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The Hobbit

Why did I take so long to pick up this book? It’s not just for creepy Dungeons & Dragons kids who wear cloaks, carry a bow-staff and will never kiss a girl in their youth! Realistic characters who are not simply “good” or “bad” (Thorin, for example), and superb dialog are where this one shines.

by John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien

5 Stars

Highly Recommended

At the deliberation of my kind and beautiful wife I was gifted with a J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) for Christmas, something sure to entertain. I found the movies of Lord of the Rings incredibly emotive and intellectually interesting: the epitome of amazing story-telling. Admittedly, however, I have never read any of the books.

As I alluded to earlier, this book really shines in the dialog department. Having known some real LoTR fanatics, I was under the impression that Tolkein’s writing would be rife with rich descriptions of goblins, dwarves, and other mythical creatures, large and small. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the case (at least in my estimation). Rather, physical descriptions of the critters that make D&D kids go all warm inside were trivial, almost afterthoughts. You still got to know their personality and societal characteristics through the power of conversation. And the conversations are very entertaining! Witty interplay between characters, with its attendent occassional sarcasms, is the modicum of Tolkein, and he delivers.

I heard that the whole Hobbit/Lord Of The Rings series was derived from bed-time stories Tolkein spontaneously generated each night to entertain his children. This image was firmly planted on my mind while reading. In the story, the most diminutive of creatures, a hobbit, proves pivotal in the grand happenings of the adventures and subsequent war in the novel. Being diminutive themselves, children could certainly relate to this: the small things of the world making all the difference. Tolkein’s children and their descendants have reason to be proud in this great work, born of the simplest and most glorious of circumstances: the love of a father for his children.

For the interested, here is the boxed set that was purchased. Sure, it’s cheesily decorated with artwork from the movies, but it’s the content, the words, that really matter!