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A review by nhborg
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
5.0
4.5
«This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they raise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great.»
I did it!!! I’m proud and happy to have succeeded over my reluctance to read this; I tried when I was about 14 and lost the will about 150 pages in (deep in the old forest and with the appearance of Tom Bombadil). This time around I could surely feel some of the slow parts, but I had such a fun time from start to finish. Andy Serkis has been my Samwise Gangee throughout this reading experience, i.e. an ever-loyal support that made the journey more enjoyable and achievable. Over the 5 days of reading you would find me with the headphones on my head and book in my hands as often as I could.
My reading was greatly colored by my familiarity with the movies, which at this point was inevitable. Although it was very interesting and cool to compare the two to look for differences in details and emphasis, I still wonder what it would be like to read this series without knowing anything about the world! Well, there’s no question why this work was revolutionary to the fantasy genre. The world-building, descriptions, characters and plotline are simply brilliant and mightily impressive.
As we all do, I have certain preferences in what I enjoy to read. As a reader, I’ve noticed that I love dialogue and inner reflections most of all, and that descriptive passages and world-building is less my jam. Resultingly, I’m not the perfect audience for Tolkien’s in-depth history and genealogy of his world, as I choose to skim through lore-heavy passages and focus on the aspects that I enjoy. It feels like a shame, but I have to take what I can from the book, and I certainly see the value this level of detail holds for readers who appreciate a well-crafted world! I’ve removed 0.5 star from my rating to express the lack of a «perfect match» between me and the book, so to speak.
So, how did the book compare to the movie? Obviously there’s a lot more depth in the written form. I can totally see why a lot of it had to be cut out from the movie to keep it at a reasonable length, and all in all they did an incredible job! However, what I realize is that part of what had to be simplified for the movie was the characters; to give them more impact on the screen with limited time for build-up, most of them are rather charicatured. I can see why, but I also loved seeing them come more to life in the book! I grew so fond of Merry and Pippin when they weren’t only jokesters, and I also had a lot more respect for book-Frodo (he’s actually kind of independent and cool, would you look at that). I also feel like Elrond and Boromir were a lot more exciting to read about, and I loved that Bilbo played a more active role later on.
There’s a lot I want to talk about, but I’ll try to wrap up this review now! I’m honestly so excited to get going with «Two Towers», hopefully after only a brief intermission. Until then!
«This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they raise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great.»
I did it!!! I’m proud and happy to have succeeded over my reluctance to read this; I tried when I was about 14 and lost the will about 150 pages in (deep in the old forest and with the appearance of Tom Bombadil). This time around I could surely feel some of the slow parts, but I had such a fun time from start to finish. Andy Serkis has been my Samwise Gangee throughout this reading experience, i.e. an ever-loyal support that made the journey more enjoyable and achievable. Over the 5 days of reading you would find me with the headphones on my head and book in my hands as often as I could.
My reading was greatly colored by my familiarity with the movies, which at this point was inevitable. Although it was very interesting and cool to compare the two to look for differences in details and emphasis, I still wonder what it would be like to read this series without knowing anything about the world! Well, there’s no question why this work was revolutionary to the fantasy genre. The world-building, descriptions, characters and plotline are simply brilliant and mightily impressive.
As we all do, I have certain preferences in what I enjoy to read. As a reader, I’ve noticed that I love dialogue and inner reflections most of all, and that descriptive passages and world-building is less my jam. Resultingly, I’m not the perfect audience for Tolkien’s in-depth history and genealogy of his world, as I choose to skim through lore-heavy passages and focus on the aspects that I enjoy. It feels like a shame, but I have to take what I can from the book, and I certainly see the value this level of detail holds for readers who appreciate a well-crafted world! I’ve removed 0.5 star from my rating to express the lack of a «perfect match» between me and the book, so to speak.
So, how did the book compare to the movie? Obviously there’s a lot more depth in the written form. I can totally see why a lot of it had to be cut out from the movie to keep it at a reasonable length, and all in all they did an incredible job! However, what I realize is that part of what had to be simplified for the movie was the characters; to give them more impact on the screen with limited time for build-up, most of them are rather charicatured. I can see why, but I also loved seeing them come more to life in the book! I grew so fond of Merry and Pippin when they weren’t only jokesters, and I also had a lot more respect for book-Frodo (he’s actually kind of independent and cool, would you look at that). I also feel like Elrond and Boromir were a lot more exciting to read about, and I loved that Bilbo played a more active role later on.
There’s a lot I want to talk about, but I’ll try to wrap up this review now! I’m honestly so excited to get going with «Two Towers», hopefully after only a brief intermission. Until then!