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I'm currently enjoying a reread of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, my all time favourite book. Having just got to the end of the first half of Fellowship (the end of the first of the 6 books the 3-volume trilogy is divided into internally) I thought I'd jot down some notes.
I'm always struck by how slowly the story starts. And how small the world initially appears to be. Even after Bilbo and Frodo's very lengthy birthday party, then Frodo leaving too, it takes an extremely long time for the hobbits to actually leave The Shire. That's good writing, reflecting how the characters would have thought, as their perception of the world expands. But it also makes for a very leisurely experience at times.
I like the Old Forest section, but could happily skip Tom Bombadil. To be fair I do skim his numerous songs. And, also to be fair, I honestly found him a little less annoying than usual this time around! The Barrow Wights are fun. And then Bree is a lot of fun, though I could do with fewer slant-eyed references, and I start to ponder more about the use of black in the book too ...
Aragorn's introduction remains one of the highlights of the trilogy for me. I *adore* this quote:
From leaving Bree the tension and speed cranks up dramatically, but it's also noticeable how much more miles the hobbits are covering in these sections. There are many whole days, largely skimmed over. It's quite a contrast from the 1985 The Fellowship of the Ring text adventure game, which lets you cover these distances in surprisingly few moves.
As for Weathertop, I have a fondness for how the movie handles this climactic encounter. But it's a dramatic series of events whatever.
Re the race to the ford, I do rather favour the use of Glorfindel here, rather than the movie Arwen. Though that's probably due at least in part to Liv Tyler's often monotonous delivery! I do understand why they brought her in here. There is a phenomenal lack of female representation and agency throughout these books. But in this case I prefer the book's approach.
So we're now at Rivendell. I'll continue on with the book. Which is rather timely, with Oxonmoot coming up shortly. As usual in recent years I have a virtual ticket for it. Though will be watching on catch up, rather than taking advantage of the live events.
I'm always struck by how slowly the story starts. And how small the world initially appears to be. Even after Bilbo and Frodo's very lengthy birthday party, then Frodo leaving too, it takes an extremely long time for the hobbits to actually leave The Shire. That's good writing, reflecting how the characters would have thought, as their perception of the world expands. But it also makes for a very leisurely experience at times.
I like the Old Forest section, but could happily skip Tom Bombadil. To be fair I do skim his numerous songs. And, also to be fair, I honestly found him a little less annoying than usual this time around! The Barrow Wights are fun. And then Bree is a lot of fun, though I could do with fewer slant-eyed references, and I start to ponder more about the use of black in the book too ...
Aragorn's introduction remains one of the highlights of the trilogy for me. I *adore* this quote:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
From leaving Bree the tension and speed cranks up dramatically, but it's also noticeable how much more miles the hobbits are covering in these sections. There are many whole days, largely skimmed over. It's quite a contrast from the 1985 The Fellowship of the Ring text adventure game, which lets you cover these distances in surprisingly few moves.
As for Weathertop, I have a fondness for how the movie handles this climactic encounter. But it's a dramatic series of events whatever.
Re the race to the ford, I do rather favour the use of Glorfindel here, rather than the movie Arwen. Though that's probably due at least in part to Liv Tyler's often monotonous delivery! I do understand why they brought her in here. There is a phenomenal lack of female representation and agency throughout these books. But in this case I prefer the book's approach.
So we're now at Rivendell. I'll continue on with the book. Which is rather timely, with Oxonmoot coming up shortly. As usual in recent years I have a virtual ticket for it. Though will be watching on catch up, rather than taking advantage of the live events.
