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4.46 AVERAGE
4.46 AVERAGE
Wow, what a journey. Who would have thought it was written so many years ago? So many characters that we know nad love were born from this tale. The emotion, suspense, drama, action, and journey make this a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
LOTR is a classic, read it in elementary school with my favorite volume being #3. Smeagol is a wonderfully original, eerie, deceitful character, I highly recommend you reaching the second book to find this creature in its pages.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I first read The Lord of the Rings in my teens, when the movies were still being made. I had read The Hobbit as a kid, but unfortunately didn't tackle the bigger series until my idea of what it really was became colored by the movie trilogy.
In a lot of ways then, this rereading was almost like experiencing them anew. In part it's because I've gained enough distance from Peter Jackson's depiction that I can really see Tolkien's craft in its own light. But I think part of the charm too comes from the decade and a half of experience I've gained in the intervening period.
This manifests in a lot of different ways. For one thing, I absolutely cannot help bringing a critical eye to Tolkien's politics. The Lord of the Rings movies came at an odd time in the American mythos, when the notion of absolute good and absolute evil had a lot more currency in pop culture. And while there are nods to cultural relativism in terms of what motivated some groups of bad guys like the Southrons, the notion that orcs are inherently selfish, crude and warlike sets off some alarm bells in 2018.
Another thing that I simply couldn't look passed were the class dynamics at play in the trilogy, specifically between erstwhile hero Frodo Baggins and his servant Samwise Gamgee. The movies, whether intentionally or not, seem to flatten the class differences between the two, but on rereading, one can see clearly enough the economic relationship that binds Sam to Frodo. And as LotR fans have long enjoyed pointing out, it's working class hero Sam that really does most of the work, from keeping Gollum at arm's length to defeating Shelob and the orcs to navigating the barren crags of Mordor.
I have enough experience and sense not to dismiss Frodo entirely. Being standard-bearer for kindness and mercy is no small thing and certainly not a message embraced by the genre of swords and sorcery that sprung up in Tolkien's wake. But if you are tabulating everyone's deeds it's hard to put Frodo anywhere near the top.
Probably the biggest difference in this rereading for me though was where I directed my desires and energy. The onset of adventure was infinitely appealing to me as a teenager, and the rapid fire culmination of a variety of storylines that takes place in The Return of the King provided fist-pumping exhilaration.
Now the thing that I find most appealing is easily the simple and pastoral nature of The Shire. A land untroubled by geopolitics where people can gather to feast, drink and smoke pipeweed amid green things until the end of their days? Sign me up!
(Of course, the lesson of the Scouring of the Shire is that no utopia -- no matter how Merry England on its face -- is never truly detached from the world at large. Thank Strider and his rangers, after all!)
In the end though it's still the simple things that made this a joy to read again. The friendships. The never-fully-explained lore. The plot that tugs you along quickly apace. The moral clarity. It's a world I look forward to returning to another day.
In a lot of ways then, this rereading was almost like experiencing them anew. In part it's because I've gained enough distance from Peter Jackson's depiction that I can really see Tolkien's craft in its own light. But I think part of the charm too comes from the decade and a half of experience I've gained in the intervening period.
This manifests in a lot of different ways. For one thing, I absolutely cannot help bringing a critical eye to Tolkien's politics. The Lord of the Rings movies came at an odd time in the American mythos, when the notion of absolute good and absolute evil had a lot more currency in pop culture. And while there are nods to cultural relativism in terms of what motivated some groups of bad guys like the Southrons, the notion that orcs are inherently selfish, crude and warlike sets off some alarm bells in 2018.
Another thing that I simply couldn't look passed were the class dynamics at play in the trilogy, specifically between erstwhile hero Frodo Baggins and his servant Samwise Gamgee. The movies, whether intentionally or not, seem to flatten the class differences between the two, but on rereading, one can see clearly enough the economic relationship that binds Sam to Frodo. And as LotR fans have long enjoyed pointing out, it's working class hero Sam that really does most of the work, from keeping Gollum at arm's length to defeating Shelob and the orcs to navigating the barren crags of Mordor.
I have enough experience and sense not to dismiss Frodo entirely. Being standard-bearer for kindness and mercy is no small thing and certainly not a message embraced by the genre of swords and sorcery that sprung up in Tolkien's wake. But if you are tabulating everyone's deeds it's hard to put Frodo anywhere near the top.
Probably the biggest difference in this rereading for me though was where I directed my desires and energy. The onset of adventure was infinitely appealing to me as a teenager, and the rapid fire culmination of a variety of storylines that takes place in The Return of the King provided fist-pumping exhilaration.
Now the thing that I find most appealing is easily the simple and pastoral nature of The Shire. A land untroubled by geopolitics where people can gather to feast, drink and smoke pipeweed amid green things until the end of their days? Sign me up!
(Of course, the lesson of the Scouring of the Shire is that no utopia -- no matter how Merry England on its face -- is never truly detached from the world at large. Thank Strider and his rangers, after all!)
In the end though it's still the simple things that made this a joy to read again. The friendships. The never-fully-explained lore. The plot that tugs you along quickly apace. The moral clarity. It's a world I look forward to returning to another day.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Stunning book. Well written and very full of details which I love
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated