Tuesday, May 06, 2008

The Hobbit


Tolkien, J.R.R. 1937, 1966. The Hobbit.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. (3)

Hobbits do like to be comfortable. That is a fact. But in The Hobbit, we read of one hobbit in particular, a Mr. Bilbo Baggins, who leaves his life of comfort behind him to go on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with thirteen dwarves and one wizard. It is the story of how he went from being a respectable hobbit to a very unrespectable, "odd" little hobbit. Bilbo never meant to have an adventure. He was quite clear on that. But never say never. It all starts with a visit from a wizard, Gandalf. That visit leads to another visit--a visit by thirteen dwarves--who call upon him unawares and give him the surprise of his life. They want him--they expect him--to be a part of their expedition, their adventure, their journey to go off and kill a dragon, Smaug by name, and steal his treasure. It's laughable almost, at least at first, but slowly and surely Bilbo gets carried away with it all. And the adventures that follow--oh my!

The Hobbit is a charming and delightful though-not-a-thin adventure book that everyone should read. (Or at least attempt to read! By that I mean, while I loved it--while I think many many people love it--I suppose no one book can please everyone. But this one should at least be attempted, tested to see if you like this sort of thing.)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really love this book and my husband prefers it to The Lord of the Rings. It should definitely be read by everyone!

DesLily said...

i need to reread the Hobbit this year along with a few others.. The Hobbit was the book that turned me on to Fantasy reading and I've been loving it ever since!!

Cath said...

I have to admit, I prefer The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings too. Well, maybe not to The Fellowship of the Ring, but certainly to the other two books. Just call me a Phillistine.

Carl V. Anderson said...

I agree Becky. I thought the Hobbit was okay but I feel like it and the first half at least of Fellowship of the Ring are inferior to the rest of the series. I really want to reread Two Towers, Return of the King, and The Silmarillion but do not have much desire to reread the others.

Framed said...

I read "The Hobbit" years before the trilogy. I think it gives great background for the rest of the story and really explains the ring. I love all the books.

Jeane said...

I've always loved the Hobbit, even more than Lord of the Rings. I've probably read it ten times, where LoR only got two or three re-reads so far.

Anonymous said...

I luved the book. really was great in detail and long. I liked that it was long because it never ran out of edge of your seat material. the best fantasy ever.

Anonymous said...

This Book is so boring im 12 and I HATE IT my teacher made me read it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yasmin said...

I actually hate this book, it was so terrible I nearly fell asleep while reading it. I only read it for school.