The Hobbit, or There and Back Again in All Challenges All The Time

Jun 11, 2014 Bev rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, speculative-fiction, classic-lit, mcpl-book, adventure

Once upon a time I was forced to read The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein for my junior-year college-bound English class. I hated every minute of it. Which was quite surprising considering that I was heavily into my science fiction and fantasy reading phase at the time. But I suppose there's something about being force-fed books that makes them unpalatable. I totally get what Ms. Troop was doing (now)--and I couldn't have asked for better preparation for college than what she gave us. But there are v Once upon a time I was forced to read The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein for my junior-year college-bound English class. I hated every minute of it. Which was quite surprising considering that I was heavily into my science fiction and fantasy reading phase at the time. But I suppose there's something about being force-fed books that makes them unpalatable. I totally get what Ms. Troop was doing (now)--and I couldn't have asked for better preparation for college than what she gave us. But there are very few books from my junior and senior English classes that I can honestly look back on without fear and loathing. 1984 by Orwell, Siddhartha by Hesse, and Wuthering Heights by Bronte are pretty much the only ones to escape. Moby Dick? Ick! The Old Man & the Sea? Felt like I was dragged kicking and screaming through the eons we spent on that thin volume. The Hobbit? Just seemed like one long, drawn-out, rambling tale.

So...when one of Megan's Semi-Charmed Reading Challenge categories called for us to read a book read by another challenger and I saw that Kalyn V @ Geez, Louise was tackling Tolkein's classic, I thought it a good time to give this much-beloved book another chance. And what did I think of it this time? Funny you should ask....

Since the movie came out not too long ago and this is such a well-known story, I'm not going to bother to give a full run-down here. Suffice to say that this is a Quest novel with a capital Q. Mild-mannered, home-body hobbit Bilbo Baggins goes on the journey of a lifetime and learns that he's braver than he'd ever suspected and certainly more than adequate for all the adventures in store (just like Gandalf said). So it's also a coming of age novel and all those other high-falutin' English-majorly things we talked about back in college-bound English. There's lots of adventure, sword-fighting with spiders and goblins, and some daring trickery with barrels. A lot to enjoy.

But...it is also one long, drawn-out rambling tale. Tolkein is a story-teller. I'll give him that. But there were quite a few points where my attention was wandering...and most particularly in the last quarter of the book where you'd expect the action and the wrap-up to be at its most riveting. I found myself skimming over whole sections and apparently not missing anything because the story kept making sense.

I will say that I enjoyed myself much more without Ms. Troop constantly at my elbow asking about motifs and metaphors and symbols and meaning. I do wish it hadn't been so long and drawn-out. ★★★ for a nice adventure story. I had hoped to give it more. The edition I read was really quite lovely. I adored the illustrations by Michael Hague.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks. ...more

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Dec 23, 2022 Elle rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, classic

3.5 stars. The writing is really good and imaginative and I can certainly see why lovers of epic fantasy hold this in such high regard. It is interesting and creative. But the characters are all a bit of a blur and though there was a lot going on I just didn't care enough to really be pumped up into the higher ratings. Enjoyable? Sure. Will it warrant a reread? Probably not. But I will be continuing on and I will read The Fellowship of the Ring, so clearly it was still worth my time and I can fi ...more

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Nov 05, 2023 Shan ~A~ rated it liked it

Shelves: audio, kindle-unlimited, in-series-or-trilogy, books-i-own, fantasy, fae, witches, music, dragons-no-shifter, setting-fictional-land

High fantasy novels have never been my thing, and this was no exception, but I can see why people love this story.

You have an average, everyday joe who gets to go on this grand adventure.

Bilbo is completely taken out of his comfort zone, and he embraces it, and overall, the experience changes him for the better.

I have to say that I'm glad I watched the Lord of the Rings films before trying to delve into any of the books, because I most likely wouldn't have continued or wanted to give the worl ...more

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