Book Name: The Hobbit
Author's Name: JRR Tolkien
First Published: 1937
Year When I Read It: 1996
Category: Fantasy
Final Ratings: 10/10
''In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.''
These words formed the basis on which Jon Tolkien wrote a book which The Times described as ''A flawless masterpiece... One of the most influential books of our times.''
''In the Middle of the Earth in the land of Shire,
Lives a brave little Hobbit whom we all admire.
With his long wooden pipe and his fuzzy wooly toes,
He lives in a Hobbit hole and everybody knows him.
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, only 3 feet tall
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, the bravest little Hobbit of 'em all
Now, Hobbits are peace loving folks, you know.
They're never in a hurry and they take things slow.
They don't like to travel away from home,
They just like to eat and be left alone.
But one day Bilbo was asked to go
In a big adventure to the caves below
So the Elves and Dwarves get back their gold
That was stolen by a dragon in the days of old...
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, only 3 feet tall
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, the bravest little Hobbit of 'em all
Well, he fought with the goblins
He fought with the trolls
He riddled with Gollum
Magic ring he stole
He was chased by wolves, lost in the forest
Escaped on a barrel from the elf king's hall.
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, only 3 feet tall
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, the bravest little Hobbit of 'em all
Now, he's back in his home, in the land of Shire
That brave little Hobbit whom we all admire
He's sitting on his treasure of Silver and Gold
Puffing on his pipe on his Hobbit Hole...
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, only 3 feet tall
Bilbo... Bilbo Baggins, the bravest little Hobbit of 'em all...''
- Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner (Ballad of Bilbo Baggins)
Hobbits, in short, are halflings - smaller than dwarves, and hungry as... a Hobbit. This book, although called a children's book, is capable of producing hours of joy and pleasure to almost anyone who reads it. Along with Hobbits, other new kinds of races are - Elves, not the small naughty creatures made popular by Enid Blyton. Elves, in Tolkien's are the ''firstborn'', who walked in the starlit nights of Middle Earth before the sun was formed and even before the fathers of men or dwarves were awoken. Dwarves are the other types of characters. They are short, stout, obstinate and proud folk but very loyal friends. This book deals with the Dwarves of Durin's household, which means that they aren't very greedy folk. A little greedy, yes, but not extremely. There are also Goblins, Wargs (giant wolves) and a dragon (Smaug the Magnificent) who are evil.
The Hobbit is the first Middle-Earth/Arda story published by Tolkien and it laid the foundations of Lord of The Rings, undoubtedly one of the best books ever written by a human. And that in itself, is reason enough for me to recommend The Hobbit to you. Of course, even without considering it as a prelude to LOTR, it stands alone as a singularly entertaining book with lots of adventures and it must (IT HAS TO) go down as one of the best books for children, if not the very best. Even adults will find themselves immensely enjoying reading the fate of Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire. The entire concept of The Hobbit came from a single line which Tolkien scribbled in a piece of paper, exhausted from his work, out of inspiration. Even though he had begun thinking about the world of Arda and the races which dwell there, this was to be his first book and surprisingly, Elves and Men aren't a central figure in this book, as is usually the case. Hobbits have been a favourite of Tolkien and also of all those who have read the books. The tranquility of living in a land so peaceful as The Shire with the only thing worrying you is being late for breakfast, cannot fail to amaze you. Tolkien really deserves the title ''King of Words'' for the sheer brilliance of his writing style. One only needs to read his books to realize that.
''The Hobbit'' or ''There And Back Again'' is a brilliant tale of a little person forced to undertake a huge adventure. Bilbo Baggins lives comfortably in his hole under a hill - ''It was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort''. His life consisted of eating and spending his time awaiting the next meal but is completely shattered by the arrival of Gandalf, a wizard and thirteen dwarves - Thorin Oakenshield, the dispossessed Dwarf King and his companions who wish to regain their kingdom and their treasure from the dragon Smaug who destroyed the dwarf city long ago. They met Gandalf in a pub and ask him to find a Hero for their aid. Gandalf however feels that what they need is a burglar who would be able to steal treasure and so force the dwarves to take Bilbo with them. And before Bilbo could understand matters clearly, he is whisked from his house and forced to go on an adventure. He faces a series of adventure with Gandalf coming to the rescue almost always. Bilbo, ultimately finds a magic ring, which makes the wearer invisible. (This part is of utmost importance in LOTR). After finding the ring, and the subsequent removal of Gandalf from the scene, it is Bilbo who comes to the aid of the party.
Bilbo show his worth is not limited to the power of the Ring, but also his courage, daring, loyalty and ability to think quickly during a time of crisis when he is solely responsible for preventing a war between Dwarves on one side and Elves and Men on the other. Bilbo, willing to sacrifice all his reward, prevents this useless war and allows all the creatures to turn their attention towards defeating the Goblins and Wargs. One of my favourite part of the book is Bilbo crying out just as the battle ends ''The Eagles! The Eagles! The Eagles are coming'' to show that the tide of battle had changed and from a desparate position the Free Folk (Elves, Dwarves and Men) come to victory. At this point, I was really deep inside the book and could almost picture all that was happening.
The books can be dissected to find out many moral values, such as friendship, loyalty, the fact that even small people can do big things, courage, bravery, if you act greedy you'll lose your friends. But I feel that, at least at first, do not think of all these. Try to read the book as if it is really happening (that won't be difficult at all, take my word for it) and is not any sort of moral chapter and after you have finished it, you may proceed with all the dissections you want to do.
The ''suspension of disbelief'' that divides good fantasy books from bad ones is incredibly high in The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins is a pretty likeable fellow, a person whom I would very much like to know. This suspension of the fact that maybe... just a shade of possibility that it might be true, is really displayed to its fullest possible extent by Tolkien, not only in this book but also in Lord of The Rings.
If you have read The Hobbit and liked it, then I would also recommend you to -
Read all other Middle Earth books by Tolkien.
Try to see the magnificent works of Alan Lee, the finest Tolkien artist.
See the movie Lord of The Rings (parts 1 and 2).
Hear the following songs -
a) Lord Of The Rings Movie Score - Concerning Hobbits
b) Blind Guardian - The entire ''Nightfall in Middle Earth'' album, provided you have read The Silmarillion.
c) Blind Guardian - Bard's Song (in the forest)
d) Blind Guardian - Lord of The Rings
e) Ballad of Bilbo Baggins - Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner
