The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

Published by Collins Modern Classics: London, 1998 (1937).
Followed by the Lord of the Rings Trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King.

The classic children's book. The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire in Middle-earth, and his quest (along with the wizard Gandalf and 13 dwarves) to take back The Lonely Mountain from the clutches of the evil dragon, Smaug. Along the way there are encounters with trolls, wolves, spiders, elves, and a creature called Gollum, who has in his possession a very special magic ring.

I love this book. It is a lot more "childish" than the Lord of the Rings (and also more so than the Peter Jackson movie adaptation) but this is not a drawback. Scenes such as the introduction to Beorn, for example, are able to lean almost into flat-out comedy by with its portrayal, and it is easy to imagine Tolkien as a father telling his children this story, and allowing for moments when his children interject "wait! He said four dwarves!" 

And yet, for fans of the Lord of the Rings there are still moments that show the talent of Tolkien as an author. The riddle scene with Gollum is of course important and well-told (and is a scene Tolkien edited after beginning LOTR in order to align the two works better), but my favourite scene by far is the conversation with Smaug. I love Bilbo trying to flatter the dragon while avoiding giving away too much information, and meanwhile Smaug's attempts to trap Bilbo into revealing too much about himself. My biggest regret with the movie version (which is by no means perfect) is that the power of this conversation is undermined by the dwarves already knowing Smaug's weakness and by Bilbo being compelled by Smaug to remove the ring! Sigh. A missed opportunity.

Still, a great book, especially to ease your children into fantasy literature in general, and Tolkien in particular.

Completed with Elise, 23 January 2019.

(Elise Books)

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