The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings

I’m so glad I re-read The Fellowship of the Ring. It had been so long. I didn’t even re-read the Lord of the Rings trilogy before the films were made. It was high time, no, well past the time, to read these jewels again.

Not only did I enjoy the novel The Fellowship of the Ring more than I enjoy the film (which I actually like pretty well), but this time around, I enjoyed the novel more than I ever have. Sure, I’ve always liked this book. I’ve always been a fan of the fantasy genre which owes its existence to the greatness of LotR. But this time I really got, you know, into it. I began to understand the geeky fanboy infatuation with the scope and the details, the characters and the back stories, the languages and the geography, an infatuation that I never quite experienced before. In short, this time, I got really excited about this book!

It’s not enough to say that I love a book, however, without saying why I love it. (This one has been so popular for so long that it almost seems silly to try to explain why it’s good.) What I get excited about is the very completeness of it. Some folks like it because it’s about an interesting fantasy world with fascinating peoples, a deep and ancient history, and mysterious magic. Others like the long, hard quest that begins with this novel. Some may even like the well-told story of an unlikely hero. What I like is the way all of these aspects are so well woven together into a complete novel. There are so many people, places, stories, and settings to like and they’re all laid on an amazing foundation that took the better part of a brilliant man’s lifetime to create.

During this re-reading I found a new appreciation for the unapproachable quality of this book. I found myself smiling while reading it, really, really enjoying myself. Much of the story is suspenseful or sad, very little is funny or joyful, but such good writing about such fascinating things is fun and entertaining. Chapter 2 of Book One, entitled “The Shadow of the Past” is some of the finest storytelling you’ll ever read anywhere.

 

 

During this re-reading I also noticed just how much singing there is in this book. Even the nerdiest of the Tolkien nerds I’ve ever known don’t seem to get all that excited about all of the songs and poems. Many of those added pieces contribute to the sense of the history of Middle Earth, however, or the depth of the cultures of the characters, and serve their purpose as necessary. Unfortunately, anyone who has found herself singing “Hey now! merry dol!” can attest to the possibility that some of these songs add a bit of, ahem, whimsy, perhaps, as well.

As a younger, even more distractible reader, I think I found The Fellowship of the Ring the least dense and burdensome of the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings, largely because I love the introduction of a new story. Now, I find it utterly fascinating, thoroughly enjoyable, the high-energy kick-start of a wonderful story. When it was over, I couldn’t wait to start on Volume 2: The Two Towers. And as a bit of a spoiler, I’ll tell you that I’m thoroughly enjoying that re-read as well.

 

 

A Year of Books I’ve Read Before