Book review: Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien

Bilbo Baggins is an old man, one hundred and eleven years old to be accurate. Over the years he has seen many things (much of his adventurous youth was written about in the book The Hobbit), but now he has decided to retire; as part of his retirement, Gandalf the meddlesome wizard has persuaded him to give up his prized possession, a magical ring, and pass it on to his nephew Frodo. The ring is not just a magical ring that allows its user to become invisible; it is in fact The One Ring created by Dark Lord Sauron to control all other magical rings that were created with it.

Frodo, like his uncle is a stout and honorable Hobbit. When Gandalf informs Frodo about the dangerous ring, he sets out on a trip to Rivendell to allow Elrond and his council decide what should be done with the ring; the warnings of Gandalf resound in his ears as he leaves Hobbiton on the dangerous journey and he realizes that the ring must not fall into the Dark Lords hands.

Pippin and Merry, Frodo’s Cousins, a mischievous pair of Hobbits if ever you saw one join Frodo in his trip, as does Sam, Frodo’s ever faithful gardener; their journey to Rivendell is thwart with danger, but despite this they manage to reach Rivendell intact.

Frodo had hoped to end his quest there, but once it becomes obvious that the council cannot decide what to do, Frodo volunteers to take the ring to the Cracks of Doom and destroy it once and for all. As well as the hobbits, a party is selected to travel with Frodo; Gandalf, the mysterious wizard, Gimli the grouchy Dwarf, Legolas a somewhat aloof elf, Boromir of Gondor a staunch and solid human and finally Aragorn a mysterious human ranger – together they form the fellowship of the ring and set out to destroy the ring.

They leave the shire and begin to travel through Middle Earth, facing many dangers along the way; allies and enemies are encountered as they seek the path towards the Cracks of Doom. Dangerous Nazgul, the Dark Lord’s generals seek to destroy the fellowship both within the real world and in the dark nether world….

Great armies mobilize around them as many powers seek advantage during this tumultuous times;  will the party succeed in destroying the ring, or will the powers of dark succeed?

The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien is a literary masterpiece; full of classic prose, poetry and written in a very descriptive way, it truly describes a world full of beauty and danger. Tolkien’s style is such that he entwines the reader in a reality that is complete; from the fauna and flora he describes, to the fantastic cities in which he places his heroes and villains Tolkien has applied a huge amount of detail and care; his characters are flawed and real, with their own idiosyncrasies and desires that often oppose what they are doing.

Tolkien uses these flaws of character to infuse the plot with a reality that talk of sacrifice and suffering, showing us that there is no true line between good and evil, but simply shades that are often complex and compelling. His ability to let us get into the heads of the main characters is incredible and you often truly feel the pain the character is undergoing, giving you a far deeper understanding of the book than any other I have encountered.

While the book is difficult to read at times, in fact the first two hundred or so pages are particularly tough, it is well worth the effort to read (and re-read) this book. Tolkien re-invigorated a genre that simply had now following, bringing it more into the mainstream. His attention to detail, including his ability to create entire languages, made this read more like a true history than a work of fiction.

It’s this feel that makes it a true classic; not only is it written with supreme skill, but it is also written to create such a vivid reality that almost makes you feel that the events and people in the book once lived and breathed.

For me, this book has a special place in my heart; I read it when I was 12 in a week and since then have read thousands of books; without Lord of the Rings I would not have found the wonder of reading, and would not have instilled the importance of reading into my children.

If you’ve only seen the movies then you MUST read the book  - there is so much more….