It is a book that “admits us to a world of its own-a world that seems to have been going on before we stumbled into it but which, once found by the right reader, becomes indispensable to him.” Lewis wrote in his review of The Hobbit in 1937 is doubly true of The Lord of the Rings. There are lands and places, peoples, nations, and events, that have this living, organic quality, such that you feel as if Tolkien were pulling back the veil and ushering you into a place which actually existed. The Road goes ever on and onĪnother of the wonders of The Lord of the Rings is that it reads very much like a history. Of all the characters in the novel, it is Sam who grows the most, from a humble, obscure gardner, to one of the most celebrated heroes of Middle-earth. His devotion to Frodo and to what is good and right is unshakable. Simple though he is, there is an uncomplicated sincerity about everything he does. Of the hobbit characters featured in the novel ( side note: though released as a trilogy, The Lord of the Rings was originally composed as a single novel and I will be treating it as such for the purposes of this review) Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, are the central characters, though Bilbo, whose exploits feature prominently in The Hobbit does have an important role in the beginning of the book.Īs noble and important as Frodo is, Sam is the character I connect with the most. Though I myself live happily amidst dozens of modern conveniences, there is a pull when one reads of the hobbit lifestyle that awakens a desire for gentler, simpler times. The Shire is a pastoral, idealized version of England, though in some ways its charm stretches beyond England to all lands where food, flowers, trees, and “good tilled earth” are valued above wealth and industrialization. It is primarily through hobbit characters that the tale is told and Tolkien rightly bookends the novel with sizable sections set in the hobbits’ ancestral home of The Shire, a quiet, sheltered, and green country in the Northwestern part of Middle-earth.
Though personally I actually enjoy reading about the elven race and the elven characters most, the existence of Hobbits, their oddities, qualities, and ways is key to understanding the story. Of its many qualities, the most obvious at first blush is Tolkien’s portrayal of hobbits, a small people with harry feet and big appetites. And yet, it is, after all, my favorite book, and really, after having recently re-read it, it is high time, I think, to put my thoughts down about what makes it a book of such special magnificence.įor some interesting trivia check out my 10 Amazing Facts about Lord of the Rings Concerning Hobbits This, along with all other illustrations in the review, are by Alan Lee and can be found in the Illustrated Edition of The Lord of the Rings So, for those who already enjoy this book, this review will potentially be superfluous and to those who are put off by fantasy in general, perhaps unconvincing. Tolkien realized this himself and composed this short verse to describe the way readers approach his work: With its assortment of elves, hobbits, goblins, wizards, and ringwraiths, it is considered simply too odd or bizarre for many readers to even consider. I count myself in that number.Īnd yet, it is a polarizing book which remains opaque and inaccessible to many. Tolkien, it has been widely panned or ignored by critics, but amongst those who have read it and enjoyed it, it is often considered their favorite book. It stands alone among 20th century fiction as the single greatest story produced in the English language. The Lord of the Rings is a singular book.
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