The Hobbit

Ten years ago, when Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy came out, I bought LotR and read in one go. I had tried before, but got stuck on Tom Bombadil, as many people do. But when I tried again, I loved it. So, of course I bought The Hobbit next, ready for more. But I hated it. I found it dull and put the book away, giving it two stars and making it one of the few books I abandoned halfway through. However, now that Peter Jackson is making The Hobbit into two movies, and with the pictures and videos from the set looking so great, I just had to try again. And I am so glad I did!

A summary is hardly needed, but for completeness, here it is. Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit leading a quiet life in Bag-End. Until Gandalf shows up, and he gets taken along on a quest with thirteen dwarfs (Tolkien’s spelling). He is the burglar, and also needed to make a luckier number. Together they are travelling to the Lonely Mountain to defeat the dragon Smaug and get their gold (and their mountain) back. On the way there they get into all kinds of adventures, with trolls, elves, humans and goblins, and of course when they get to the mountain, things aren’t easy either.

Like I said, I am really glad I gave this book another chance, because I loved it. I loved the writing style of Tolkien. It read like a story being told out loud, by a fire, on a cold winters day. I loved the semi-self contained adventures, and how the narrator tries to reassure us that all will be well. I loved Bilbo, who is a very reluctant hero. The dwarfs were great too, all characters had their own quirks that were also useful to the story. And I loved the adventure, the journey, the land. I felt that the events that happened when they got to the mountain were rushed, but maybe that was because I didn’t want the book to end. It seems to me this is also a great book to read to (older) children, more so than LotR. Five out of five stars.