Well that was adorable. It's funny, I didn't get into reading until I was older so when all my friends in elementary/middle school were reading these books (because at the time the movies were coming out) I was too intimidated by the size to pick one up. At the time, I was trying to do everything in my power to get away without reading.

So after all these years I sorta looked at Tolkien as more than a man. Ya know a guy who created our baseline for high fantasy, he had to be the standard of everything great in literature right? Well that's not what this novel turned out to be and it was for the best because I loved it. It makes me regret not reading it as a child because I know I would've thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Narrator was adorable and so welcoming. He was the old guy who shows up at a party and wants everyone to like him so he tells them the most fascinating story he can think of, all the while breaking the fourth wall or breaking from the narrative to offer exposition that enriches the story.

There was never a dull moment. It starts off with Bilbo being invited on the journey, oversleeping, then deciding he was going on an adventure. The characters were always on the move and always facing new challenges, whether it be trolls, elves, spiders, or goblins (which works well for a story because it offers plenty of opportunities to put it down and pick it back up without losing your place).

All in all, I loved this tale. It was a fun adventure that wasn't stressful or intense. It didn't require any deep thought to enjoy (I know one could dissect the layers of this book and pull out deeper meaning but it isn't a requirement for enjoyment).

I now look forward to reading the LOTR series. This is exactly what I needed after finishing the Dark Tower series.

Oh, Bilbo, how many times have I read your adventures? Admittedly though, the time before this was at least 20 years ago, maybe even in high school, when my grade 12 English teacher selected it as one of the books for the class to study. I found this odd given the intended age level, but it gave me another chance to read it and I am not complaining. In the interim I at one point played the 2003 Playstation 2 video game based on this book (predating the Peter Jackson films, it stayed quite true to the text). It was an adequate game.

I tried once to read this to my children, but it starts off very slow and I could not engage them with it. Will try again! But, it is very different from contemporary children's books. As a lingering pastoral fantasy it doesn't quite match current literary sensibilities. I admit to finding myself bored on occasion, during the quiet times that too often broke up the key moments of the book. I may want to skip some of those for a second read-aloud attempt. Children were clearly very bored in the 1930's.

There is no denying the enduring classic appeal of this seminal work of fantasy. Trolls! Goblins! Smaug! Spiders! Elves! Beorn! War! Eagles! A dinner party! It all weaves together wonderfully, with great little moments of foreshadowing peppered throughout. I was not terribly impressed with the character of Gandalf. He was an awful grump. The dwarves too were decidedly unheroic. The text addressed this directly late in the book, giving them a greedy nature that has been overshadowed by their battle prowess in later adaptations.

I have not yet watched the full Peter Jackson trilogy based on this but I intend to now, if only to lament all the things that he butchered or expanded unnecessarily.

I was fortunate to acquire this beautiful slipcase collector's edition. I love the runes. I have not taken the time to translate the full front border text yet, aside from "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again", and "Bilbo Baggins" down the right side. I will save that for when I re-read the Lord of the Rings in the near future and have the appendices open.



****************************

I’ve now read this aloud to my son at bedtimes. I prepared him for the fact that the beginning is boring, which he agreed it was. But he had no complaints along the way, despite parts that, to me, I thought could have lost his interest. By contemporary literary standards it’s not the most skillfully written; many important story elements are added late; subject pronouns (specifically “he”) is frequently used sloppily, i.e. making it hard to immediately track which “he” each “he” refers to; always discernible from context clues, but it forces one to stop and consider to keep it straight.

Gandalf was not a grump. I’m not sure why I thought that on my last reading.

Riddles in the Dark . . . now there’s a chapter to read aloud.

4 ⭐

Hobbit Review No.345,000,029 in D Major [1.Tolkien Dedication] as performed by the Oakenshield Orchestra and the Rivendell Children’s Choir:

“It matters not what one thinks of ‘The Hobbit’.
Another review? Dios mio, please stop it!
Everything now is pre or post-Tolkien,
Don’t act so shocked, Macaulay Culkin!

n  n

Negative reviews are fake news says ‘The Donald’,
John's given kids more joy than Ronald McDonald!
Ya Hey! Ya-Harri-Hey! Ya hoy!
Goblins, Wizards, Elves; oh boy, what a joy!

Tolkien’s the pillar that all other’s stand on,
There’s not a trope, good or bad, that hasn’t his stamp on.
I’ve heard it expressed as a general Reuel,
Most authors don’t equate to Tolkien’s Bristol stool.

Tra-la-la-lally! Fa-la-la-lally! Fa-la!
This wily motherfucker really set the bar!
So, thank you, Mr.Tolkien, for your contribution to the genre,
I’m having an old friend for dinner, that’s a double entendre.

It’s clear by now that I’m no poet,
I’ve exposed myself! Now everyone will know it!
So goodbye for now, adios y au revoir,
I’m off to spend an evening in Galadriel’s boudoir

May your beard grow longer
and your virility stronger,
May a thrush land upon your shoulder,
May you live to be a great deal older.

Break it down now!
I said a hib-hob, the Hobbit, the Hobbit
To the hib, hib-hob you don’t stop the rockin’….” [Fade out]

Hit the road Bilbo, and better don´t Smaug no more

A short piece for kids ready to unleash its full potential
Without its, and C.S. Lewis's impact on Tolkien, there may have been no LOTR. Just imagine how empty the nowadays fantasy world could look like. But at least it´s not

As complex as the Silmarillion
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Holy heck, this thing was a mind blowing, complex, interwoven, totally over my little nerd brain behemoth of a book, truly hardcore stuff if you´re into that. Some purists may argue that the hobbit is too simplified, but again, it´s a freaking book for kids. I just don´t get the people ordering pizza at the golden arches drive in and then complaining and wanting to talk to the manager. Reading Karens are just ridiculous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(...

Would be a bit over the top to see a deeper allegory regarding greed and power in Smaug
But it´s always a nice move to show kids the problems with endless exponential shiny growth until there is no gold left anymore. There definitively is an equivalent of this concept in the pure, endless exponential evil growth concept in LOTR and one could take another, controversial step and ask who Morgoth (the Prime minister or CEO?) Sauron (an important minister or CDO), and Saruman (an overachieving higher bureaucrat or rayon manager) could be in 21st century real life. I´m not just joking, I´m really often thinking

About the manifestations of evil in different genres and reality
See how hidden it is in this short piece, opening the just potential for many kids to later ask what it could have meant. And for everyone else to look at her/his society and point at the darkest, crudest unfolding potential. In the worst case, this is not just political terror mixed with theocracy witch burning, but garnished with a stupid, self destructive economic system ruining everything. At least privileged Western people like me just have the ethical problem of choosing the favored luxury consumer goods from the top of piles of corpses and natural destruction caused in some place nobody knows. I just don´t know which 8K 65 inch TV I should buy and if I should spend my vacation in the mountains or by the sea. However,

Why should anyone handle Tolkien the Nobel prize for literature?
Just because he founded one of the greatest literary genres ever? So better give it to another sophisticated intellectual who probably ( I haven´t read any Ivo Andric https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... ) is so over the top work to read that it´s just exhausting. But I´m biased regarding Nobel Price and snobby classic literature, so I´ll better stop complaining about things I´m too lazy to read and that just aren´t fun, but even often pretty downers too. But it´s still funny that nobody reads all this Nobel Price stuff, fantasy and sci fi never were allowed to enter, and still became the most inspiring literature to rule them all.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

It's a beloved children's book and it's a classic.
But a word of advice from someone who went down this dark path?
Know thyself, Random Goodreader.
I read books from the 1930s all the time but there is just something about the way Tolkien writes that kills me slowly inside. I knew this going into it, but I really wanted to like one of his books.



In my defense, my goal was to finish what I started with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
And I really tried to cling to what was happening but I just kept zoning out because there was nothing here for a reader like myself to hang onto. I want to understand the appeal of Tolkien in the modern-day sense because there are people who swear to have recently read and loved his books! The fault lies not with Tolkien, but with me in trying to read Tolkien.



So, it's not you, Bilbo. It's me.
And it's all the fucking songs in this thing.
I've come to the conclusion that I should have read this when I was younger. Because the older I get the less patience I have.
For the parents of annoying children in restaurants, for the people who tell me that my opinions are wrong, and for the books that drag ass. If I had read this when I was a kid, I'm pretty sure I would have the nostalgia glasses needed to say that this book shaped my childhood and whatnot. As it is, I got nothing.



I'm not saying The Hobbit is terrible, but it's the wrong kind of story for a grumpy fart like myself who doesn't enjoy dry questing and a bunch of shitty songs in their reading material.
And this thing is filled to the brim with both. It felt like I was swimming through jello to get to the end.



I will say there was more humor in this than there was in the LotR books, so that was cool. But as far as plot goes, I just didn't care about any of it.
What are they even after? Some leftover dwarf treasure?



Dammit.
I wanted to be in your club. I wanted to get invited to all the larping parties. I wanted to learn how to throw down cool elvish gang signs. I wanted to wear pointy ears & play a flute off-key at my daughter's wedding.
You Tolkienites are a great bunch of people and I'm just sorry I couldn't like the books the way they deserve to be liked.

Now I don't remember all the names of those 13 dwarfs, but still I can legitimately say I enjoyed the book. The Hobbit (the version rewritten by Tolkien) is sophisticated enough to please adults and children alike.

Initially, nobody knew how Gollum looked like. Seriously, just take a look at the various covers of the book and you'll see diverse bodies as Gollum. The Ring acquired by Bilbo is so quaint, so practical.

Tolkien weaved his magic here and delivered a timeless classic. The adventures of Bilbo, especially those without Gandalf to bail him out, are very original. I hope the uninitiated don't get deterred by the movie trilogy. That would be a tragedy. I give this book a perfect five stars.

Ah, here it is again, for the tenth or eleventh time, my all-time favourite book! I first read The Hobbit in junior school, at about ten years old (roughly; it was a long time ago) and I was immediately entranced. I frantically got hold of a copy of The Lord of the Rings because I needed more of this wonderful world and, lo, my fate was sealed.

The Hobbit wasn't just my first Tolkien, you see; it was my first steps into the fantasy genre as a whole. Up 'til that point, my reading consisted solely of horror (swiped from my mum's bookshelves) and science fiction (swiped from my dad's), but this added a third beloved genre to my literary world.

As such, this book will always hold a special place in my heart and I am absolutely unable to write an unbiased review of it as a result. You have my eternal thanks for this gift, Mr. Tolkien; I hope you're resting easy in the company of Hobbits, Dwarfs and Elves, wherever you may be.

Always excellent!

Some quick scattered thoughts on re-reading this classic:

It's strange how generic this story can feel, since so much that's followed in its wake has adapted and used little parts for its own. LotR is more influential yet, but reading this, I could feel the Hobbit's influence everywhere. Even subtle details and throwaway lines turned into major Dungeons and Dragons tropes.

The dwarves are terrible adventurers, always getting into trouble. They lose their food and adventuring equipment over and over and over. Like, the incompetence of the characters is actually this major driving force in the book. I think that idea is still incredibly fresh.

Also, there were just so many dwarves. 13 dwarves and a hobbit? It's easy to lose track of all of them, but they somehow all feel like complete characters, and they know each other well enough that their interactions show it. And even Bilbo can tell them apart in one way or another. There's something refreshing about a giant party of too-many dwarves here. None of that Fellowship party of specialists that turned into 6-member Dungeons and Dragons parties. No way. For intrigue, just add more dwarves and make them all uniquely bad at the things they do.

The little character interactions are fantastic. There's a tense point where Bilbo is breaking all of the dwarves out of prison and they have to run for it before they're caught, but one of the dwarves stops and starts asking a lot of questions because he wants to brainstorm the plan.

The songs are actually kind of good, and the world is always singing. Even the bad guys have songs. At this point, I've read a LOT of bad songs and rhymes in fantasy books, but the ones here are lovely, accessible, and worth reading.

The language in general is wonderful? The world feels vivid because of how it's described. Though some of that is a little dated, with giant chunky paragraphs describing the woods over and over. Petty point: for all of Tolkien's powerful use of language, the Great Goblin straight-up has some of the worst lines in fantasy literature. Dude speaks in giant boring paragraphs. But mostly, the language is the reason I came back to these, to take a dip in the source and get a better feeling for how to write fantasy.

Anyway, if you love fantasy but haven't read the Hobbit or LotR, they're a lot better than you might think if you've only seen the movies. The language, in particular, is everything.

Can someone write a feminist retelling through Smaug's perspective? Thanks

This is the first time I have read Tolkien. This is the story of Bibo Baggies, a hobbit, and his adventures with Wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves.

This is all new to me. I had not read any of his books or seen the movies. I had heard of “The Lord of the Rings” but did not know what it was about. This type of book is difficult to review. Tolkien had a magnificent imagination. I am looking forward to reading more of Tolkien.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. It is eleven hours and five minutes. The book was published in 1937. Rob Inglis does a good job narrating the book. Inglis is an actor and audiobook narrator.

The Plot  القصه
The Action  الاحداث
The Settings  الاماكن
The Characters  الشخصيات
But.. The Oscar Goes to.. J.R.R. Tolkien for BEST STORYTELLER

فعلا لعل اكثر ما اعجبني في رحلتي مع الهوبيت ..تلك الرحله غير المتوقعه لي
هو اسلوب روايه جي ار ار تولكين للقصه
فله اسلوب مميز بالفعل في الحكي, كانه يروي وهو يجلس معك أنت شخصيا

الهــوبيت هي حجر الاساس والبدايه في واحده من اهم الروايات في العالم "سلسله ملك الخواتم" "وكانت السلسله الاعلي مبيعات حتي اطاحت بها روايه الساحره الانجليزيه جي كي رولينج عن قصه حياه هاري بوتر" , وحتي الكتاب منفردا قد حقق مبيعات عاليه ونسبه قراءه اعلي


لم اكن انتوي ابدا البدء في قراءه عالم فانتازي من اوله لاخره..فهذا لم يكن ابدا نوع القراءه المفضله بالنسبه لي "فلا الخيال العلمي مثل حرب النجوم او الهوبيت هو النوع المفضل لي في القراءه واحيانا الافلام ايضا"..فانا افضل الخيال الذي يحدث في العالم الحقيقي الواقعي,الفانتازيا التي تحدث في البلد المجاور والشخصيات الحقيقيه حتي وان كان لها قدرات خارقه..ولكن عندما تعج روايه بشخصيات غريبه كاقزام وغيلان وهوبيت وجن, بل وتدور في ارض خياليه فهذا كنت اعتبره كثيرا جدا لمخيلتي الي علي قدها :)

ولكني اتذكر جيدا ان اول مشاهده لفيلم "ملك الخواتم" 2001 اعجبني قصه الجزء الاول نوعا ما الا ان يكون "الهوبيت" هذه الشخصيات الخياليه مع الاقزام مع الجن والغيلان والترول والصقور العملاقه, كل هذا في اراضي غير حقيقيه وعالم اخر تماما اربكني جدا ولم يجعلني استمتع بالاجزاء التاليه

وتشأ الظروف ان اشاهد بعد اكثر من 10 سنوات النسخه الممتده من الفيلم, وشعرت ان الشخصيات لها عمق والسيناريو الممتد افضل بكثير من مجرد الاكشن والحروب التي ضجرت من طول مدتها خلال الاحداث

ومن هنا شعرت ان بالتأكيد الروايه نفسها وشخصياتها لها عمق غير الاكشن ولها تاريخ ايضا..وبعد صدور الفيلم الذي خرج عن روايه "الهوبيت" بعد اخر جزء بعشر سنوات واعجابي فعلا برسم الشخصيات قررت ان ابدا في دخول عالم الارض الوسطي ,عالم تولكين كما رواه بنفسه وكما "اختلقها" بقلمه وريشته ايضا..ومن البدايه

********* الاحداث *********
------- The Plot ------
فكره الرحله وطريقه تقديمها اعجبتني جدا, وجود خريطه المسيره في غلاف الكتاب الداخلي بريشه تولكين امر اكثر من رائع وافادني كثيرا لتخيل الرحله

الا ان العيب الوحيد هو تسرب الملل في بعض اجزاء الرحله نفسها..ربما -واقولها مره اخري- هو ملل مقصود ادبيا لكي نشعر بمدي الملل الذي يعانيه البطل "فالبطل كان متمللا جدا طبعا ولايحلم الا بفراشه الوثير" ولكن مازالت بعض الاجزاء كانت اطول مما ينبغي ولم ترق لي كثيرا

وهنا يأتي جمال الفيلم والذي اعتبره مكمل للصوره الكامله التي رسمها تولكن, بيتر جاكسون فعلا منح الحياه البصريه للروايه بشكل رائع ويستحق فعلا ترشيح اوسكار اخر

بيتر جاكسون منذ بدايه الجزء الاول من سلسله ملك الخواتم قام باختيار اجمل مواقع التصوير التي يمكن جعل بها الارض الوسطي حقيقه مرئيه وليس في الامكان اجمل مما كان
وهذا ما استخدمه هنا بطريقه اقوي في "الهوبيت" وحتي ان كان هذا الجمال اكثر بكثير من الروايه نفسها في وصف الاماكن

كما قام في مغامره تحسب له بحذف بعض الاحداث الممله بالروايه "كالدوران مرارا وتكرارا في ممرات الغيلان بالجبل او الغابه المظلمه" ولكنه اضاف بعض الاحداث الاخري الاكشن والتي ربما زادت من الملل قليلا بالنسبه لي مثل جعل مطاره الغيلان للاقزام تأخذ مساحات اطول واحيانا في اوقات لم تكن بالروايه

كما اضاف في الفيلم احداث تدور بين جاندلف وبين النكرومانسي والتي تم ذكرها عابره في احداث الروايه ولم نشهدها او نعرف عنها اي شئ..وهي اضافه في هذه الحاله تحسب له جدا وفعلا اتمني ان اقرأ عنها في روايه اخري

وان اشفق الراوي الرائع علينا ويلات الحرب الاخيره -وهذا من حسن حظي اني غبت عن الوعي مع بيبلو "طبعا وكل من قرأ الروايه- لعدم تطويل الاحداث في وصف الحرب فاني اعتقد انها سيخصص لها نصف الجزء الثالث من الفيلم تقريبا, وربما يكون الامر مشوقا وقتها

ولكن كما قلت جمال الطبيعه والتصوير الذي قام به الفيلم يشفع له التطويل
ولكن الاجمل فعلا كان في تصوير
********* الشخصيات *********
-------The Characters--------
Dwarf فعندما يكون هذا ...قزم

تعرف انك امام فيلم يعشق شخصيات الروايه ويريد ان يقدمهم في اجمل صورهم
وقد كان.........حقا


فتصوير الشخصيات بالفيلم قدمه بيتر جاكسون باروع مايمكن ,وحتي ليس بصريا فقط بل وبناء الشخصيات نفسه وتطورها كان مشابهه للروايه ويعلوه في بعض الاحيان"بالطبع لطول فتره الفيلم باجزاءه"
فسموج التنين مثلا كان رهبته افضل بكثير "بصوته" وهيئته في الفيلم الجزء الثاني, وان كان هناك اختلاف طفيف بين الحوار بين الروايه والفيلم الا انك تجد ان كلاهما مكملين لتصويره الرهيب...ولكن يظل توليكن يتفوق بالتأكيد وبدون اي شك او حتي معارضه في تقديمها
اتذكر شخصيه "بوروين" الرجل الدب اني قرأت بدايه هذا الفصل وتقديم الشخصيه نفسها قبل نصف ساعه من دخول الفيلم الجزء الثاني..روح الدعابه في روايه القصه كان واضحا جدا وكان من اجمل الفصول فعلا, ولكنه تحول في الفيلم الي مشهد اكشن فحسب فلم يكن رائعا مثل الروايه

فالحوار بينه وبين جاندلف كان في غايه الطرافه فعلا...وشخصيه جاندلف بالاخص اعشقها "صارت شخصيتي المفضله الجديده" لاني اشعر ان بها الكثير من
********* الـرواي *********
----- The Storyteller -----

تولكن , والذي منحناه الاوسكار في اول الريفيو كان له اسلوب اكثر من رائع في الحكي...في وصف العالم الذي يعشقه والشخصيات وماضيها وتاريخها ونفسيتها وعائلتها

لغته المحببه في الروي وروح الدعابه واشعارك بانه يحكي لك الروايه خصيصا هو اكثر ما شدني لاستكمال رحلتي الغير متوقعه فعلا معه
انجليزيته المحببه سواء في اللغه او حتي تصرفات شخصياته جعلتني اعشق اكثر الادب الانجليزي "فلا ننس ان جي كي روليج كاتبتي المفضله انجليزيه ايضا"

جندلف انا متأكد انه شخصيته المفضله.."ربما سأبحث في هذا الامر فعلا" وقد اعجبني جدا حواره منذ اول مشاهده والتي حافظ عليها بروحها ونصها المخرج بيتر جاكسون

“Good Morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.

"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

"All of them at once," said Bilbo. "And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain.
...

"Good morning!" he said at last. "We don't want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water." By this he meant that the conversation was at an end.
"What a lot of things you do use Good morning for!" said Gandalf. "Now you mean that you want to get rid of me, and that it won't be good till I move off.”

n
ستشعر فعلا بتلك الروح المرحه في الروي سواء من الراوي او من جمله جندلف نفسها

"هل تتمني لي صباح سعيد ام انك تعني انه صباحا سعيدا سواء شئت انا او ابيت , او انك تعني انك تشعر بالسعاده هذا الصباح , او انه صباح لتكون فيه سعيد؟"
“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

n

في النهايه
********
فعلا هي رحله غير متوفعه
Unexpected Journey

لم اتخيل انه سيعجبني عالم خيالي وشخصيات خياليه الي هذا الحد..ربما تظل لاحداث القصه بعض الاجزاء التي مللت منها الا ان روح الراوي وتعبه في هذا العالم وتاريخه سيجعلك متشوقا لمعرفه المزيد من الاحداث

النسخه التي لدي
Paperback -Movie Tie in
كان بها اخر 25 صفحه بخط اصغر من الخط الصغير اساسا اخاص بالروايه اول فصول ملك الخواتم, في البدايه عندما كانت اضجر احيانا من الملل اقول اني لن اقرأه وسيكفيني الفيلم بنسخته الممتده
الا ان بعد النهايه وجدت اني اريد المزيد , وفعلا شدني جدا الفصل الاول وسيكون لي رحله اخري للارض الوسطي ومدنها وجبالها وجمال طبيعتها وحتي طرقها الوعره

مع الهوبيت..مع جاندلف..والخاتم..وحتي بيتر جاكسون وفوقهم
الرائع
جي ار ار تولكن

محمد العربي
من 12 ديسمبر 2013
الي 29 ديسمبر 2013

Gran aventura narrada con excelencia.

En realidad 4,5.

Antes de El Hobbit, lo único que había leído de Tolkien fue una obra llamada «Cartas de Papá Noel» que presentaba las cartas que él, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, escribía a sus hijos cuando eran pequeños. Cartas donde simulaba que Santa Claus, o Papá Noel como lo llamamos en algunos países, mantenía una correspondencia fidedigna y confidencial con cada uno de los niños. Aunque aquel libro fue muy corto, el contenido de las cartas me ayudó a comprender y percibir el don que poseía Tolkien para transmitir magia con sus palabras. Ese libro no lo leí siguiendo la recomendación de nadie, solo fue porque buscaba una lectura para navidad, pero aquella casualidad fue muy beneficiosa para conocer la prosa de Tolkien y estar preparado para el día en que por fin me atreviera a dar el gran paso y leer su saga maestra. Y sí, al igual que muchas personas, tampoco tenía la más remota idea de cuál era el nombre completo de Tolkien.

No es un secreto que todos tenemos cientos de libros pendientes por leer, y la lista sigue aumentando gracias a esta preciosa comunidad, por lo que elegir una nueva lectura no siempre es fácil. En esta ocasión me enfrenté a una dura decisión: Comenzar a conocer el Cosmere de Sanderson, o enfrentarme al mundo fantástico de Tolkien. Difícil decisión, pero esta vez me incliné por la segunda opción teniendo en cuenta la extensión de las sagas. Ya habrá ocasión más adelante para leer al querido Brandon Sanderson.

No leí este libro por obligación, aunque siento que es un paso casi imprescindible para todo amante de la fantasía. Tolkien es considerado el padre de la literatura fantástica moderna, y muchos escritores se han basado en sus obras para crear sus universos e historias. Así no nos guste su obra después de intentarlo, o su prosa —puede ocurrir—, considero que en nuestro rol de lectores debemos darle la oportunidad a este tipo de libros que se volvieron tan icónicos con el paso del tiempo: Algo interesante deben tener. No es casualidad ni su popularidad, ni la pasión que despiertan en sus seguidores. Antes de juzgar estas obras, o descartarlas, debemos intentar conocerlas y comprenderlas. Quizás el destino nos tiene la bonita sorpresa de enamorarnos también de la historia.

Para quienes no conocen la historia, El Hobbit nos cuenta las aventuras de un hobbit —valga la redundancia— llamado Bilbo Bolsón, quien un día es visitado por un mago llamado Gandalf que lo compromete en la peligrosa misión de ayudar a trece enanos a recuperar las tierras y los tesoros que fueron robados por su enemigo, el dragón Smaug. Desde ese momento, Bilbo emprenderá una aventura atiborrada de retos, peligros, magia, y heroísmo. Conocerá sus límites, sus verdaderas aptitudes, y reconocerá lo diferente que es la vida fuera de su zona de confort. Una aventura que cambiará su vida para siempre.

Sin embargo, y para mi sorpresa, el inicio de la novela no me gustó. Si bien es cierto que es una situación que me ocurre frecuentemente con muchas lecturas, en esta ocasión no me gustó porque sentí forzada la forma como Gandalf compromete a Bilbo en la aventura más peligrosa de su vida. Sí, el autor da aclaraciones y explicaciones que ofrecen lógica a la situación, pero personalmente percibí cierto matiz de incredulidad en el comportamiento de Bilbo. Es como si Tolkien tras finalizar de escribir su novela no hubiera tenido preparado el comienzo, y para solucionar su problema, hubiera escrito dichas páginas intentando correlacionar su contenido. Afortunadamente, el libro cambia radicalmente cuando comienza la aventura de Bilbo y es arrancado de su zona de confort: Allí comienza la magia y la aventura. Es tal y como sucede en las Crónicas de Narnia cuando los Pevensie entran al ropero. Antes de entrar no hay mucho que admirar, pero cuando cruzan al otro mundo tanto la atmósfera, como los personajes se transforman, y allí comienza la magia.

En El Hobbit descubrí una historia bastante entretenida cargada netamente de fantasía y magia, y que va mejorando progresivamente cuando los personajes se cruzan o enfrentan con sus enemigos. Cada peligro le da a esta historia la adrenalina necesaria para enganchar al lector hasta el final. Así me ocurrió, y me siento satisfecho porque disfrute de las tensiones que se iban presentando en cada escena. Si bien es cierto que hay un patrón que se repite en toda la novela convirtiendo en predecible las escenas que ocurren (calma—sorpresa—peligro—salvación), y que no existen verdaderos giros inesperados, la verdad es que esta es una de esas lecturas que disfrutas a pesar de los defectos.

Lo que más me ha gustado del libro han sido las canciones, las adivinanzas de Gollum, y la forma tan sagaz como Bilbo usa sus capacidades para sobrevivir o salvar a sus compañeros. Sin embargo, también me ha impresionado la forma como Tolkien describe el escenario por donde transitan sus personajes. Muchos autores cuando realizan su narración descriptiva aburren al lector con detalles innecesarios o porque simplemente lo cuentan con un estilo plano, pero Tolkien lo hace extraordinariamente porque narra solo lo necesario, y además atrapa al lector al hacerle imaginar al lector que realmente se encuentra allí. Con Tolkien me sentí como si estuviera caminando al lado de los personajes por montañas y laderas, por cavernas y fortalezas. La prosa de Tolkien me dejo más que satisfecho.


La batalla final me la imaginé tal y como en las películas de El señor de los anillos, con peleas aquí y allá, golpes, hachazos, muertos y gritos de batalla intensos por doquier. Sin embargo, me pareció muy facilista que, en ambas batallas en las que se vio involucrado Bilbo (contra los trasgos y la batalla final), casualmente, recibiera un golpe en la cabeza, perdiera el conocimiento, y justo despertara cuando todo acababa. Creo que al autor le pareció más práctico narrar la batalla como un hecho pasado, pero me hubiera gustado una narración presente que me permitiera disfrutar mejor de cada enfrentamiento, caídos en batalla, etc. Eso hubiera sido genial.


El mejor personaje sin dudas es el protagonista, Bilbo Bolsón, que no solo es agradable, sino que también crece como personaje. Al finalizar la novela podemos comprobar que Bilbo ya no es el mismo del comienzo porque ha madurado y tiene la valentía de un guerrero. Es un personaje honorable y humilde que se gana tu cariño, y el cual da gusto acompañar en cada aventura. Además su sagacidad le da un toque pintoresco a su personalidad volviéndolo más respetable y fascinante. Desafortunadamente no puedo decir lo mismo de Gandalf, que a pesar de ser «el gran mago», por lo que concierne a esta obra me quedó la imagen de un hechicero inteligente, pero algo simple: incluso en algunos fragmentos del libro me lo imaginé como un curandero o algo así, no entiendo muy bien el porqué. De los demás personajes, los enanos, no encontré mucha diferencia entre unos y otros, pero de Thorin, que claramente tiene más protagonismo, puedo destacar que me gustó el rol que el autor le brindó para dar una gran moraleja sobre la avaricia. Los otros personajes que también me gustaron fue Smaug, el dragón, y por supuesto el conocidísimo Gollum. Ellos han estado muy bien desarrollados; de hecho, todas las criaturas no humanas en general han estado a la altura, muy bien trabajadas. Gran trabajo de Tolkien en este aspecto.

Un libro que me deja importantes enseñanzas sobre el trabajo en equipo, el compañerismo, la inteligencia, la lealtad, y la necesidad que tenemos de enfrentar nuestros miedos. Nuestra vida también es como una batalla, como una gran aventura que debemos enfrentar, y nosotros elegimos la forma de librarla, ya sea huyendo o luchando por lo que nos corresponde, por nuestros ideales y sueños.

Un libro que me he devorado placenteramente, que me deja contento por el contenido encontrado, y que me motiva a leer con entusiasmo los siguientes libros de esta saga. Un libro muy recomendado, no lo dudo un segundo. Próximo destino, La comunidad del anillo.

سیر و سفر تو دنیای تالکین و دیدن یا خوندن ماجراهایی که توی این دنیا اتفاق می افته همیشه باعث شدن از اینکه زنده هستم و همچین تجربه هایی داشتم، احساس خوش شانسی و خوشبختی کنم
به قول کرت ونه گات:
"If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.”