A review by sayvilahsiav
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 
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Contents
Why I picked it up?
First Look
Final Thoughts

Why I picked it Up?

Here's the book which is rated 4.28/5 by 3,091,465 people on just GoodReads. That's a lot of people. So you can imagine the peer pressure. And so here I am. I started reading this a week ago, to finally find out what the fuss is all about. It then occurred to me to rather write the whole journey rather than just a review after I've read it all. This will be intriguing in the way that you'll know how I felt on every page (not so literally) of the book. So let's get started!

First Look

I'm not really intrigued by the hobbit. It feels like a children's book. Kid me would have loved it. But I'm all grown up now. I like more serious things and faster ones. It's very slow. Yeah, it builds a whole world with detail. That's why there's a whole legion of geeks obsessed with it. But guess I'm impatient after all… I don't know.
I'm capable of waiting ages for a romance to kick on. Maybe that's what I am missing in the hobbit. It has professional and friendly relationships. Not romantic ones. Well, it's not even a lack of romance really. I've read quite non-romance books. And I've liked them. But it's just this just doesn't hit me yet. Let's see. I am almost done with chapter 1. Maybe the good thing will hit in later chapters.

It is like a grandpa's story in front of the fireplace. That's kind of the vibe in the book. Like my grandpas never really told stories like that. Or guess I was just never that intrigued. In those, it's as if the narrator had witnessed all that. It sounded so from sentence 1. He explains it all in so precise detail. That's the thing. It feels like I'm too big for it. I don't know. I know people like these the best. Grandparent's stories are like they have passed in another life.

I mean it's really beautifully written, you know..? I like how it is written. But I've yet to find what's written as intriguing. 1 Star for this. I'd have enjoyed the book at least a bit better if the gender roles were reversed. Maybe it's sexist. Or just that because I'm a female myself, I'd relate to that easier. It's not really the romance thing, trust me. It's just that it's not touching yet. Something is missing. Maybe gender would fix it. Maybe not. It's already disappointing to find out that there are no active female characters in the book.

It's just that I honestly picked it up in kinda peer pressure. I was never naturally intrigued to read it. It's so hyped that I just wanted to know what the fuss is about. But I had a hard time getting through the first chapter even.

I'm reading it like I read non-fiction. I know that it's good but I know that I'd rather be with some other book. Just because it's the taste of 90% of readers doesn't mean it's mine, too. Maybe it's just that. But I've not given up yet. I wouldn't judge on the first chapter (though I kind of am, but it's not final).

I liked even Narnia better than this. Even though I'm not really into children's stories. Let's see. People suggested that I don't watch the movie first because it's not a good representation of the book. But I'm feeling like watching it just to have an idea of whether the book is worth reading. Or I'll just trust those who have read and just bear a while longer.

It's just I know how it is going to be. There's a treasure he seems to seek. And he'll go there and fight demons and on his way, he'll become a better person and he'll come home and be called a hero. It's a hero's journey. A perfect concept for games. That's why I don't like this kind of games either. It ultimately is that. He becomes a hero in the end. And somehow I'm just not intrigued on the how part of it. I don't say that it's wrongfully written or anything. Just that I don't find it intriguing. I don't know why really. Even my other books are also pretty much a hero's journey if you think hard. I don't know.

It's a typical children's story. I would have definitely liked it during school time but now I feel like I've overgrown it. 2nd Star for sympathy towards the old me who would have liked it. Now I just don't have the patience for it. I am actually sad that I didn't like it.

Maybe it's just the character. I don't relate to it. And you know what…? I think it's one of the first books I've read with a male point of view. Except Looking for Alaska but then he was speaking of Alaska. Maybe that's it. I'm not used to that point of view. Not just used but I'm also not intrigued by it, I think. I find it difficult to imagine myself in Bilbo's place, be part of his world, and do that adventure. But in other books, it's so easy to imagine me in my character's position. But look, Harry Potter is so much Harry POV. Yet I liked it. It's interesting, a lot.

You know what else is missing in Bilbo's background so far which is present for my other characters…? A tragedy. It doesn't have that. He's almost a rich brat who's uninterested in anything but a comfortable household life. I don't know. Now I want to find what the fuss is about. What happens to Bilbo so great that everyone is in love with this book? I'm gonna read it whole. Or at least try to. And see what I think then.

Final Thoughts

The lack of female characters in Tolkien's books is notorious. They fixed that on the movies of the hobbit. They added this elf girl warrior who falls in love with one of the dwarfs. That doesn't happen in the book. So I might like the movie more in this case.

Nevertheless, I finished the book finally. I dreaded it so much that despite having a paperback, I listened to the audiobook at 1.25x just to finish it. I don't think I'm ever picking up Tolkein again. Or maybe I will. I heard that people who don't like hobbit still like Lord of the Rings. So maybe I will give it a try.

Talking of the story and writing again, I'd like to point out that as a kid myself, I'd have loved it. It's not the book that is bad. The book and the story are great. Just not for me. You know how we're just not compatible with some people or some things just doesn't fit us? It's the same for The Hobbit and me. It did not intrigue me that Bilbo, a household hobbit suddenly went on an adventure and had it and came back and nothing really changed. It slept through the entire "adventure". It's just doesn't hit me.

The thing is, you don't really enjoy a book until you're actually invested in the story and/or the characters. This doesn't make the book horrible, just not aligning to everyone's taste. The fact that it doesn't have a five-star rating only means that I'm not the only one. Yet, it deserves to be classic literature. It is worthy of all the praise, but not from everyone.

What do you think of The Hobbit? If you did dislike it, did you enjoy any other works by Tolkien? Were the movies better? Tell me why.

Hence the one with an unpopular opinion. Until next time.