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A review by zanybibliophile
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
4.0
If you are craving magical adventures, The Hobbit is a book you should consider reading!
The plot was incredible! A journey made by a hobbit accompanying a group of dwarves across Middle-Earth with occasional assistance from a wizard to reclaim a mountain that was invaded by a dragon 150 years ago. Tolkien did an amazing job of creating a world full of beauty, magic and adventure. There are so many different species and personalities that all have their place and it all sounds amazing.
Our main character is the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and he spends the majority of the novel torn between enjoying his adventure and missing the comforts of home. I love how Bilbo's character grows through the novel to reflect what has learned on his adventure but his original values are still there.
Gandalf is the only partially helpful wizard that seems to only show up when it suits him. He pops up at some key moments, but there are other times I questioned Gandalf's purpose to the story.
Thorin is the main dwarf, for want of a better term, and is the rightful King under the mountain. He is the one who wants this adventure to be successful most, but not just for himself. Although he is sometimes harsh and borderline cruel, deep down he cares about his fellow dwarves and their home.
Their journey followed a realistic timeline, with the characters going through a few seasons and mention of lengths of time when things go wrong.
The storytelling is probably the only thing I had an issue with it, unfortunately, bothered me a lot. It was like listening to an elderly man tell you about his time in the war - interesting to begin with but the story trails off to many other little stories so you have to really focus on what is the main story and what is a little extra. Maybe I just was not in the mood for this type of narration but, by the halfway point of the book, I wished I could just read the cliff notes and move on.
The plot was incredible! A journey made by a hobbit accompanying a group of dwarves across Middle-Earth with occasional assistance from a wizard to reclaim a mountain that was invaded by a dragon 150 years ago. Tolkien did an amazing job of creating a world full of beauty, magic and adventure. There are so many different species and personalities that all have their place and it all sounds amazing.
Our main character is the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and he spends the majority of the novel torn between enjoying his adventure and missing the comforts of home. I love how Bilbo's character grows through the novel to reflect what has learned on his adventure but his original values are still there.
Gandalf is the only partially helpful wizard that seems to only show up when it suits him. He pops up at some key moments, but there are other times I questioned Gandalf's purpose to the story.
Thorin is the main dwarf, for want of a better term, and is the rightful King under the mountain. He is the one who wants this adventure to be successful most, but not just for himself. Although he is sometimes harsh and borderline cruel, deep down he cares about his fellow dwarves and their home.
Their journey followed a realistic timeline, with the characters going through a few seasons and mention of lengths of time when things go wrong.
The storytelling is probably the only thing I had an issue with it, unfortunately, bothered me a lot. It was like listening to an elderly man tell you about his time in the war - interesting to begin with but the story trails off to many other little stories so you have to really focus on what is the main story and what is a little extra. Maybe I just was not in the mood for this type of narration but, by the halfway point of the book, I wished I could just read the cliff notes and move on.