Not usually one for high-fantasy and hobbits, my purchase of Fellowship and The Two Towers was completely unexpected. I was in my town waiting for my dad to get back from the gym when I decided to have a lurk around the charity shops. I found these two books in one of my local Lighthouse stores and something came over me; my best friend Jayson is addicted to all things LOTR and so I think he may have rubbed off on me a little. Sadly, a copy of the third book, The Return of the King, wasn't available - but I figured I could pick that one up from the library, which I did the very next week. Anyway, at the time I had two great books with Tolkien's own illustrative designs on the cover, even if the copies themselves are a bit weathered. After all, they've been in circulation since 1999.
Even though I, myself, haven't seen the movies in 10 years and hadn't read any of the books before this week, I'm assuming that you, like me, have at least some understanding of the storyline. However, just in case you have been living under a rock for the best part of 100 years and have not yet stumbled upon even a synopsis of The Lord of The Rings, here is the blurb from Fellowship:
"In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord's evil dominion."
I did really, really enjoy Fellowship. Tolkien's wondrous, rich descriptions and poems were a blessing to read. I even found myself enjoying some of the songs. The hobbits were all so child-like and endearing, and I loved the characters of Aragorn, Bilbo and Legolas from the moment they made their appearances. I did have some qualms with Gandalf though, concerning the way he's just automatically in charge. In the entirety of Fellowship we do not see any transition from an ordinary guy/wizard to a man with such a position of superiority and power - if such a transition ever existed in any of Tolkien's writings - however I understand that in one of the following books there will be a lot more characterisation when he transforms into Gandalf the White. And at times, his superiority meant the plot was a little predictable. If Gandalf said the Company would suffer no disturbances that night then the reader would not worry about disturbances and there would be none; because when on Earth would Tolkien ever write Gandalf to be unwise? What Gandalf says goes.
Another plothole I found difficult to get over was the (just slightly) underdeveloped physicality of Sauron, The Lord of the Ring. I was surfing the internet one day, researching people's opinions about LOTR, when I came across someone who wondered why there was no description of Sauron in Fellowship. I pondered it for a moment in confusion, thought back, and realised that there really was no mention of his appearance at all. I brought it up with my friend Jayson - the one who's obsessed with all things LOTR, and he said, "There's no description of Sauron's body because he's just an eye." Needless to say, I responded, as any normal teenager would after just being given this information, with simply the word, "WHAT". Now, my problem with Sauron being just a headless, bodyless, eye is that, whilst the Company are going to great lengths to avoid the Ring falling back into Sauron's hands, the irony is that he has none. My first thought was of how he could possibly use the Ring to harness any dark power if he couldn't at least slip it onto his finger first. Then Jayson explained to me that, because Sauron created the Ring, he doesn't have to touch it to harness its power. But everyone else has to touch it to harness it, so I can't think of any good reason why it should be different for Sauron... even if he is the creator. The bad guy not being able to wield the weapon properly? Yeah, that was a downside for me. At this point, anyway.
Something I was happy to learn during my research is that Tolkien was good friends with C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. I love the works of both of these two men and the fact that they knew each other and existed in the same time period is astounding to me. I learned that Tolkien, like Lewis, was a Catholic; which I could never have imagined. Then, it clicked. Frodo being led not into temptation (using the Ring) and delivering it from evil (Sauron and the Ringwraiths)? Totally Catholic. How could I have missed that?
Despite pointing out any seemingly negative observations, I assure you that I really do love LOTR and soon I'll be starting The Two Towers, which looks slightly less threatening in length. To keep up with what I'm reading, feel free to add me on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/meaghanbethany. Thank you!
Rating: ★★★★1/2
Rating: ★★★★1/2
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