Lord of the Rings

I have read LotR many times over the years, in fact it is I think the book I have read the most in this world, which i suppose makes it my favourite book, albeit closely followed by half a dozen others (shout if you want to know or take a gander at my favourites shelf).
I have always enjoyed it, understatement, but for some reason this re-read is more special than ever. I had almost forgotten how much was different from the films, and despite having read LotR once before since the films, I seem to be getting more from the book this time than ever before.

The Fellowship of The Ring 5 stars ⭐️

As part of a buddy read, I have just completed the first book of the trilogy, and have given it 5 ⭐️. As anyone who actually reads my reviews will know, I very rarely need to use spoilers as I leave other people to read the book themselves, so you will find no or few spoilers in this review. The (first) book weaves an amazing tale with incredible characters in a well constructed world. The characters and situations make you smile, laugh and even cry as the journey begins, the Fellowship is put together and at the close of this book, so cruelly broken. Having somehow forgotten the differences to the film, I thoroughly enjoyed the differences, especially Tom Bombardil and the river daughter, and surprisingly I enjoyed all the poems, some brought tears to my eyes, is it the first time I have really read them ??

February 2019 brings...

The Two Towers 5 stars ⭐️

And so here we are 20th Feb 2019 and I've finished Book 2. I must admit I had wondered if after such a gap from reading LotR and watching the films so many times if I would enjoy the book(s) as much, I think I can now 2/3rds of the way through safely say that somehow the film experience has made me love the book more (if that is possible).
Again I think the book well outshines the film although the people I see inhabiting the characters are those from the films. There are again differences which , yes, once again I prefer in the book; the way the film is split up so we follow both parts of the journey (understandably) is not as good if one is reading all of LotR as following the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli side first and then the Frodo/Sam side second; also I never believed that Sam would abandon Frodo on the stair nor that Frodo no matter how exhausted would have sent Sam away, so it is good to be reacquainted with the fact that, that particular episode never happens; also I do not understand why in the film Treebeard has to be tricked to act rather than the Ents deciding to act as they do in the book.  Various other small differences occur but I will leave you to discover.
Suffice to say the story continues apace and one falls in love with the characters even more. One is there fighting alongside them or willing them on when the going gets tough. The poems and rhymes again were a revelation to me and made the story even more enchanting, enthralling and yes again emotional. It is slightly unsettling to be sitting on one's sofa on a Wednesday afternoon, fire lit, surrounded by ones three cats, sipping from a giant mug of coffee and finding tears streaming down ones face as you attempt to read what has become of the valiant loyal Sam or how Gandalf was returned to Middle Earth as the leader of his order. Most unsettling, hmm is it age ??
And now I must again wait until next month to start book 3, such willpower ha ha.

The Return of the King 5 stars ⭐️ (just)

So here we are in March and the final book of the trilogy, and what an epic finale it is. Again different to the film, but yet again immeasurably superior.
I put "just" in my marking of 5 stars and I think it is only just a five star read. Nothing is really "wrong" with this book, it just isn't as good ad the previous 2 in my opinion. Yes the battles are more epic, the journeys are more dangerous, the stakes are even higher (the safety of the the world) and the finale in Mordor is unbelievably dramatic but for some reason, despite being truly emotional about many scenes, yes there were tears rolling down my face, I still felt it was for some reason just not quite as good.
That said it was still amazing writing, both tense and dramatic, with pure poetry scenes littered throughout the book (Faramir and Eowyn in the House of Healing) (the decision by Arwen Evenstar to accept a mortal life with Aragon) (Sam's determination to get to the top of Mount Doom) and enough cliffhangers to last a lifetime.

Overall 5 stars ⭐️

"Here ends this tale, and with the passing of Arwen Evenstar, no more is said of the days of old. "

And so for this year and maybe the next few, I come to the end of this unbelievably emotional reunion with my favourite book. I think it reaffirms my view that the films are good, but the book is another level and just truly awesome. I look forward to both discovering even more in my next read and being reduced to an emotional wreck yet again.

Non ci sono parole per descrivere questo libro, ma forse quelle che si avvicinano di più al valore di quest'opera sono proprio quelle di C.S. Lewis: "Qui ci sono cose meravigliose che feriscono come spade o bruciano come gelido acciaio. Ecco un libro che vi spezzerá il cuore. "

n  "Tre Anelli ai Re degli Elfi sotto il cielo che risplende,
Sette ai Principi dei Nani nelle lor rocche di pietra,
Nove agli Uomini Mortali che la triste morte attende,
Uno per l'Oscuro Sire chiuso nella reggia tetra,
Nella Terra di Mordor, dove l'Ombra nera scende.
Un Anello per domarli, un Anello per trovarli,
Un Anello per ghermirli e nel buio incatenarli,
Nella Terra di Mordor, dove l'Ombra cupa scende."n

Magistrale!

This is one volume consisting of some 1200 pages of small print and containing the three books which were really only one novel and which we erroneously refer to as a trilogy. The advantage of lugging this hefty door-stopper around wherever you go is primarily psychological. If you feel the need to disappear from this here society for a while, for example, you can just toss this in your backpack and you know that wherever you go, you will survive, somehow. And on a dark winter morning as you face another day, you can hug the book to your chest and breathe easier for you know you will get through. At night, when you go to bed, put it on your nightstand and reach out and touch it in the dark when it gets bad. There are sacrifices to be made, of course, people will look at you funny as you sit in that mall bench with a book as big as the Bible while you wait for members of your family to finish shopping. It doesn't really matter that you've read the book before because reading this book is not about newness. This book is more like the bannister you grab onto when you're going down dark stairs. You want to feel the same smooth and solid wood that you've felt a thousand times. Because what you are asking this book to do one more time is to remind you. Re-mind-you as in re-setting your mind again so that it is re-aligned with those truths that have always rung true to you but which you always, for some reason, end up forgetting. Simple truths you know as true but will never be able to prove. Like the truth that life feels like a big battle that can be lost if you don't muster up some courage for the fight; or the truth that there is an evil force out there that seems very real and seeks to destroy us and will do so unless somehow we find the greater force that wants to live; and this other one: that you are blessed if you can find a friend or two to help you along the way. We read books for all kinds of reasons but the best reason to read is our deep hunger for words that will help us find a way in our lostness. And this one, well, just having it next to you will be a solace.

Look at thisss, hobbitses! Not bought at flea market for ten francses. Catalogue says worth seven hundred dollarses. Oh yes, Not knows about bookses, gollum. But can't touch, can't read, she says too valuable. Going to eat fish instead, but nice birthday present, oh yes precious.

This Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien, is my favorite work of fiction. I dedicated my book, Artists, Myth & Hope, published by Grant Hudson of Clarendon House Publications, to the great writer, philologist, and mythmaker Tolkien.

It is amazing to me that although Tolkien sadly was an orphan, and lost many of his friends in the hell of WWI, he was still able to function, became an incredible Oxford professor, believed in a good and loving Creator, married his beloved Edith, who was also an orphan, and inspired his Luthien and Arwen characters in his mythology, and gave the world some great works of literature like The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and his masterpiece The Lord of The Rings.

This man is such an inspiration to me, and his works have made me weep tears of joy, inspires me to pursue my passion for writing, literature, and art with all that I have, live out my faith, love people of different worldviews, love with passion, strive to be gentle, kind, brave, honest, and jovial.

Awesome Book! This is my fav book in Lord Of The Rings. This book is full of adventures and a beautiful scenery. My fav characters are Prince Aragorn and Legolas. An introduction to the LOTR series. The beginning of the story. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and the Middle Ages. But also all others. Because its fantastic book, which will take you to the world of dreams. You definitely won't be bored while reading this book :)

Seriously? Of course there will be spoilers.

***

It's been a long time since I've reread The Lord of the Rings first page to last (as opposed to pulling down one volume or another and rereading just my favorite parts, which I do all the time). It remains as compelling and as thrilling and heartbreaking an adventure as it was when my freshman high school English teacher gave me all four books and said, "Here, I think you'll like these." How right he was.

In books I have read so many times, over, good lord, 50+ years, I still found surprises, things I'd forgotten and things I'd never noticed the first seven or eight times around. Like Tolkien's copious use of the verb "vomit" to describe the actions of all Sauron's creatures, even including Mt. Doom. That Arwen is Galadriel's granddaughter. That lembas went even farther on an empty stomach than on a full one. That the rope the Elves gave Sam not only unknotted itself at need but lightened in weight and compacted in size when stowed in a pack and glowed in the dark. (It might also have become the length necessary to the task, as when Sam and Frodo climb down that cliff out of Emyn Muil into the Dead Marshes.) That Treebeard took out the Orcs that tried to invade Lothlorien. That Mt. Doom took out the remaining Nazgûl. That Bill Ferny would naturally gravitate to Sharkey's service in the Shire. Like Tolkien's affection for alliteration, in both Westron and Eldarin, in prose or in verse.

...a slinking shadow among the stones.

I'm still annoyed that there is only one female character of any stature, and grateful that Tolkien allowed Gandalf at least to understand her.

...you had horses, and deeds of arms, and the free fields; but she, born in the body of a maid had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man, and watch him falling into a mean dishonored dotage; and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on.

That scene where Merry and Eowyn, a hobbit and a woman, slay the Nazgûl King, a wraith invulnerable to any weapon wielded by a man, remains my absolute favorite. And then I got annoyed all over again when Tolkien fobs her off on Faramir because Aragorn's already taken. (By a woman whose only real contribution to the narrative is to sew a banner and die for love. Bleah.)

The staredown between Gandalf and the Nazgûl King at the gates of Gondor is a perfect callback to Gandalf confronting the Balrog in Moria. Tolkien was just so good at this. And then that electrifying moment immediately afterward, when the cock crows and the horns answer. Rohan had come at last.

For the first time on this reread I realized that Tolkien wasn't only writing fantasy, he was writing horror, as no other word can possibly describe Frodo and Sam's journey into Mordor. Shelob. Shagrat. Sauron. *shudder* Even as many times as I've read these books I could feel the tension ratcheting up with every turn of the page. Tolkien was masterful at continually upping the stakes for characters he has made you love and fear for.

There is so much craft here for a writer to admire, plot, character, setting, and dialogue. Frodo's capture by the Orcs and Sam's eavesdropping allows them to catch up with what is happening elsewhere in the story. There is always humor.

"Very well, Mr. Baggins," said the leader, pushing the barrier aside. "But don't forget I've arrested you."

"I won't," said Frodo. "Ever."

Not to mention Sam's nicknames for Gollum, Slinky and Stinky.

The Lord of the Rings is without question the most fully realized world ever created in epic fantasy, one for which an atlas is useful and fortunately there is one, The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. Fonstad's book wasn't written yet at my first reading but I used it a lot on this one.

And for the first time ever, on this reread I realized that Tolkien ended both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings on a line of deliberately banal, post-adventure dialogue, each spoken by a hobbit, a race little regarded by the rest of the peoples of Middle Earth. Until two of them carry the One Ring to Orodruin and cast down the Dark Lord finally and forever.

Yeah, you'll have to go look that up for yourself. Don't worry. It'll be worth it.

I know 2020 is far from over - sigh - but I guess jokes's on me...
----
I don't care about my Goodreads Reading Challenge 2020. My challenge this year is to read this whole trilogy, mark my words!

Prima rilettura del capolavoro di Tolkien, capolavoro perchè è un'opera così particolareggiata, così densa di sfumature e ideata per essere un'epica avventura dove Tolkien non si focalizza solo su un solo personaggio rendendolo l'eroe incontrastato, ma qui il tutto è protagonista, anzi il lettore stesso lo è. Poi vi sono le appendici e si capisce all'istante di non aver letto una "semplice" storia, ma una storia di storie di altre storie all'interno di un universo, tutto creato da un uomo solo: Tolkien.
La prima volta che lo lessi, mi aveva letteralmente sbalordito, perchè la scrittura è molto ricercata, i personaggi sono molteplici e splendidamente caratterizzati, ma all'epoca non avevo ancora letto "Il Silmarillion". Ora, avendo "Il Silmarillion" che gironzola ancora nelle mia testa, la lettura si è rivelata qualcosa di ancora superiore, riuscivo a collegare molti degli eventi narrati come se fossero parte della Storia e sogghignavo affascinato e con ancora più coinvolgimento della prima volta. Mi son sempre chiesto come Tolkien fosse stato in grado di creare una storia così grandiosa, quella de "Il Signore degli Anelli", ma quella che avevo letto era solo una parte. Quindi Tolkien è un "semplice" essere umano o è un Valar o addirittura Eru in carne ed ossa?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnVlN...

i am tempted to go out and buy a wobbly table just so I can put this book to good use.

I read Lord of the Rings first when I was about eleven or so, and then stayed up all night at a hip boy/girl party in the bathroom with Nathan O. ... talking about ents and elves and whether Tom Bombadil was God. Yes, I was a geeky child. However, all these years later, the story has stuck with me.

First a warning: Don't read Tolkien if you don't appreciate true-omnicient-narrator-style epics. Tolkien isn't a master character builder: he leaves all that to the reader's imagination. The agony in the Aragorn/Arwen romance -- so blatant and operatic in the movies -- was a longing look on Strider's face at Rivendell, an odd comment from Bilbo, and a short no-nonsense Appendix. As with many of the themes in this work, the romance and deep character relationships must be picked from between the lines.

And there is so much between the lines here. The world of Middle-earth lives, utterly lives. Instead of tugging on what-ifs, this fantasy forces readers to imagine. Tolkien's work is the fullest realization of literary world building ever penned.

It is also sophisticated writing, drawing on older forms (epic, romance, tragedy). Tolkien doesn't waste time writing snappy dialogue: the story is too epic to dwindle to individual persons. However, voice shifts subtly depending on point of view: chapters dealing with hobbits contain much more dialogue and detail; chapters dealing with Rohirrim have a poetic rhythm reminiscent of extant Middle English works; chapters dealing with elves are magic and blurry and hard to wrap a mind around. These shifts in style, far from being a novice writer's oops, are intentional and serve as mass characterisation of races and groups. So, what Tolkien foregoes in terms of dialogue he replaces with style and action: a classic example of show not tell.

Having just spouted all that praise, I have to admit that all the criticisms are true: the story does resound with Luddite anti-industrial metaphors, overt Christian themes of salvation and spirit, a structural decision to include songs that doesn't quite work, and fantasy tropes that are now cliche ... now that everyone else has copied them, that is. The thing to remember is that this book started the genre: everything fantasy, from Philip Pullman to George RR Martin, exists in the shadow of this opus.

So, no, it isn't a popcorn read. Get over it. If you invest the time and spirit to read this work, you will be glad you did.