-earth, the setting for his novels. This isn't to say that the world of The Hobbit isn't well developed, but it definitely feels simpler in comparison to the subsequent saga.
The tone is also quite a bit different. The narrator of this story is almost a character himself, interjecting his own thoughts here and there. My dad tells me it's meant to sound as if a hobbit were telling this story to younger hobbits around the hearth. All in all, the book feels aimed more at children than its sibling does.
That said, The Hobbit should appeal to children and adults alike. If you've read or seen The Lord of the Rings but have never experienced this story, you really ought to give it a shot. If nothing else, it is an important setup for the grand story to follow.
Bilbo Baggins, a quiet hobbit living contentedly in his home in Hobbiton, is unexpectedly visited by the wizard Gandalf along with twelve dwarves. Before he knows it he is recruited for a daring adventure to recover the dwarves' treasure in the Lonely Mountain, guarded by the evil and selfish dragon Smaug. Bilbo isn't the traveling type (no hobbit is), but he comes to be as great an adventurer as anyone in the group.
The most important part of the story, though, is probably in the middle when Bilbo encounters a creature named Gollum and a magical ring that turns its wearer invisible. Sound familiar? It should.
Tolkien was the master of fantasy, I believe. And I also believe that no encounter with his masterful Lord of the Rings would be complete without a reading of this wonderful little story.
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Publication info: Houghton Mifflin, 1997 (originally published in 1937)
Pages: 272
Once upon a time, when I was a young boy, my dad would read to me before I went to sleep. I don't know how many books he read to me in all, but one that really stood out was J. R. R. Tolkien's famous novel The Hobbit. I could tell that this book, along with The Lord of the Rings, was something my dad loved, and he instilled that same love in me.
The problem was that, as a kid, I often fell asleep while he read aloud, and even while I was awake I didn't always understand everything. So after recently watching Peter Jackson's excellent film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, I decided to go back and read the books again, beginning with the book that started it all, The Hobbit (which, you've probably heard, Peter Jackson is making into a film to be released next year).
What a fun little fantasy! I say "little" because, as I understand it, Tolkien wrote this book before developing the massively complex world of Middle-earth, the setting for his novels. This isn't to say that the world of The Hobbit isn't well developed, but it definitely feels simpler in comparison to the subsequent saga.
The tone is also quite a bit different. The narrator of this story is almost a character himself, interjecting his own thoughts here and there. My dad tells me it's meant to sound as if a hobbit were telling this story to younger hobbits around the hearth. All in all, the book feels aimed more at children than its sibling does.
That said, The Hobbit should appeal to children and adults alike. If you've read or seen The Lord of the Rings but have never experienced this story, you really ought to give it a shot. If nothing else, it is an important setup for the grand story to follow.
Bilbo Baggins, a quiet hobbit living contentedly in his home in Hobbiton, is unexpectedly visited by the wizard Gandalf along with twelve dwarves. Before he knows it he is recruited for a daring adventure to recover the dwarves' treasure in the Lonely Mountain, guarded by the evil and selfish dragon Smaug. Bilbo isn't the traveling type (no hobbit is), but he comes to be as great an adventurer as anyone in the group.
The most important part of the story, though, is probably in the middle when Bilbo encounters a creature named Gollum and a magical ring that turns its wearer invisible. Sound familiar? It should.
Tolkien was the master of fantasy, I believe. And I also believe that no encounter with his masterful Lord of the Rings would be complete without a reading of this wonderful little story.
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