Book Review: The Lord of the Rings

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"The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read them - Sunday Times"

 

GENRE Fantasy 

AUTHOR J.R.R Tolkien

PAGES   531

YEAR OF PUBLISH 1954

MY FIRST FICTION BOOK

I was in my second year of graduation, preparing for the semester exam. In the afternoon, somebody shouted in the corridor of the hostel, “The exam has been postponed!!”. the new spread like perfume in the air and the first thing that came to my mind especially unfinished business –“watching the entire series of Hobbit and The Lord of the rings”. Close the book, open the laptop, and shut the drapes, fully prepared to start the journey with Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins.

Unlike the reviews from my friends as boring, slow, falling asleep, I enjoyed every moment of the series which to the surprise of all, I completed in 30 hours. I was obsessed with the plot and the background of every place and character- Who is Gandalf? how he know everything? how elves come to middle earth? Why there are different species of humans like dwarfs, hobbits, men, elves? At that time, I wasn’t aware that I like reading.

My journey as a reader started as in my post-graduation from nonfictions. After reading three years of biography, classics, finance, management, self-help, strategy, story- I finally felt saturation, decided to take a break, and switch to fiction.  The choice was quite clear what to read in fiction: Lord of the Rings. So here is the book review of the first part: The Lord of the rings; The fellowship of the Rings.

 

BOOK REVIEW The fellowship of the Rings

The book is literally comprehensive, and I mean it. Every 15-20 minutes in the movie is equal to an entire chapter here. I think the only author who can outperform Tolkien is Stephen King. So many talks, discussions, explanations that you would say- “Alright fine, move on!!”. The fellowship of the ring is laying the groundwork for the entire plot. So, if you are expecting frequent action, it will be a disappointment. There are a few instances such as meeting and staying with Elves, the house of Tom Bombadil, the trekking of the old forest which is not included in the movie. To my understanding, these are insignificant to the objective of the expedition. But the magic of Tolkien writing will compel you to read every word. Otherwise, the movie covered almost everything from the book in a concise format. Another important thing about the book is its simplicity. Unlike the other classics which is generally a struggle, Lord of the rings is surprisingly simple.

Do you remember the songs that Elves and men used to sing in the movie? Well, you will find the lyrics. And I graciously skipped every one of them.

The first part of the book is upto the breaking of fellowship at the great river, splitting (Frodo and Sam), (Merry and Pippin) and (Aragon, Legolas, and Gimli). Of course, the death of Boromir and the truth of Saruman.

I am currently reading the second book: “The Two Towers.” Stay tuned to this article as it will keep on updating as I read the remaining parts.