Thrid Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Ballantine Books, 1965. Fantasy

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is a tale about a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who lives in peace in a hobbit hole until Gandalf the Wizard comes to his house and Bilbo is elected the "burglar" on a mission obtain a large amount of gold that a dwarf, Thorin, is the rightful heir to. The problem is, it's guarded by a dragon named Smaug. The hobbit, dwarves, and Wizard set out and along the way, fight trolls, giant spiders, meet the intimidating elves, humans, goblins, wargs, and gollum. When meeting Gollum, Bilbo finds a ring that has the ability to turn the wearer invisible. Bilbo must keep going until they find Smaugs lair.

"Filled with marvels and strange terrors...an extraordinary, a distinguished piece of work." - Dan Wickenden, New York Herald Tribune Book Week.

Tolkien writes with amazing detail. He describes every little aspect in different manners depending on the time and place. The way he writes is so intriguing. It hooks you to the book, so you have to keep reading. It's almost literally not a choice when you read because it's a great book with a great author and superb detail. The writing style is direct yet detailed in a way I cannot begin to fathom. It is a true mark of a great writer when the reader is awed by the book.

"I feel magnificent," he thought; "but I expect I look rather absurd. How they [the hobbits] would laugh on the hill at home. Still I wish there was a looking glass handy!" -Bilbo

In my personal opinion, this quote is sort of symbolic to Bilbo's character development. The mithril mail he is trying on represents his new found belief in exploring and adventuring, even though he may look absurd and how the hobbits would laugh at him. But he wishes a looking glass was handy because he is starting to enjoy being this new person, and wants to see what it is like to be this type of person. After rereading this quote several times, I thought about this. It seems to fit Bilbo Baggins as he reverts to his Tilly side of the family.

The story is a classic. So many different plots collide throughout the book and are all explained in detail. Tolkien is an author who is to smart and different to criticize. The book is great because it is its own. The Harry Potter Series and Inheritance Series were great books too, but they used some ideas from The Hobbit to create their great stories. The Hobbit is one of those books that only comes once in a while. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone. If you absolutely dislike fantasy, I would recommend you ease your way into fantasy and then read this book to get the true feel of it.