Apr 15, 2002 03:38 PM
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(Updated Apr 15, 2002 03:41 PM)
The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and those who plan to read it – Sunday Times
A Story Magnificently told, with every kind of colour and movement and greatness – New Statesman
Another Monument to the incredible imagination of Tolkien – The Sunday Telegraph
The Lord of the Rings deserves all this praise and much more. I am not going to use the abbreviation LOTR for the book as I consider it as an insult to this monumental epic of gigantic proportions. Let me be honest with you, I was and I still am wary of writing a review on this book lest I do not do justice to this book. But I think I will give it a try. This review is on the trilogy which contains all the three volumes together.
History– JRR Tolkien started to work on this book soon after his another masterpiece “The Hobbit” was written and much before it’s publication in 1937. The first volume was “The Fellowship of the Ring” was published in Great Britain on 29 July 1954. The second volume “The Two Towers” was published on 11 November 1954 and the final Volume “The Return of the King” was published on 20 October 1955. With this release, all the three volumes were published in a single book – The Lord of the Rings.
Plot – A separate book will be needed if you want me to explain the plot of the book to you. So I will give you the plot in a nutshell. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has all the Ring of Power he needs to take control over the entire world – all except one. The ruling ring –
One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
And this one ring is now in the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. So when Bilbo Baggins gets tired of the world and wants to explore new lands, he gives the ring to his nephew Frodo Baggins. So now Sauron wants the ring back at any cost and now Frodo finds himself faced with a great task, as the Ring is handed over to his care. He must leave the comfort of the Shire and take up a terrifying journey across the Shire to the Cracks of Mount Doom, deep within the territories of the Dark Lord, Sauron. Then he must destroy the ring and not let the Dark Lord succeed in his evil purpose.
He however is not alone in his journey. He has with him the Wizard Gandalf, Aragorn, Dwarf Gimli, Elf Legolas, Boromir and his three hobbit friends Sam, Merry and Pippin. They all get together and form “The Company” or “The Fellowship of the Ring”.
Character Development – JRR Tolkien has created characters which will never be forgotten for ages to come. All throughout the novel you start to relate and feel for the characters. The character of Gandalf and Aragorn strikes you the most. The way Tolkien has developed these characters; you can’t help but be in awe of them. Gandalf through his powerful lines and short speeches inspires you and mighty impresses you. Aragorn is presented to you as a leader of men and the way his lines have been written, he comes out as a True Leader. Special mention should be given to the character of Sam who is the servant of Frodo and stays with him until the ending of the book. Sam comes to you as a person who would do anything for his master. Sam is my favorite character of this book. Read this book and I am sure you will identify yourself with atleast one of the many characters.
Extras in the book - The book has a lot of well thought out appendices. You have a prologue giving you a brief history of the Hobbits. Then later you have some annals of some of the great kings and rulers mentioned in this book. You have the family tree of the hobbits and a few maps also. There is also an index of various beasts, places etc mentioned in the book. All these will interest you more after you finish reading this book.
Appreciation - This book as I said is monumental. After I finished reading this book, I had only one thought in my mind. Why couldn’t this book me longer and the book is already 1200 pages! JRR Tolkien has created world where everything is so unbelievable but while reading it, he convinces you that such a world exists.
Tolkien has encompassed all the qualities that books have in this single book. It is at times funny, homely, diabolic and gruesome. There is a smooth flow in the narration as it moves through innumerable changes in characters and scenes which are totally convincing. Tolkien’s mythology has proved timeless and ageless in its appeal which is proved by the fact that in the twenty first century, an 18 year old guy video game junkie, gangsta rap listener, gushes over this book. Special mention needs to be given by the songs which are written in this book. There are nearly 50 songs which are written and please don’t skip them like I intended to do in the beginning. The songs are so beautiful and it would be an insult to this great man if you don’t read them. Perhaps the following line will alone tell you what I have intended to say in the last few lines or so –
How, given little over half a century of work, did one man
become the creative equivalent of a people? – The Guardian
