J.R.R. Tolkien began working on what would eventually become the world depicted so beautifully in The Lord of the Rings while convalescing after the Battle of the Somme, during WWI. Over the subsequent thirty-some years, he would expand his creation to include multiple fully-developed languages, and a fully-realized legendarium that covered thousands of years of history and numerous cultures. It is a singularly amazing achievement, unrivaled by any single creator of whom I am familiar. His works have influenced just about every fantasy author over the last 70 years. Tolkien is inescapable.
So what is there for the reviewer to say?
I don’t know how to review these books.
To start, I’ll say these are some of the first books to get me into reading. I’ve never been a particularly fast reader, and I remember devouring these books. They went everywhere with me. I read them on the bus, and in between classes. I ignored my friends at lunch because the beauty I found in these pages sustained me far more than their company. I stayed up way too late on school nights trying to squeeze in a few more pages before finally having to shut my eyes. And, in the roughly 25 years that have passed since I first read these books, I’ve been trying to recapture this magic – rarely succeeding.
When the movies came out I was in college – and I was equally enraptured by them. Being able to see the story play out on a 70 foot screen was a magnificent experience – and one I don’t think myself likely to ever duplicate. Perhaps just as meaningful – my sister read the books for the first time to get into the spirit of the movies. I’d begged her to read them after I fell in love, but she wasn’t interested. So to have her finally share the experience with me was special.
And though I’ve probably seen the movies a dozen times, I’ve never really revisited the books. Part of my reticence, I think, is because of how long it takes to get to the meat of the story. But part of it is the belief that you can never recapture your youth, which is where I feel these books belong. They aren’t an experience for me any longer. They are a memory: meant to be felt more than lived; returned to over and over, but only in thought.
So there’s a bit of sadness for me, here. The sadness of knowing that I’ll never be 14 again. The sadness of knowing that I’ll never be able to experience The Lord of the Rings for the first time again. The sadness that only comes when you’ve experienced something so achingly beautiful that the bland reality of everyday life leaves you insensate.
I know these books better than I know the Bible, and they’ve impacted my soul more completely than any holy writ.
The Lord of the Rings is magic. And closing the book at the end is like removing light from the world. I am left colder, and everything around me is dim. But I am better for having lived for a time in its radiance, because the memory will always be with me.
this is a lovely review; thank you for sharing your stories with us!
Thanks!
I had no idea what to even say. I almost didn’t write a review. So I’m glad you got something out of it.
I’m glad you did choose to write something! There have been a few “personal relationship with tolkien posts this year, and they are always an insightful delight.
I feel exactly the same way about these books. My father read them to me for the first time when I was 10, and they remain the most perfect, light-filled reading experience I’ve ever had. I also know these better than the bible, and feel they have had way more impact on me than anything else I’ve ever read. Wonderful review.
I tried reading The Hobbit to my son about a year ago, but he was too young to really be interested (he had just turned 5).
I’m still hoping to read it to him, though.
I think I was around that age when I first saw Ralph Bakshi’s Hobbit film, but then again my mom had to veto my dad naming me Galadriel, so…lol
Being named Galadriel would be so boss. But I’m sure you’d have gotten crazy bullied as a kid.
My son has absolutely no interest in movies. I keep trying and trying to get him to watch movies – and I think he’s only made it through three or four in his life.
He’s so delightfully weird.
he sounds awesome!!!!
honestly, I think some name-teasing would have been a fair trade considering the name I ended up with; there were 15 of us in my graduating class D :
I feel the same way! I have never been able to write a review for these books. I’m set to re-read in December. I wonder what I will write.
By the way, if you somehow haven’t seen them yet, I highly, highly recommend checking out the Extended Edition special features for both the LOTR trilogy and the Hobbit. It’s so fun to see them take the material and Tolkien’s legacy seriously, and watch the community they built in creating the films. There’s something like 14-20 hours of extended content in each trilogy. Totally worth it.
here to second the special features! the love is apparent!
I can’t wait to see your review! I loved your Wheel of Time reviews (I’m slowly working my way through them).
I’ve also started the Stormlight Archive, which you recommended to me a time or two. I’m going to try to review them all in one post.
And I’ve all but worn out my DVDs of the Extended Editions. I’m surprised I didn’t drive my girlfriend at the time crazy. I used to marathon the movies once a year.
Wait, what? I want to hear all your thoughts about Wheel of Time!!!
And The Stormlight Archive!
Except more WOT because Stormlight is excellent and WOT is bananapants.
I should never have doubted you.
LOL
My WoT review is already over thirteen hundred words, and I’ve barely even started The Great Hunt.
I think your reviews are the gold standard at this point. I’m sure I’ll fully explore all my thoughts, but I don’t know that I’ll have anything to say that you didn’t cover.
Oh, I’m sure you will! There is so much in WOT by the time you get to the middle that it’s impossible not to have varying reactions. I am endlessly entertained by people’s reactions to that series. I hope you write 10k words.
If you like podcasts at all, I would highly recommend The Wheel Weaves as a good resource. It’s a husband and wife team. The husband has been reading the books for over twenty years, and he’s guiding the wife through, and it’s no spoilers. They are doing a close reading and they get a lot of stuff I missed my first time through the books.
that podcast sounds great! my husband is a big WOT fan, but I have heard/read nothing and am curious to start…
Yes, read so I can have more reactions! Always more reactions! Mine is an evil laugh.
And yes, the podcast would be good as you read along. WOT is a wild ride. Parts are so great and parts are so weird and other parts are so frustrating. And then Brandon Sanderson comes in at the end and kicks everyone’s asses.
If you’re an audiobook person, I’ve heard the audiobooks are a good option. I kind of wish I’d done the audio, especially on the middle sloggier books. The narrators are the same duo who do the Stormlight Archive audiobooks, which are great.
I’m listening to the Stormlight Archives audiobooks (I alternated between reading the book and listening to the audiobook, depending on where I was, but I don’t have any of the other books, so I’m just getting them from audible).
I didn’t dig Michael Kramer’s voice at first, but it grew on me. I liked Kate Reading from the beginning, though.
Does she make the female characters in WoT less infuriating?
I haven’t listened to the WOT books yet! When I do my inevitable re-read (sigh) that’s the way I’m going. But I’ve heard she’s great in them. I love her Pattern voice so much in Stormlight.
I know!
I’m on Words of Radiance now, and her Pattern is one of my favorites.
Don’t tempt me to write 10k words – because I probably will.
And that podcast seems interesting. I’ve never listened to a podcast dedicated specifically to a book series or TV show.
It’s really fun! It’s giving me a new appreciation for the books, and the hosts are fun.
Also, doooo it. 10k!!!!!!
Challenge accepted!
My Harry Potter review was just under 3,000 words, and my A Song of Ice and Fire review was just under 4,000 words. I don’t know if I’ve written a longer review than those.
But I think I can.
ETA: My Dresden Files reviews (collectively) is over 4,000 words. And my review of the BV Larson series is almost 5,000 words. And my Star Trek review was over 3,000 words……I need an editor.
and/or a book deal!
I wouldn’t wish such ill on an unsuspecting public. lol
My Harry Potter series reviews hovers around 15,000 words…. do it! Write all the words!