The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

My Rank: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis:

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

My Thoughts:

The Hobbit is one of those classic books that will never grow stale, for children or for adults. It is clear that Tolkien penned the story for his own children: it is a book meant to be read aloud. Even when I was reading it silently to myself, I had the wonderful sensation that Tolkien himself was sitting in a cozy, leather arm-chair in the corner of my brain, reading it to me.

Bilbo Baggins is a delightful character (and his name is nothing short of magnificent). He is humble, good-natured, and does not wish ill for anyone. But he also enjoys his comfortable hobbit-hole and is downright frightened and horrified when Gandalf the Wizard steps up to his hobbit door with an offer of an adventure.

I simply loved everything to do with the hobbit. The very word ‘hobbit’ is utterly satisfying. I loved his cozy, clean hobbit-hole and how deeply he longed for it on his travels. To show how profound my love for Bilbo is, I will say this: I loved the hair on his feet.

The 13 dwarves are by far the most difficult characters to envision as separate individuals with the exception of Thorin and Bombur. Tolkien gives us little on each dwarf’s personality, which does not necessarily damage the story, but it does make it lacking.

I loved the long journey — the numerous hurdles they had to overcome to reach their goal. The Riddle Game is by far the jewel of the novel. But Smaug the terrible dragon is a thrilling adversary to finally meet, having read his name with growing unease over 200 pages.

Delightful.

My Favorite Lines:

“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.

~*~*~

“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.

~*~*~

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”

“I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”

~*~*~

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

~*~*~

“Where did you go to, if I may ask?” said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.

“To look ahead,” said he.

“And what brought you back in the nick of time?”

“Looking behind,” said he.

~*~*~

“You have nice manners for a thief and a liar,” said the dragon.

~*~*~

“May the hair on your toes never fall out!”

~*~*~

“There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.”

~*~*~

“Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?”

~*~*~

“You may not like my burglar, but please don’t damage him.”