Lord of the Rings #2

Just a quick one to mark the finishing of the second book of 6 (1 of 3 in film terms!). As a mark of how much I'm actually enjoying this, I will be straight on with the next to find out what happens to Frodo and Sam as they stride off into the wilderness.

I was reading it last night as I watched one of the Harry Potter films (Goblet of Fire) which really hammered home the derivitiveness (that clearly isn't a word but you know what I mean) of HP - particularly the moment where Dumbledore used his Pensieve just as Frodo was introduced to the mirror of Galadriel.

I don't think LOTR will become one of my favourite books, but I am definitely withdrawing my previous comments about it being over-rated/geeky/just for children. Sorry, Tolkien. :-)

Lord of the Rings #1

I suspect this won't be the last time I write about Lord of the Rings.

So, the uninitiated among you may believe that there are three books in the Lord of the Rings series. If you were a true fan, you would realise that there are in fact 6 books, plus an appendix. I can't help but feel that the publisher chose to present them in this way because there are 7 letters in Tolkien...one for each spine in the box set.

I'm currently about half way through the second book, which means that the ring has set out and is now on its way south. Or, alternatively, about a quarter of the way through in total (I'm not planning to read the appendix!).

I have always resolutely avoided LOTR - haven't seen the films, had no interest at all in the books. The Hobbit as an hors d'oeuvre didn't exactly whet my appetite either, and I approached this box set with trepidation, reluctance, and chiefly a desire to get them ticked off the list. Please don't judge me but (whispers) I am actually enjoying them so far. Shhhhhhhhhhh.

The story is much more gripping when there's action going on - I found myself skim-reading at the beginning of book two, when there was feasting, re-capping, songs and tales of times past. However, once the quest is ongoing...I struggled to put it down.

I have to say, though, and I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this, that I'd never realised how heavily the Harry Potter books draw from the concepts in LOTR. Dementors? Surely based on the Black Riders. The name of an evil that cannot be spoken lest the attention of that evil be drawn to you? And don't get me started on the Gandalf/Dumbledore parallels. It may be unfair to comment on the Gandalf/Dumbledore similarities, and I don't mean just the use of a wizard - more the figure who is pivotal to the story, and has knowledge and power beyond that of the rest of the characters, but has frailties and weaknesses too. I feel slightly disappointed in J K Rowling - perhaps I should have read LOTR first!

More thoughts will, I'm sure, follow, when I've finished reading it...

The Hobbit

Another book down - I've just finished The Hobbit. I think I made a token effort at starting this years ago and didn't get very far. I have very little interest in this as a genre, which is why I have never read any LOTR, or seen the films. However, one of the interesting things about this challenge is the removal of my personal taste from the decision as to what I read next, and it is definitely forcing me to widen my literary horizons.

I don't really know what to say about the Hobbit. It's very readable, although I have to confess to only skim-reading the songs, but I find it difficult to care about the outcome of a story that doesn't have any people in it. The depictions of dwarves, elves and goblins exactly mirror the standard literary definitions of those species, although I don't know if that's because Tolkien coined these characteristics. My ignorance showing itself, I think. If one feels so inclined, there are some general principles, or life lessons, that can be drawn from the Hobbit - the pursuit of money above all else erodes relationships & leads to conflict; a higher cause can unify parties previously divided by conflict over riches; the power of encouragement and affirmation in bringing about change (Bilbo believing that he could be useful and take the lead, because Gandalf has told him so); it's always a bad idea to leave the path in the woods; travelling down a river in a barrel will always be an uncomfortable experience.

The theme of food, or the absence thereof, runs throughout, as Bilbo learns that it's possible to shake the habit of a lifetime and survive a day or more without regular tea and cakes - perhaps a lesson we could all do to learn.

Overall - it is a book aimed at children, and it would be unfair to write it off for not being very deep!! It was easy enough to read, but I can't see myself becoming a big fan of the genre. I think I might finish off Crime and Punishment before I attack the rest of the LOTR books.

May your beards never grow thin. And remember, according to Gandalf, just because you had a part in making it happen, it doesn't mean that it isn't the fulfilment of a prophesy!