اولین باری که سعی کردم ارباب حلقه‌ها بخونم، بچه بودم، شاید دوران ابتدایی. مطمئن نیستم. کتاب رو از کتابخونه گرفتم {همین نسخه‌ای که سال‌ها پیش از کتابخونه گرفتم الان هم دستمه!} و شروع کردم به خوندن. توی صفحه‌ی صدم رها کردم. هیچ ایده‌ای نداشتم که شخصیت‌ها کجان و دارن چه‌کار می‌کنن، تصویری که توی ذهنم ایجاد شده بود دراکولای انیمیشن هتل ترانسیلوانیا بود که می‌خواست صد و چند سالگیش رو جشن بگیره.
بنابراین توصیه می‌کنم قبل از خوندن کتاب، هابیت خونده بشه یا فیلم‌ها دیده بشن. کلی اسم و شخصیت توی کتاب هست و فضاهای مختلفی توصیف می‌شن، برای همین اگه از قبل چندتا رو بشناسیم و تصوری داشته باشیم که هرکدوم کی‌اند و چه شکل‌اند، بهتره.

علاوه بر اون خوندن کتاب بعد از دیدن فیلم لذت‌بخش‌تر بود، چون طبعاً قسمت‌هایی تغییر داده شدن و غافلگیری‌هایی که موقع خوندن کتاب بهشون برخورد می‌کردم حال می‌دادن، مخصوصا و مخصوصا تام بامبادیل عزیز و گرامی که روی تخم چشم ما جا داره. اتفاقا خیلی خوشحالم که بامبادیل توی فیلم نبود. زیبایی این شخصیت به قصه‌ها و آوازهاشه که فقط در قالب کلمات زیبان.

لحن متن چیزیه که درمورد ارباب حلقه‌ها دوست دارم. یه جویه که انگار یه بابابزرگ پیر مهربونی تو رو نشونده روی پاهاش و قصه تعریف می‌کنه. همین حس رو به هابیت هم داشتم. بعد من دارم ترجمه می‌خونما، ولی قشنگ لهجه‌ی این بابابزرگای خارجی توی ذهنم تداعی می‌شه یا اینایی که ادای بابانوئل درمیارن و با اون لهجه‌ی پیر و عمیق می‌گن: هو، هو! {مثلا چندلر وقتی بابانوئل شده بود:))) } لحن داستان حماسیه، شیواست، افسانه‌ایه.

ابتدای داستان که پر از توصیف مسیر هابیت‌هاست واقعا سدی بود ولی. پدرم در اومد تا ازش بگذرم. من
visual reader
نیستم و وقتی این توصیف‌ها رو می‌خونم قشنگ این شکلی‌ام که:
n  

نقشه‌ها هیچ‌چیز را در ذهن سام تداعی نمی‌کرد و همه‌ی مسافت‌ها در این سرزمین بیگانه چنان به نظرش طولانی می‌رسید که حساب آن از دست او کاملا بیرون رفته بود.

n

آوازها هم بسیار زیبا بودن. و بذارین یک بار دیگه یادآوری کنم؛
حلقه‌ای خواهم از برای حکم راندن.

I believe writing a review on ultimate classic is pointless. So I'll just say that I wasn't impressed or exited but read it with interest. Although I didn't love it I would I agree its an absolute masterpiece.

The Fellowship, as it sets forth from the Shire, is poisoned, for the soul of the Ring it believes in is brute, blind Ego.

And the Ego gets its strength from the dark Id - the soul's vicious nemesis - its Ringwraith. The seed of Our Destruction.

Our Shire is now Unfree!

And our lusts have bound us to this political slavery.

When I was twenty, awakened, I fondly believed the Ringwraiths of my Lusts could be silenced by my reasoned rebuttal. Their quicksand sucked me underground - and my arguments thus quickly became Daemonic.

Carl Jung says our Gnostic Daemon is an agressive element and catalyst of our completion in redeemed humanity. The Gnostic Daemon, Sauron, however desires our Doom as a sacrifice to his chthonic desire.

But the Daemon Sauron himself pushes us into the battle for our Individuation. We must extricate our souls from his Dominion or fall.

We live in terror of falling to his Ringwraiths. We fear ending up Undead.

And as with Jung himself (in the Red Book) that resistance leads to more and more chthonic Misrule within us...

Until our Cursed Magical Ring is destroyed.

***

In my elderly years, I will often take a break from the drudgery of my pained routine in my chair overlooking our garden.

The sheer simplicity of its beauty - simplex munditiis - is a marvel. And the cool breeze on my forehead, is like my Mom’s maidenly palm on my hot, febrile head in my retarded infancy…

Yet such timeless moments are but the transient fruit of an endless array of a lifetime’s bloody Crosses.

***

When I was young, I thought all that glittered was gold: but it was all merely gilded in recompense for my horrified autism.

And when I was twenty, I thought in my abject isolated depredation I could go on a Quest to rediscover my Golden World -

But my Quest only dropped me further into the very bowels of Sauron's hellish nightmares -

As it does for Frodo and his Fellowship -

For those nightmares are the very Cradle (believe it or not) of this Glorious morning in the Garden:

Since glory only comes at the Hands of our own very costly Human Sacrifice on Mount Doom; though if seeing more means bearing more we are there now.

You know how they say


That's


The Fellowship of the Ring is proof of that! It takes the rule of show-don't-tell and flushes it down the toilet, because who would rather experience all the kick-ass action scenes themselves when they could just hear someone discussing them over dinner tables like they were discussing rice vs. potatoes? Pffft, no one ofc....

Right?

I mean, who likes action anyway. Why don't we just drop all the action in general and add pages of pages of scenery descriptions instead?

Hearing about the gorgeous colors of the trees is so much more gripping than hearing about how PEOPLE ALMOST GET KILLED BY HORRIBLE CREATURES OF EVIL TRYING TO DESTROY THE WORLD AND RUIN ALL THINGS GOOD!

I'd say go watch the movie.

Edit 2020:
to everyone who are still complaining (6 years after the review was originally written); I still think the LOTR books are boring and some of the most difficult books to get through. There are plenty of great descriptive books - LOTR is in my opinion not among them.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien is an absolute masterpiece that captivates from the first page to the last. Rich in world-building and lore, it introduces readers to Middle-earth in all its breathtaking detail, filled with unforgettable characters and epic adventures. The story of Frodo’s quest to destroy the One Ring is both thrilling and deeply emotional, balancing high-stakes action with poignant moments of friendship and courage. Tolkien’s writing is beautiful and immersive, making this the perfect blend of fantasy and timeless storytelling. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves adventure, heroism, and a richly crafted world.

I'm not really sure I can cover anything in this review that is in any way original or unexpected. To me this was a perfect book. I loved every page, all the characters, every step of their epic journey. Eagerly starting The Two Towers now!

n  The Journey begins!!!n


n  THE EVOLUTION OF A RING’S STORYn

n  Courage is found in unlikely places.n

What started up as an adventure oriented for children turned into an epic fantasy...

...THE epic fantasy book, anything else in the genre after this, born here, any other author writing in this field, began here, and even impacted in many other genres and formats.

Certainly, in The Hobbit, there are dangers, there is death, so thinking about it as a children’s tale is a much debated issue, but it’s clear that Tolkien’s intention was to present a light-hearted adventure.

n  Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.n

However, due some communication’s troubles between Tolkien and the publishing house, making him to think that they weren’t enjoying the proposed sequel to The Hobbit, the story got bigger, larger, darker...

...and redefined the conception of epic fantasy in literarure.

Even Tolkien needed to re-write the chapter in The Hobbit involving Bilbo, Gollum and the One Ring, since the story known as The Lord of the Rings became something that even the very Tolkien didn’t foreseen before.

So, what began as a small hobbit living in a hole that found a tiny ring in his journey, turned into a visceral war involving the whole Middle-Earth.


n  MY THEORY ABOUT THE RINGn

n   For nothing is evil in the beginning.n

I have a theory about the One Ring.

And don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler.

As I quoted (in this part of the review) Tolkien, may nothing is evil in the beginning, not even Sauron was evil in his own beginning, but...

...there is one thing in the Middle-Earth that it was evil since its own beginning...

...the One Ring!

The One Ring was evil in its own beginning.

The One Ring was in the hand of Sauron, then it passed to Isildur, a man, but it was soon lost and ended in the hands of Déagol, a hobbit, to fall right away in the possession of Sméagol, another hobbit, having it for so many time that Sméagol lost his own identity turning to be Gollum, scary, nasty, treacherous and dangerous but still a hobbit, then enter Bilbo, yet another hobbit, and finally gets into the picture, Frodo, yes, another hobbit.

Do you see the pattern? (Because to me it wasn’t that hard!)

Hobbit, hobbit, hobbit, hobbit.

It’s said that people (all kind of people: Elves, Dwarves, Men, etc...) are obsessed with the One Ring.

But to me, it’s clear that the One Ring is “obsessed” with the Hobbits!!!

Sauron may be the Lord of the Rings, but it has been stated that the One Ring has a mind-like on its own. It’s not like a Green Lantern’s Power Ring able to talk and having a computer-like library to access inside, even the feature to fly on its own to search the next suitable user. The One Ring can’t talk, can’t move or fly on its own, but still is a magic ring alright (or “alwrong” since it’s unquestionable wicked (hey! No only Tolkien can invent words!) and it’s clear that its purpose is to bind all people into darkness, into evil.

Sauron may have plans for the One Ring, but it’s likely that the One Ring has its own plans, its own designs, not to rebel, not to stand against its master, but to fulfill its basic purpose since it may notice a small flaw in Sauron’s plans.

Sauron wants to turn into evil the whole Middle-Earth’s population: Elves are wise and powerful but still they have already fell into darkness in some numbers (no wonder why they’re starting an exodus from the Middle-Earth). Dwarves are greedy and violent, they’re easy targets for darkness. Men? Don’t make me laugh! We are the most susceptible species for darkness of all, nothing to worry about for the One Ring.

However, Sauron didn’t even know the existence (for not saying clearly not knowing the location) of the Shire. Therefore, it’s evident that the hobbits aren’t in the plans of Sauron. You can say that it’s because he didn’t know about them or simply because he didn’t consider them worthy to send any troops there.

But the One Ring knows. In some way, it knows about the Hobbits.

And the One Ring has n  ONEn purpose...

n  One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.n

The One Ring is thorough about its purpose. It is obsessed about its one single purpose in the Middle-Earth. It has to bind ALL people into darkness, into evil. Not matter how tactically valuable or how ridiculous irrelevant. The One Ring isn’t in position to question the one single purpose that it was imprinted downright on its metal, its whole body, its entire “soul”.

n  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.n

You may think that the One Ring was lost, that it was wandering, but no...

...the One Ring was precisely where it wants to be! It found the Hobbits!

Yes, the Hobbits in a quick glance, they aren’t something to be worry about when you’re planning to dominate Middle-Earth. Clearly, it was Sauron’s point of view. You can’t blame him. I don’t think any military leader in his position would consider relevant to invest time and effort with the Shire.
BUT the One Ring thinks otherwise.

If the other races have to fall into darkness, into evil, then the Hobbits must be as well.

The Shire is an oasis of peace, of light, of goodwill, of laughing, of dancing, of enjoying the basic pleasures of a more simple life...

...and the One Ring can’t tolerate that!!! It’s revolted by the very existence of such a good place inhabited by such merry species. Everybody, everywhere and everything must fall into its dark bind, into evil!!!

If Hobbits fall into darkness, into evil, then and only then, Sauron’s plans would be truly accomplished and the One Ring’s purpose, fulfilled.


n  RING ANY BELLS?n

n  Books ought to have good endings.n

I am not a rookie with The Lords of the Rings since I watched all the movies, but certainly I knew that eventually I will read the books. While I am aware of what would happen here and in the next books, I still enjoyed plenty enough the reading, since I was able to notice the “little differences” here and there, between the original writing and the modern film adaptations.

Some time ago, I read The Hobbit and now I have read the first book, Fellowship of the Ring, but an important thing to have in mind is that hardly it’s a “first” book per se, but the first part of one single book titled: The Lord of the Rings, since I can’t blame other readers if they weren’t satisfied with the development made in this first part.

Characters took an “eternity” to begin a journey, to take a decision, to do anything. The few action moments are overly seldom spread and too quick developed, so you don’t get a real sense of being reading something in the epic fantasy genre. Even some scenes aren’t presented in “real time” but they are told after the things happened, stealing almost all thrill from them. Some random characters without any real utility in the story. An overwhelming telling of the vast background history of the Middle-Earth. And “finally”, you won’t get an ending here, this isn’t really a whole book, but the first part of a novel.

So, if you can have all that in mind, knowing that you will have to read other two parts to get the whole story, and trusting that you will get ample amounts of actions later, maybe, just maybe, you would be forgiving enough to enjoy the wonderful writing using words in such clever way, along with the majesty of the expansion of such rich literary universe.

Keep up, my fellow readers! The journey is just beginning!

n  n    “Not all those who wander are lost.”n  n

I expect that that if anyone thinks or says the wordn  fantasy,n the first thing that comes to mind is n  Tolkienn and The Lord of the Rings right along with it. I relish a good fantasy, but after watching and loving the movies, I was reluctant to read the book. Perhaps pure stubbornness on my part, biased by a crooked idea that the book couldn’t be as good. I was so wrong!

I loved everything about The Fellowship of the Ring. n  n     J.R.R. Tolkienn  n's book is not an action or even an adventure story (Peter Jackson made it an action-packed movies, and it couldn’t have been different or better). It’s much more, or not it at all. It’s a road trip of the hero Frodo Baggins and his out of this world companions: his three Hobbit friends, the wizard Gandalf, Aragorn/Strider, the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli and the anguished man Boromir. Of course, there is Sauron (or the allusion of him through his minions), the Nine Riders or Nazguls and the n  Ring!n

As you go along with Frodo and his comrades on their meanderings (that I didn't feel were hurried, but seemed kind of languid!), you live in a make-believe world hearing of its past and worrying about a likely dreadful future. But there are also songs and poems:

n  n    “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.”n  n

Further incredible characters only enrich the overall great feeling that reaches you of n  Middle-Earthn. It’s a place of escape, it’s even more for me: it’s a paramount experience.

n  n    “I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” n  n

Simply marvelous!

How long ago did I read this one? Read the trilogy at least twice. How can a man invent such an ingenious story? Wow, one of the best books ever. I remember that this book was on my book list for English language, so I 'had' to read it. Also remember having a hard time getting through the extensive introduction, but once I was passed that, I couldn't put the book down. I especially like the friendship through thick and thin theme. Great, great book. A masterpiece. Top ten ever.

One of the great works of 20th century literature. I first tried this in high school, but was not able to get through on the first try. The second try, in my early 20s was the charm. Frodo goes on a quest that take in issues of morality, friendship, one's responsibility towards others, facing one's fears, courage, danger. While depicting a global battle between good and evil, Tolkien puts a human (or hobbit-ish) face on that conflict. His themes are universal and his characters are very accessible. Frodo, Sam and Gandalf are heroes for the ages, and Gollum is what can happen when normal is corrupted by darkness. This is my favorite series, and taken together with the succeeding pair my favorite book of all time. I have read it at least five times, including aloud to my children. I hope to read it five more.

November 26, 2019 - LitHub - How Ian McKellen Almost Didn’t Play Gandalf - by Garry O'Connor

Give me a few friends,
a stretch of pleasant hills and an ominous wood.
Let us romp in the remnants of innocence,
free of the fear coursing through the veins of the greater world.
Give me the first half dozen chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring and I will gladly make a little heaven on earth out of it.


After finishing The Hobbit as a young boy, I needed something else, something a little more mature to meet my growing needs. Lucky for me, Tolkien had done just that in the form of his epic trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

Fellowship..., the first book in the trilogy, is my favorite of the three. I fell in love with the four little friends striking out on their own, having adventures and misadventures that, within the context of the beginning of this first book, haven't yet taken on the worldly importance they will later on.

My two favorite chapters are "The Old Forest" and "Fog on the Barrow-Downs" and it's probably because both contain a genuinely scary, Halloween-when-you-still-believe-in-boogiemen atmosphere. In fact, atmosphere is a particularly operative term here. Tolkien made me feel the suffocation of the ancient forest with it's mysterious gnarled trees. The ghosty fog upon the eerie downs evoked apparitions, the stuff of nightmare.




The challenges and foes the four little hobbits face in these chapters are not on a grand scale - they're not even germane to the book's overall plot - but jeez louise, there's some scary-ass moments in there. Watching the boys handle these situations is just good, fun adventure material.

Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin skip along having a merry old time, stumbling into relatively minor troubles, all the while clueless that they possess the world's most powerful evil magic. I love that innocence. It reminds me of past days when my friends and I would grab stick-swords and hike through the woods, slashing at the trees that had become our goblin and ogre enemies. I could relate to the sense of foreboding Frodo and friends felt when finding themselves lost in a cold, eerie hallow with a creeping mist swirling about them. Growing up in the country, I knew exactly what it was like to run afoul of a truculent farmer and his vicious dogs. I could relate entirely to the first half of the first book, before the lords and wizards entered and it all became alien. Enjoyable as the journey to Mordor was, nothing could compare, no, nothing could even come close to touching my heart the way those first few chapters did.

However, we must all eventually move on from the safety of home.

(More review to come!)



Appendixy type reviews of Fellowship…-related items:

Peter Jackson's film version: I waited sooooo long for this. It was like waiting for the Red Sox to finally win the World Series. And when it finally happened, boy was it sweet! Back in the mid-to-late 90s I was working in Hollywood and so I would get the lowdown on what movies were in production and even pre-production. It must have been about '96 or '97 when I heard there was an interest in making a film version of The Lord of the Rings. I promptly went SQUEEEEE!!! and wet myself. Then I heard Jackson was the one who'd potentially be directing it. My glee was tempered. I'd seen and much admired his haunting Heavenly Creatures, but I also new him as more of a Heavy Metal Magazine, comic gore, sci-fi kinda guy, and I feared such a person getting their sticky mitts all over my precious. But anyway, so now recall that this was '97ish and that the first installment didn't come out until 2001. That is a loooong time to wait for something you want in the worst way. I'd grown up watching Ralph Bakshi's partially finished version and longed for a completed one. And now it was coming, but it was being delivered by an unreliable messenger. Tingling with mixed nerves, I sat in the theater waiting for Fellowship to begin, my heart still somber after 9/11. I wanted to feel good again. I really wanted this to be good. Cate Blanchett's androgynously husky voice rumbled through the darkness…."ooooh, this is going to be good" muttered my soul. And it was. From start to finish, I love this movie. Certainly it has its faults. I felt like Jackson, with all the money and technology at his disposal, still managed to make a scene or two here and there look like it was shot on a VHS camcorder. I'll never be completely happy with the casting. Some of the scenes that were cut from the book were my favorite (the Old Forest deletion is a crying shame) and that's unfortunate, but expected. All in all, my complaints are far outweighed by the laurels I could lay upon this…considering the grand scope, let's call it, this achievement.

Raise your hand if you remember the awesome book fairs or Scholastic book order forms from back when you were a kid? Well, in middle school I picked up this sweet read in a box set with the rest of the trilogy and The Hobbit. Unfortunately, while I have always been enthusiastic about reading, I did not find the motivation to complete it for almost 15 years.

In the early 90s I read the Hobbit. Then I followed it up by starting this one but lost interest shortly after Tom Bombadil. Tolkien is great, but can be a bit much for a middle schooler. Even when I finally did finish it around 2001 (just in time for the movie), it was still a bit of a labor of love.

In the end, though - no doubt, 5 stars all the way! This is a classic! This is one of the grandfather's of high fantasy - I doubt you can find a single fantasy author that was not influenced by this book/series. Even if you find some of the parts slow, battle your way through, I guarantee you won't regret it!