BOOK REVIEW - The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkien - Physical Book - 4*

BOOK REVIEW

The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkien

For those of you who have read my Fantasy Friday Episode 3 post, you'll know that I have jumped headfirst into high fantasy as my first fantasy sub-genre and, beyond that, went straight for the jugular with The Hobbit. 

My decision was influenced by two things. First, it's one of the highest-rated high fantasy books out there. Secondly, I already owned it so didn't have to buy it. The physical copy also just felt like the right way to do this book so I opted to jump right in. 

I read most of this book on the way to, while camping at, and on the way home from the Download Music Festival, I didn't get through as much as I had hoped (napped on the way there, it was pouring

with rain, the whole time we were there, and napped on the way home). The time that I did get was a great experience, especially sitting on my wee camping chair, beer in one hand, book in the other, Pantera blasting from the speakers, waiting for my other campmates to arrive.

BLURB

Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of Dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services - as a burglar - on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo's life is never to be the same again. 

Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as JRR Tolkien's classic tale, The Hobbit. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, Bilbo Baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals: Alice, Pooh, Toad...

MY REVIEW

I've included my very first impressions in my Fantasy Friday Episode 3 post, specifically about the verbose language and wordiness of the book and my surprise that it's fast approaching 100 years old.

Being new to Lord of the Rings lore, my knowledge was based primarily on memes and my singular viewing of the first Hobbit movie when it was released in cinemas. My only recollection of that movie was my thorough disappointment that I had sat there for 3 hours only to find that the characters were nowhere near their final destination. The story itself has become a distant memory and none of the book jogged my memory whatsoever.  

The story follows Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit (technically THE Hobbit to which the book refers in its title) who, by his very nature, enjoys home comforts, multiple breakfasts and dinners, and is not an adventurer. That is until Gandalf and his team of dwarves, whose names reminded me of Santa's reindeer EVERY SINGLE TIME, roll up on his little hobbit hole one night, cause a ruckus, and tell him to join them on an adventure up the mountain to reclaim the old Dwarven treasure from Smaug, the dragon. There's plenty of adventure (or misadventure to be more accurate) on the way and the story follows the team of merry men as they find their way to Smaug and the treasure, encountering both friends and enemies on the way. 

I found myself thinking throughout this book that every success was sheer luck rather than any sort of heroics or intent from Bilbo or his gang of merry men. They seemed to accidentally make progress throughout and spent most of their time moaning about being hungry and tired (exactly how I would be if I was thrust into an adventure I knew nothing about and had to spend days in forests, barrels, and random caves trekking towards a certain death). 

Character-wise, I felt myself warming to Bilbo more as time went on, his development was quite clear and he went from being an unwilling participant to an unwilling leader, to a true leader in a beautiful arc. I was also delighted when Gollum popped up, I know who he is, and I liked getting an insight into him and how he might fit in later on. The other characters in the book are quite flat and I never really got to know or understand them or their motivations. Even with an omniscient narrator, I found the development of characters other than Blibo quite disappointing. Speaking of the omniscient narrator, I did quite enjoy the parts where I was being told that there was more to the story but that I'll find out later on, it was almost like a teaser trailer for a future chapter (or book in some cases!). I wasn't given any more information than Bilbo and his troops had but was being drawn in by being told there was more to come. 

Contrary to my own preconceived opinions from memes and other random cultural references, Gandalf I feel, was a bit of an ass. Similar to Dumbledore in practically every single one of the Harry Potter books, he knows what's going to happen and what dangers lay ahead, but rather than properly arming and supporting his team with knowledge and insight, he just leaves them to it, alone, scared and vastly unprepared for what lays ahead. Half of the terrible things that happened could absolutely have been prevented if Gandalf had told them the full story from the start. He infuriated me and while I realise that, had Gandalf furnished Bilbo and the Dwarves with all of the information, the book would have been very short with nothing of note happening, this blatant lack of communication between characters is something that gets on my nerves when reading, regardless of genre or style (Romance can be quite bad for this, a misunderstanding or miscommunication results in a fight before it suddenly all becoming apparent and the characters live happily ever after). 

There were moments of total chaos, that were fast-paced and an absolute joy to read, but some parts were fairly tedious and laboured the point. There were moments where I just wasn't enjoying the story and wanted them to hurry up and get on with it, cross-sectioned with so much action and adventure that I couldn't put the book down. I was expecting some very different outcomes (no spoilers here, though I may be the only one who didn't already know what happens!) and was a little disappointed in Bilbo's role in the key moments towards the end of the book. 

As someone who is quite new to the realms of high fantasy, I found the world-building to be nothing short of amazing. Tolkien takes the time to let the reader know what the fantasy creatures are,  their history, and their place in the world. This helped me immensely, as did the little map at the start of the book. No more feeling lost. The pictures in the book were great too, as I find it hard to visualise things in my mind with just words, something that is quite essential for a book where the world in which it's set is a key part of the story (they are on a quest through the word after all!). 

My favourite quote in the book, delivered surprisingly by Thorin (one of the Dwarves) is one that resonated and feels as true now as it likely was at the time it was written: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." 

Overall a good 4-star read. I can appreciate the writing and the storytelling even though it didn't quite pan out how I had hoped or expected in parts. The language was verbose and tiresome in parts, which is why this isn't a 5-star read for me. It did pack a punch though and has given me enough curiosity to want to explore the other LoTR books in the hope that they perhaps expand on some of the narrator's clues about other events (I also want to know what the deal is with the ring, as I have no idea but realise that it's very important given that it's literally in the name of the remaining books!)

The LoTR fandom is huge and passionate. I'd like to know what you thought of this book, especially your first time reading it, what did you love about it?

Check out my YouTube review of this book below:

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