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rose_pawws 's review for:
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Like many of the other reviewers here this story was first read to me by my Dad, when I was about 9 or 10 and I can still remember how captivating it was and how I hung on to his every word. In fact reading it now I can still hear the voices he used for each character.
Revisiting this book as an adult (although I'm sure I must've read it for myself when a teenager) I realised how simple the story and plot really are. I don't mean this as a bad thing, I just recall it being much more weighty and convoluted when I was younger, I think I may be getting a bit muddled with LOTR, but for a young child a book like The Hobbit was a lot more challenging that the things the school were trying to make us read.
I think that what makes this book so good is that it's so easily accessible, depending on your age and mood it becomes an exciting adventure story, an insight into good and evil, a poignant study on the traits of men, bravery, greed, perseverance, friendship, the effects of riches. It's got poetry, it's own maps, anything you could want is here somewhere. The hero Bilbo is unassuming and likeable, you're rooting for him from page one. The ending, although poignant, leaves you with a feeling of determination to be a better, nicer person like Bilbo. A hero even.
Each time you read this book you can find something different, but at the same time if you just want to read it quickly at face value as a good story you can, and you will still enjoy it.
Maybe the greatest praise I can give is that both as a child and an adult whilst I'm reading this book I'm 100% convinced that this is real life, history that actually happened. For a story of this genre it is totally and convincingly believable. I wish it were all real, a little more magic and adventure in our lives can only be a good thing.
The only tiny criticism I can find isn't re the story at all, but rather the Kindle version, a book like The Hobbit looses so much of its charm when only electronic. I found myself reading and thinking I missed my dad's old green book, with the wafer-thin 'bible paper' pages I had to be so careful of when borrowing!
Revisiting this book as an adult (although I'm sure I must've read it for myself when a teenager) I realised how simple the story and plot really are. I don't mean this as a bad thing, I just recall it being much more weighty and convoluted when I was younger, I think I may be getting a bit muddled with LOTR, but for a young child a book like The Hobbit was a lot more challenging that the things the school were trying to make us read.
I think that what makes this book so good is that it's so easily accessible, depending on your age and mood it becomes an exciting adventure story, an insight into good and evil, a poignant study on the traits of men, bravery, greed, perseverance, friendship, the effects of riches. It's got poetry, it's own maps, anything you could want is here somewhere. The hero Bilbo is unassuming and likeable, you're rooting for him from page one. The ending, although poignant, leaves you with a feeling of determination to be a better, nicer person like Bilbo. A hero even.
Each time you read this book you can find something different, but at the same time if you just want to read it quickly at face value as a good story you can, and you will still enjoy it.
Maybe the greatest praise I can give is that both as a child and an adult whilst I'm reading this book I'm 100% convinced that this is real life, history that actually happened. For a story of this genre it is totally and convincingly believable. I wish it were all real, a little more magic and adventure in our lives can only be a good thing.
The only tiny criticism I can find isn't re the story at all, but rather the Kindle version, a book like The Hobbit looses so much of its charm when only electronic. I found myself reading and thinking I missed my dad's old green book, with the wafer-thin 'bible paper' pages I had to be so careful of when borrowing!