Centouno

There was an old linguist called Tolkien
Who by setting strange creatures a-talkin'
Did prove to the world
A pen’s mightier than a sword
For even I wish I could speak me some Orckian

A sinistra... / A destra...


.

This is the entire, epic Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien created an imaginative and incredibly detailed world with an unforgettable struggle between good and evil, played out on so many different levels, and in different ways with various characters. It's not necessarily an easy read - Tolkien can get a little dry at times - but there's so much richness and depth to it.

*sigh* I really need to reread this sometime soon ...

It's been about 20 years since I've read The Lord of the Rings in High School. That's... let's just move on... I do remember that I loved this story and, upon finishing it, there was no question as to it being my favorite book of all time. It’s now, most recently, been finally supplanted by The Way of Kings so I felt it appropriate to revisit Middle Earth.

The Fellowship of the Ring
Our story starts off in the Shire, home of the Hobbits. Our story continues in the shire until about the 20% mark too. Hobbits aren't known to make quick decisions on adventures, you see. Tolkien will spend a lot of time describing the history of the world and people throughout this tale. It is tedious and did cause me to not read as fast as I normally would. Things pick up a little after leaving the Shire but grind to a halt with the entrance of Tom Bombadil. He's an interesting character who, like others in this book, overstays their welcome by a couple of chapters. The pacing picks up after his exit and I thoroughly enjoyed everything from Rivendale onward. The best part, as it was in the movies, was the journey through the Mines of Moria. Tokien can set a scene exceptionally well and across all three books you'll notice he sets up despair like none other.

A few notes: I can't help but love Sam. He is stout of heart and lacks no amount of courage. He is always the first one to spring to action, often while other characters are in awe or confused about an incoming attack. He also is the only one that truly knows Frodo and understands how he thinks. For that reason, he is able to spot him before he leaves the company when all else thought Frodo would logically do something else. The Fellowship of the Ring is a solid opening tale but it also drags the most. It isn't all set up of characters either as a lot of it is unnecessary side characters backgrounds or otherwise useless worldbuilding in the sense that most people won't care about it. It does show, however, Tolkien's genius and masterful ability to create a world and entire history! See the appendixes at the end for that.

The Two Towers
Much like The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers has a lot of secondary characters that we spend way too much time with or get to know more background history than we'd ever care to learn. This time around, it's primarily the Ents, and their trademark slow speech, that bog down the tale considerably. Fortunately, once you get past them, and Aragaorn's endless hunt for the Orcs, where you get to live through all of the days, the story really picks up. The Battle of Helm's Deep is, of course, the highlight, but I do have a big problem with how Tolkein wrote it. It's probably more of a product of modern fantasy, and the brilliance of authors like Brandon Sanderson when it comes to action scenes, that I am spoiled. I want to read about the epic battles and the one-on-one duels with my favorite characters. Tolkien, frustratingly so, tends to have a character get knocked out and then told the tale in more detail later or he sums up the battle in a few swift sentences essentially saying 'a lot of men died' and that's it.

Another thing that I'm not used to because of how modern fantasy does it, is the multiple points of view are found in completely different 'books'. Book 3 (the first of 2 in The Two Towers, confused yet?) is from the Aragorn/Merry/Pippin point of view of Helm's Deep and Rohan. Book 4 is all about Sam and Frodo on their trek toward Mordor. Fantasy books nowadays would have alternating chapters so you won't be confused about the timeline of events or wonder what's happening with the other characters for 200+ pages. It is a bit jarring and takes some getting used to. Speaking of Sam and Frodo, I found I really enjoyed their adventure more this time around. In High School, I was all about the action scenes, war! Blood! Violence! So naturally Aragorn was my favorite character and those large battles what I looked forward too.

Now that I'm more... seasoned... I found the companionship between Frodo and Sam and their struggles as they draw nearer to Mordor the most interesting and inspiring even. Sam, ever a steady companion and faithful friend, shows how much he desires to help Frodo at every turn. He has his wits ever about him as he is wary of Gollum in every way. I also enjoy how Tolkien shows the power of the Ring and the immense burden Frodo bears as it gets heavier with his ever step closer to Mordor. If you don't feel for Frodo and Sam on their journey, well, you may just not have a heart. I do remember in high school getting to the end of The Two Towers and being mortified since I hadn't seen the movie yet. Even knowing didn't make it any less harder to read. Also, Faramir rocks in the book much moreso than in the movies.

The Return of the King
The final act of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King is also the shortest and fastest paced. We do get a great deal of setup before we get to any of the impending action at Minas Tirith because, well, it's Tolkien. If he went into as much detail on descriptions of every setting and person like Robert Jordan, this book would easily be 2000 pages. Fortunately, he just describes the history of places and people. Once the battle rages though, we are in for a treat. More descriptions of the battle are found here than at Helm's Deep and the battle is glorious. Many character arcs come to a satisfying conclusion here and I enjoyed every moment with Gandalf and Theoden. Denethor has an added layer of depth to his character that the movies couldn't fully do justice, though the actor that played him nailed the character perfectly. I did feel my heart racing as I read the battle scenes and enjoyed Tolkien's writing when it came to the King of the Nazgul. There is truly some beautiful prose here that flaunts his talent as a writer.

Sam and Frodo's journey is equally harrowing and I found myself getting nervous for them often despite knowing the eventual outcome this readthrough. Once again, Frodo and Sam's despair are poignantly written and you can feel the pain that every step brings to Mount Doom (a name fit for pirates). It wasn't hard to find empathy for their plight and wish some eagles would just fly in and save them. One thing I didn't expect to enjoy and, in fact, dreaded getting to based on my first readthrough experience, was the return to the Shire. This time through, I found myself captivated and nervous for our companions on their return home. I know Tolkien was writing from experience in what it must have felt like returning home from World War I and find that life was anything but sunshine and rabbits with a problem-free life. Expertly done and enjoyed every minute of it.

Conclusion
Even though I rate this at 5 stars, it is, by no means, a perfect work. I suppose nothing really is, but it has more flaws than most of my other 5 star ratings. The slow parts and expounding on the history of the world, while interesting, took me out of the story on multiple occasions. That being said, this is a classic literary work that blazed a trail for the fantasy genre as a whole and many authors have been influenced or inspired by it. That in and of itself isn't a reason to give a 5 star rating, of course, so it's good that it's a fantastic story that has many memorable moments and deep commentaries on life with strong characters. You may laugh, you may cry, you may do neither, but you will remember Samwise and Frodo's adventure and feel their emotions. Tolkien is is the Fantasy Professor as far as I'm concerned and he set the bar high for worldbuilding in the genre. I would recommend The Lord of the Rings to anyone new to the genre to act as a gateway to epic fantasy and the like. Professor Tolkien is the master and his book is every bit worth reading.

Libro epico e assolutamente spettacolare (anche se, in alcuni punti, domina la noia) che, merito anche delle sue quasi 1.400 pagine, mi ha impegnato nella sua lettura per quasi un mese… ma, alla fine, come avrete capito, non ne sono affatto pentito. Un lavoro, per farla breve, che ha moltissimi significati morali (e religiosi): infatti, si parla del classico scontro tra il bene (qui rappresentato da Bilbo e Frodo Baggins, i più improbabili degli eroi) ed il male (impersonato da Sauron, il "Signore" degli Anelli); si parla di guerra, coraggio, tradimenti, determinazione, rispetto, fedeltà assoluta e, soprattutto, amore.
Fiaba senza tempo con un'ottima descrizione dei protagonisti (ma di qualcuno, specie i personaggi secondari, io ne avrei fatto tranquillamente a meno) e dei paesaggi fiabeschi e incantati… con la grande mappa (un foglio quadrato, di oltre 50 cm per lato, allegata al libro), davvero notevole e ben realizzata. Menzione speciale, inoltre, per la narrazione delle scene di guerre: scorrendo la lettura sembrava di stare davvero su un campo di battaglia.
Da leggere, e quasi quasi da studiare, tutta la parte finale del libro (ossia le appendici) con la cronologia dei re della Terra di mezzo, il calendario e il calcolo storico degli anni, i vari alberi genealogici e, addirittura, la grammatica e la pronuncia delle varie lingue delle razze incontrate in tutto il libro (elfi e nani su tutte).
[https://lastanzadiantonio.blogspot.co...]

Il Capolavoro del genere Fantasy… siamo sicuri?

Il Signore degli Anelli è stato il primo romanzo fantasy che ho letto. Da allora parecchi anni sono passati e molte sono state le mie letture fantasy, ma nessuna di livello paragonabile alle avventure di Frodo; ciclicamente torno a leggere l'opera di Tolkien, ed ogni volta mi convinco sempre più che la definizione di "romanzo fantasy" gli calzi stretta, troppo stretta in effetti. Il fantasy moderno è sicuramente in tutto o in larga parte nato come emulazione di Tolkien (o come presa di distanza da lui, a seconda dei casi), ma può la matrice originaria essere ontologicamente considerata parte integrante del genere a cui ha dato vita? Quale altro fantasy successivo al Signore degli Anelli presenta la stessa complessità, la stessa stratificazione, la stessa grandiosità creatrice, la stessa influenza culturale, la stessa natura costitutiva?

La mia opinione è che Il Signore degli Anelli non possa essere considerato un fantasy, ma piuttosto un poema epico in prosa; l'ultimo (per ora) esponente di una lunghissima tradizione letteraria che, da Gilgameš in poi, ha solcato le ere della Storia dell'Umanità.
Tolkien riscopre, ricalca e reinventa gli archetipi dell'epos adattandoli al gusto novecentesco, dove ormai la forma letteraria del romanzo signoreggia, senza tuttavia rinunciare interamente al testo poetico (il libro è ricolmo di canti, poesie, ballate), ed è perciò nell'epos, non nel fantasy, che dobbiamo ricercare i suoi pari, fra i poemi epici del passato, Omero, l'Edda, le Chansons de geste, i cicli arturiano e carolingio, i Nibelunghi…

***(Avvertenza: da qui in poi ci sono degli spoiler)***

Allora sì, confronti, paragoni e parallelismi diventano non solo possibili, ma doverosi. A partire dal tema del viaggio, che è sia svolgimento di una missione (la ricerca del Vello d'Oro degli Argonauti, la cerca del Graal dei Cavalieri della Tavola Rotonda) sia scoperta della propria individualità (Gilgameš, Odisseo).
Il viaggio nell'Oltretomba che compiono Aragorn e compagni è una riedizione di quelli fatti da Odisseo ed Enea; la combattiva Éowyn ricalca l’eroina ariostesca Bradamante, entrambe destinate a sconfiggere uno stregone invincibile e la sua cavalcatura alata; l'enigmatico Gandalf, col suo apparire al momento del bisogno, rievoca il mago Merlino e, con l’accrescimento del suo potere attraverso la morte, riecheggia la leggenda di Odino; le visioni notturne di terre e avvenimenti lontani che giungono a Frodo, custode del Potere, non sono poi dissimili dai molti sogni rivelatori che gli dèi inviano agli eroi e alle eroine dell'Iliade e dell'Odissea; il ritorno alla Contea devastata degli Hobbit è una versione aggiornata del ritorno ad Itaca, da Tolkien inteso, però, come ultimo atto dell'autodeterminazione dei veri protagonisti del romanzo (fateci caso, tutte le vicende sono narrate dalla prospettiva hobbit, i quattro amici sono gli unici personaggi di cui Tolkien svela i più reconditi pensieri); e la similitudine omerica ritorna prepotente con l'abbandono della patria riconquistata: il lungo viaggio di conoscenza ha trasformato irrimediabilmente l'eroe che, non potendo più trarre gioia dal suo meritato riposo nella ritrovata pace, deve partire di nuovo verso un'ultima avventura senza ritorno, oltre i confini del Mondo.

Poi c’è il tema del Destino, che sovrasta e avvolge tutte le vicende narrate, cessando però di essere l'ineluttabile e crudele Fato greco e norreno a cui tutti, uomini e divinità, sono condannati; da buon cattolico, Tolkien lo trasforma in Speranza, cioè nella fede che esista un piano divino più grande, una Provvidenza imperscrutabile ai mortali, volto a far trionfare il Bene; è un concetto ribadito quasi in continuazione nel romanzo, le cose capitano perché devono capitare; significativo come la Speranza trovi il suo compimento proprio in un luogo che porta il sinistro nome di Monte Fato, già solo da questa contrapposizione semantica di Speranza e Dannazione si potrebbero intraprendere strade interpretative quasi illimitate.

Tuttavia non siamo di fronte alla mera riproduzione manierista; oltre agli archetipi dell'epica, Tolkien si ispira e infonde nuova vita anche a tópoi mutuati da altre epoche e altri movimenti letterari, come l'elegia del passato, visto sempre come la perduta Età dell'Oro in contrapposizione ad un mondo ormai stanco ed esausto, una visione pessimistica della contemporaneità che appartiene a molti personaggi del romanzo (Legolas, Gimli, Théoden, Denethor), già tema assai caro ai Romantici, ma che nel finale Tolkien rinnega e sovverte con il ritorno del re e l'avvento di una nuova età dorata per il solo genere umano, da cui sono esclusi Elfi, Nani, Orchi e Stregoni; o l'altrettanto romantica Sehnsucht, riscontrabile nel desideroso, infinito e impossibile bramare che l'Anello genera negli animi, facendoli struggere e disperare.
Mentre nella grazia ultraterrena di Dama Arwen, nei suoi occhi luminosi, nella sua gentilezza, rivivono tutte le donne angelicate del Dolce Stil Novo.

Infine, non bisogna scordarsi che uno dei proponimenti perseguiti dal Tolkien glottologo era dare un'esistenza, una consistenza autentica, alle lingue che aveva inventato, e una Lingua esiste solo se ha una Storia da raccontare; per fare ciò Tolkien esplorò e reinventò i tre generi costituitivi del racconto antico: la Fiaba con Lo Hobbit, l'Epos con Il Signore degli Anelli e il Mito con Il Silmarillion. Quale altro scrittore fantasy ha mai avuto la volontà e la capacità di fare altrettanto?
Ecco perché, a mio avviso, Tolkien non può e non deve più essere accomunato al genere fantasy.


t"Alcuni di quelli che hanno letto il libro, o almeno che lo hanno recensito, lo hanno trovato noioso, assurdo o disprezzabile; e io non ho alcun motivo per lamentarmi, dal momento che ho opinioni simili sulle loro opere, o sul tipo di opere che loro evidentemente preferiscono."

J.R.R. Tolkien, dalla Prefazione alla seconda edizione inglese del libro.

Twenty-five years ago I'd have given The Lord of the Rings my highest possible praise. I came to Tolkien's masterpiece on my own, and that meant much to me at twelve. The only books that had been reached by me alone were books on mythology and horror. Everything else I read, from DH Lawrence to Hemingway to Dickens to Shakespeare (and this also included Dracula and Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde because they were "true" classics), was suggested and sanctioned by my mother (for which I will always owe her deeply).

But The Lord of the Rings was mine and mine alone.

It is easy to forget that The Lord of the Rings was not a pop culture phenomenon in the seventies and early eighties. It was a fringe book (at least in North America), something that was not yet considered a part of the canon, something that was not a name on every boy's lips (even if they were just getting to know D&D) let alone every child's lips. Sure it was respected and loved by those who knew it, but knowing it was not a foregone conclusion as it is today, and its audience was almost completely genre oriented. In my little community (my school and the blocks surrounding my home), I was the first kid to read it.

And that first reading was a revelation. Sure I'd read The Hobbit, but that didn't prepare me for the breadth and depth of The Lord of the Rings. Middle Earth in its grandest incarnation.

To create a fantasy world is one thing, but to breathe life into ages of that world, to keep all the pieces together with such magnificent detail and rigour, to create character after believable character and make us care about most of them, even poor Smeagol/Gollum, that is a literary labour of Hercules. And by pulling it off, Tolkien created the single most important manifestation of Fantasy that has ever and will ever be written. The Lord of the Rings has rightly been named a classic. It is part of the canon, and it deserves its place. It is entertaining, it is weighty, and it is loved by nearly all.

Aye...and there's the rub.

Its indisputable greatness has made it indisputable.

It has become dogma among fanboys and fangirls that the bastions of The Lord of the Rings are unassailable. Criticize Tolkien's work -- academically or otherwise -- and you put yourself in almost as much danger as a chatty atheist trying to engage in a theological discussion in a coliseum full of Jehovah's Witnesses (how many of those folks will make it into the afterlife? Isn't there a limit?).

Feminist critics point out the lack of women in The Lord of the Rings, and that those women who are present fulfill only the narrowest stereotypes. Éowyn's strength is dependent upon adopting male gender qualities, a typical stereotype of "powerful women in fantasy," and she is alone amongst the Rohirrim as a woman who can and will fight. All other women in her culture are present as a reason to fight rather than as integral parts of the struggle. Arwen's place (in the books, at least) as a maiden waiting for the hand of her king takes the "reason to fight" to even greater heights. And the only powerful female, Galadriel as the terrible, beautiful elven Queen, is too far removed from mortality and reality to be anything more than a mid-tale deus ex machina, thereby removing her from the realm of women and men and making her a pseudo-god whose power is allowed only because it is arcane and mysterious.

Post-Colonial critics have latched onto the racism inherent in The Lord of the Rings, pointing out the hierarchies between the races: from the "superiority" of the elves, to the "chosen" role of "European" Men of the West under the leadership of Aragorn, to the lesser races of Dwarves and Hobbits (the former are "lesser" because they are "too greedy" and the latter are "lesser" because they are children). Post-Colonialists look to the "orientalization" of Sauron's forces and the configuration of evil as an inherent quality of Orcs and "the dark folk." They point out Tolkien's family's history as a cog in the mechanism of English Imperialism, and his own birth in one of the most blatantly racist colonies of all, South Africa (while he did leave at three years old, his family's presence there at all suggests that some of the classic colonial opinions about the colonized "dark races" helped form the man who wrote these books), as possible reasons for this racism.

These criticisms further suggest, at least to me, that the archetypal source of all fantasy's entrenched racism -- even those books being written today -- is The Lord of the Rings. Those fantasy authors who have followed Tolkien consistently and inescapably embrace his configuration of the races (yes, even those like R.A. Salvatore who try and fail to derail this configuration) and the concepts of good and evil that go along with them, which leads to the stagnation and diminishment of their genre.

The fact is that these flaws do exist in The Lord of the Rings. They are present. They are easy to find. But few of Tolkien's rabid fans want to hear about them.

And even when the criticism is not necessarily suggesting a flaw in Tolkien's work but merely the presence of some subtext, the dogmatists react with rage and condemnation. A fine example of this is when Queer and Gender theorists point to the overwhelming relationships between men, and how the relationship between Frodo and Sam is homosocial, at least, and possibly even homosexual. The only true intimacy in the book occurs between the men, after all, and to ignore that fact is to ignore one of key components of why The Lord of the Rings is so emotionally satisfying, especially to young men.

Even faced with these ideas supported by convincing arguments, however, many fans either strive for ignorance or attack the messenger. This may have much to do with the worry -- unreasonable though it is -- that to admit that a flaw or something uncomfortable exists in any of these books, which so many people love so deeply, is to accept that The Lord of the Rings is neither great nor worthy of love.

But this is not the case.

I love The Lord of the Rings even though I subscribe completely to the post-colonial criticism, and see the merits in both the feminine and queer criticisms, not to mention the countless other criticisms and subtexts that are floating around.

The books are racist; they are sexist. They are not perfect. And I must criticize the elements of The Lord of the Rings that make me uncomfortable and deserve no praise. But my complaints and the complaints of critics make Tolkien's achievement no less great.

Tolkien created the most magnificent imaginary world ever conceived, and, for good or ill, Fantasy would be nothing today were it not for him. The Lord of the Rings is a triumph on countless levels, but it is not the word of God, nor should it be elevated to such heights.

I love The Lord of the Rings, but I love it with reservations. I love it because of its place in my personal mythology, its genuine originality, its creativity, its power, but I love it with my mind open to its flaws, and I refuse to make excuses for Tolkien or his work.

Twenty-five years ago I'd have given The Lord of the Rings my highest possible praise. Not today. But I am still willing to admit my love.

5 beautiful gold stars.
I only wish I could give it more.

n  Bulgarian review below/Ревюто на български е по-долуn
The pilgrimage of Frodo, Sam and their fellows lasted for a year, and it happened so that it took me nearly as long to see them home to the Shire. Well, people say good things happen slowly, so I don’t regret the journey one bit.

Something crosses my mind that Terry Pratchett has shared in ‘A Slip of the Keyboard‘. He was 12 or 13 when he read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ for the first time. His parents left him at some neighbors’ house to babysit their children while all the adults went visit somebody. To pass the time Terry (who as all boys wasn’t very keen on reading) got absorbed in the ‘LoTR’ and suddenly the Shire had spread out in his imagination and the edges of the shabby carpet turned in the Shire’s borders and beyond them adventures were awaiting. So, Terry Pratchett read all night long and for the whole next day too. He read the novel for 26 hours (with some small breaks, of course – the bladder of a 12-year-old is not a water-skin after all). In the years to come he continued to reread the book each year. This is how it goes, brilliant minds resonate in accord.

When I was almost finished with the novel I realized that ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is actually an allegory of the human life. There is a spirit of idyll in the Shire, days are lazy and sometimes tinted with mischievousness, and Gandalf’s visits are sheer feasts – that looks very much like childhood perhaps. Then you step outside the hobbit hole and the limits of the known and you plunge into adventures – you had been yearning so much to lose those familiar faces for a while and see if some glorious song might be sung for you too. The journey starts jolly, one repast follows another (the food in the first part is indeed quite abundant – Tolkien himself says that ‘If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world’), you sing songs, admire everything new and your eyes are as big as pancakes as you try to perceive all novelties that happen to you – I suppose that’s the period of youth. After that though you slowly realize that you carry a truly heavy burden on your shoulders, that you have responsibilities and failure means too much, it means the world. Songs are noticeably fewer, you sing once in a blue moon and it’s only to give yourself courage and to remember the past when things used to be simple, and not to enjoy yourself. And like in life there are glimpses of hope, but also precipitous collapses in pitch-dark depths, you are sometimes alone among the multitude and sometimes there is a friend to lend you a helping hand, and you put one foot in front of the other and keep going because you know that nobody is going to wage that battle for you. And you rely on the flickering hope that one day you could sigh ‘I’m finally back’.

There is some very sweet melancholy seeped through Tolkien’s world or at least I felt it that way. The verdure and meadows in the Shire, to fight for the world, but also for your tiny homeland, though it will never be the same, to do all you are capable of for what you know is good and right even if you won’t be there to enjoy it yourself…
‘It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.’

Choose a dauntless pony (let his name be Bill for example) or a proud steed as Shadowfax and ride through the Middle-earth. There be wonders.

Who can say where the road goes?
Where the day flows?
n  Only Timen

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Около година продължи странстването на Фродо, Сам и техните (за)другари, така се случи, че кажи-речи толкова ми отне и на мен, за да ги изпратя обратно до Графството. Е, хубавите неща нали ставали бавно, та никак не съжалявам.

Подсещам се нещо, което Тери Пратчет споделя в n  A Slip of the Keyboardn. Бил на 12-13, когато прочел „Властелинът на пръстените“ за пръв път. Родителите му го оставили у някакви съседи да бави децата им, докато всички възрастни отишли някъде на гости. Тери (който като всяко хлапе от мъжки пол тогава хич не бил по четенето), уж да минава времето, се захласнал във „Властелина“ и изведнъж във въображението му вече се било ширнало Хобитово, а краищата на протъркания килим в стаята били границите на Графството, отвъд които чакали приключения. Та така, Тери Пратчет чел цяла нощ, а след това и през целия следващ ден. Прочел романа за 26 часа (с малки почивки, разбира се – все пак пикочният мехур на едно 12-годишно дете не е мях). След това в продължение на години го препрочитал по веднъж годишно. Така е то, умовете на гениалните хора резонират в съзвучие.

Към края на романа осъзнах, че „Властелинът на пръстените“ е всъщност алегория на човешкия живот. В Графството витае дух на идилия, дните са изпълнени къде с леност, къде с някоя лудория, а идването на Гандалф е същински празник – нещо като детството може би. По-нататък прекрачваш прага на хòбитовата дупка и изобщо границите на познатото и се впускаш в приключения – ей, така си жадувал да се отърсиш от тези познати лица и да видиш може ли някоя и друга славна песен да се съчини и за теб. Пътуването започва бодро, още не си станал от трапезата и сядаш на нова (наистина в първата част хапването е доста на корем – ненапразно и самият Толкин твърди ‘If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world’), пееш песни, любуваш се на новите неща и очите ти са грамадни като палачинки в стремежа ти да обемеш всичкото това ново, което ти се случва – това ще да е периодът на младостта. По-нататък обаче постепенно осъзнаваш, че на плещите си носиш истински тежко бреме, че имаш отговорности, че провалът вече означава твърде много, означава всичко. Песните вече са осезаемо по-малко, пееш си от дъжд на вятър и то по-скоро за кураж и за да си спомниш миналото, когато нещата бяха простички, а не за да се веселиш. И тъй както в живота има моменти на надежда, но има и стремглави пропадания в непрогледни глъбини, понякога си сам сред гмежта, а понякога има приятел, който да ти подаде ръка, и правиш крачка след крачка, и продължаваш, защото знаеш, че тази битка е твоя и няма кой да я води вместо теб. И се осланяш на мъждукащото упование, че един ден ще можеш въздъхвайки да кажеш „Е, върнах се“.

Някаква много сладка тъга е пропита в Толкиновия свят или поне аз така го усетих. Зеленината и ливадите на Графството, да се пребориш за света, но и за малкото си родно кътче, макар че никога вече няма да е същото, да направиш каквото е по силите ти за това, което знаеш, че е правилно , дори да не можеш да му се порадваш после самичък…
„Често се налага да бъде тъй, Сам, когато над щастието натегне заплаха – някой трябва да се откаже от него, да го загуби, за да го запазят останалите.“

Изберете си едно сърцато пони (да се казва примерно Бил) или пък горд жребец като Сенкогрив и препускайте из Средната земя. Очакват ви чудеса.

Who can say where the road goes?
Where the day flows?
Only Time

I have read the Lord of the Rings at least a dozen times. I then started reading several translations (German, Norwegian, Portuguese, and French). Apart from English, those are the languages I can read more or less fluently. However, I could probably read the Lord of the Rings in a language I am not so familiar with, since I know the story almost by heart. I am not usually a great re-reader, nor do I generally read fantasy, it’s just this book, which has become somewhat of a safety blanket. My favourite chapters are at the very beginning and the end: leaving and coming home to the Shire.

It remains the best of its genre, no matter how many fantasy worlds have emerged since!

Funnily, many of my students come and talk to me about the specific edition they have at home and how it was handed to them, by a father or mother who insisted they read through the first 50 pages before giving up.

We have copies in German, Swedish and English at home, published between the 1980s and now, but I know there is an older version somewhere in the wider family collection, the one my father read when he was young. Finding evidence of former Lord Of The Rings reading stories is magical in itself, a ritualistic passing on of the passion for that One Ring and its fate from generation to generation.

Post-Tolkien readers share that special fellowship that comes from holding your breath with Frodo and Sam, from suffering with Gandalf and cursing Saruman, from swinging a weapon with the united forces of an entire fairytale up against Mordor.

Of course we also share the gain and loss of Arwen's choice!

Forever magic...

For some reason I only marked, 'The fellowship of the ring' as read, when I actually devoured the whole of 'The Lord Of The Rings' in one go!

I read this a loong time ago, when the films came out but I remember loving it. A lot.
Amazing book, amazing films, a wonderful distraction from my finals at uni back in the day

5 Stars

The Lord of the Rings deserves the highest praise not because it has defined generations of readers, not because it can be read as a historical textbook on the fantasy genre, nor because it's simply the best wonder tale, but because of all three of those reasons and many others.

The Lord of the Rings is the story of good versus evil, empowering friendship, deep valor, crushing defeat, heartwrenching anguish, great loss, and clinging to hope. While there are many parts that seem needlessly frivolous (Tom Bombadil), it is a perfect story for anyone to read that wants the most in depth fantasy story imaginable. Not in depth that it has the most going on or is overly complicated, but that it has the most depth of them all. A book that any child or adult can read and be completely lost in. Which is the very best kind of story in my opinion.

Full Review: essentialreadingsandreviews.blogspot....