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

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

The Moonstone is a mystery story that revolves around a huge diamond, known as the Moonstone of course, with a long and somewhat cursed history. Shortly after the Moonstone is bequeathed on a young woman, it disappears and the detective work begins. The questioning and the clues aren’t enough to find out what happened to the diamond, however, at least not right away.

 

There are several high-quality levels of entertainment in this novel, but my favorite aspect is the narrative style itself. There are several different narrators, each of whom is best set up to describe the part of the story with which he or she has been entrusted. The story is begun by the faithful servant Gabriel Betteridge who is never without inspiration from his beloved Robinson Crusoe. He is followed by the annoyingly self-righteous Miss Clack, and a few other skilled storytellers who found themselves in the middle of this intriguing tale.

The Moonstone is in part about solving the mystery of a theft, but it’s also an intimate account of the lives and histories of the characters embroiled in that mystery. There are a lot of pages in this book, but they are filled with details and voices that kept pulling me along. I believe it was originally published in serial form, and I regret just a little that I wasn’t able to read it along with its contemporary audience. I could imagine bittersweet anticipation of having to wait for the next part of the story.

I hadn’t remembered much of this story (certainly not the solution to the mystery), so it was fun to re-read it this time. I enjoyed it at least as much, or probably more, than I did many years ago. This is a great story for folks who love mysteries as well as good literature, even if some of the details are a bit odd. I doubt I’ll forget much of this novel any time soon, but I’m looking forward to reading it again someday anyway, just to once again be in the midst of a well-told tale. Perhaps I’ll force myself to read it in serial form!

 

 

Coming soon: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

 

 

 

A Year of Books I've Read Before

The Many Pages of March

I have high hopes for my re-reading pleasure in the month of March. Since February is so short, I didn’t finish Mansfield Park, so I’m holding it over to my March reading list as well. I had intended to mix things up a little more by adding some science fiction this month in addition to a bit of nonfiction. One cannot expect me to leave off The Two Towers after just finishing The Fellowship of the Ring, however, so, to keep the number of pages under control, I included something short instead.

Here are the many pages I intend to re-read in March:

 

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, which I haven’t read since I was ten!

 

 

Coming soon: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

 

 

A Year of Books I’ve Read Before

Favorite Lines Friday

Here's a thought about the "Good vs. Evil" battle for humanity I particularly liked from Adam the Anitchrist in Good Omens:


"It's hard enough bein' people as it is, without other people coming and messin' you around."