Written by J. R. R. Tolkien
Overall Grade: A-
Beware of a PLOT SPOILER! (kind of)
What can anyone say about the Hobbit that hasn’t already been said? That it’s amazing or that it is a brilliant piece of literature - see its already been said. But luckily I have proved that its all true. I read this book for the first time when I was in the 7th or 8th grade. I was prompted to read it then as I was preparing for the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring to come out in theaters. I didn’t know then as much as I know now of the Hobbit and it’s sequel series, the Lord of the Rings. Also, when I first read the Hobbit I really had no idea that it was written for children. Tolkein geared it for his then 12-year-old son, who gave it rave reviews. When the publishers saw how well it did, they asked Tolkein to come out with a sequel. They later got over 1000 pages of the Lord of the Rings, then as one book because it was never meant to be a trilogy. I just love that story.
Anyway, I love this book. It’s great. And honestly the only reason I gave it an A- is because one of my favorite characters dies. I hate it when people die and my opinion of a book usually goes down when someone does die, unless it’s a villain. (I know that’s a little childish but I don’t really care.) That’s also why I don’t read war books or anything by Nicholas Sparks. Ha ha. That was a joke.
Most of you are probably familiar with the Hobbit, or at least the first 90 pages if you’ve seen the recent movie by Peter Jackson. I liked the movie quite a lot, although I don’t know if I agree with them making it a trilogy. I know a lot happens in the book but for heaven’s sake it isn’t even 250 pages long! I think 2 movies would have been more than adequate. But I digress. In the story we follow a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, as he joins in an adventure of enormous proportions, when a group of dwarves request his services to steal their treasure back from the terrible dragon, Smaug. Hobbits, you should know, are good English characters in that they never want to have fun or go on any kind of adventurous outings. (Again, kidding.) For those of you who have seen the films of the Lord of the Rings, you also know that this story also tells how Bilbo gets the Ring that young master Frodo later receives and has so much trouble with.
Honestly there isn’t much else to be said. There are scholars in universities that study Tolkein’s work every day, and get paid to do it. It really is a great work and if you are hesitant to read Tolkein, I highly recommend this book as Tolkein wasn’t quite as verbose as he later gets in the Lord of the Rings. However you still are able to bear witness to the man’s talent at prose, imagery, and storytelling.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” - J. R. R. Tolkien
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