Book Review / "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What makes a book a masterpiece? I don’t believe the criteria for this can even be measured. Our perception of art is and always will be subjective. If a book reaches a wider audience, there will always be those who love it and those who absolutely hate it.

Still, some books prove their worth with their undiminishing popularity among people who are born after the artist’s death. From this point of view, I think it’s rather safe to say that “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien is a true masterpiece.

For me, loving this book was a surprise. I am not a fan of epic fantasy. I have my favourites in this genre, but I certainly don’t binge-read such stories. I am a true bookworm through and through. Books have been my sanctuary, my escape, my salvation, and a dozen other life-changing and life-defining things since I was a teen. During three decades of reading, I’ve read so many books, including “world classics must-reads”, that if I haven’t read some book, there is a serious reason behind why I haven’t. With “The Lord of the Rings”, this reason is that I simply didn’t feel compelled enough to read it. I did read “The Hobbit”, but eyeing its three-volume monstrosity of a sequel, I realised it’s not what I want to spend my time on.

Well, what can I say… Thirty years later, I “swallowed” the trilogy in about a month – and it took me so long only because I was reading it during a very busy time and could dedicate to it only short moments before bedtime.

I don’t see any practical use in retelling the plot of the book read by millions. So, I’ll just share some thoughts and impressions I was left with after I finished reading.

The real hero of the global battle against Sauron is… Sam Gamgee. What an incredible strength of spirit! Even the seemingly infinite power of the Ring couldn’t break his will. Yes, Frodo was the Ring Bearer, but if not for Sam, he wouldn’t have even brought the formidable thing to the Cracks of Doom.

Although I found some other parts of the journey fascinating, the most exhausting and gut-wrenching leg of it is my favourite. When two hobbits were crawling up Mount Doom, forced to leave more and more behind – Sam’s beloved kitchen gear and remnants of hope that they can succeed – my lips felt parched and my heart hollow. I guess, for many it might not be the most exciting part of the book, but for me, reading it felt like I’ve made that impossible climb myself.

I won’t pretend that I wouldn’t like to see more pages dedicated to female characters. Not only strong women. As much as I admire the Amazonian-style, fierce, and “step-away-I’ll-do it myself” type of heroines, I do enjoy reading about mothers who take care of their children (and not by slaying everyone who enters the house), about wives who stay behind when their husbands go to war (or the office) and have an equivalent of “the secret life of pets” (no offence meant, since I am that wife myself). But I strongly believe that every book has a right to be whatever its author created it to be. It’s impossible – and unreadable and unwatchable, to be honest – to fit in everything in every single book or a movie or a tv series. There exist different families, different work teams, and versatile environments in any aspect of our lives. In my opinion, such things shouldn’t serve as the sole reason to judge a book by.

“The Lord of the Rings” is a story about so many things. The things that are easily applicable to real life and modern times. It is a story about the power of persistence. You might lose your strength for a while when the burden becomes too heavy. You can even lose faith in success at times. But if you continue moving forward, no matter how you feel or what you think, if you put one foot in front of the other and repeat this action without contemplating whether you’ll be able to do it until the end, you have a chance to throw that ring into the burning abyss and see a new, magnificent dawn.




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The Lord of the Rings