This was far from my first reading of the Hobbit, just my first in a while after many a reread of this cosy little book. It did take me far longer than such a simple wholesome story typically would and it has taken me in the past however because it was the first time I have ever braved annotating and tabbing a bookI spent a lot of time with each line and it was such a nostalgic and enjoyable process.

‘The Hobbit’ is a childhood favourite of mine, and a book brimming with nostalgia, and though now the prominence of the narrators voice as one as separate from the story, as if Tolkien himself was sat by the fireside telling his children the story, and therefore read much more like a children’s fable than I remember, it also had so many more themes and messages that I hadn’t previously drawn much attention to. Tolkien’s depictions of nature and the beauty of the environment are among the best, and the natural world is at the heart of all his writing. Though there is also a huge prevalence of the theme of greed and how it controls and motivates each of the characters, especially the dwarves, and is the cause of most of the novels conflicts (a microcosm of the world today within Middle Earth).

Coming at ‘The Hobbit’ with a much more analytical perspective in preparation to study it next term it still holds as much charm and beauty, and continue to absolutely adore the magic of this little tale.