The Fellowship of the Ring
question
Is this book too descriptive?
Musicaloutsider
(last edited
Nov 16, 2020 08:08PM
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Nov 16, 2020 08:07PM
So, I just started reading the book and I watched the movies for the first time recently. I liked them and I totally get why they're so popular. Reading some of the negative reviews on here, I can understand why some people disliked the books but they complain about all of the descriptions. They call all of the details boring but I actually personally like very detailed writing that gives us an image of the scenery. It's like you can't please people either way. Readers hate telling instead of showing but when an author shows instead of tells they're like "NO!" What I didn't like about lord of the rings (and the hobbit) is how over dramatic it all is. I get that it's supposed to be very dramatic but that just isn't my style and sometimes I was laughing at all the slow motion and dialogue. I get why people find both the hobbit and the lord of the rings boring. I thought that I would be bored while watching the movies but surprisingly I wasn't. I was actually entertained the whole time. Well, the hobbit had me zoning out and yawning plenty of times but not the lord of the rings. Deep down I think that it's truly an amazing story that not only has so many good messages in it but also must be appreciated for the great impact that it has made on culture. It has influenced the fantasy genre in so many different ways. What are your opinions?
Imo you need to see the book in the time it was written. It was a time, where no tv shows or films were available, not even talking about the modern social media with swiping through short films on tiktok. For me, tolkien describing things in such detail is showing every reader, how plastic the world is, he has built. And i think the slow pace and the descriptive style is the reason, why i am going back to read his books over and over again. He gives you the time to experience what he experiences in his 'second reality' almost. I've read 'the count of monte christo', where the middle part is like 400 pages too much and after accepting, that this is the style of older time, i absolutely loved it and i do love it especially for that. For me, those books remind me of how much time i do have to read and have fun exploring new worlds. My brain says 'go on social media and scroll!!!!' but my heart says 'isnt it fun, to say stop to the fast world around you and inhale every letter tolkien has written down? You need more books like that man!'
Anyone reading this, please recommend books with slow pacing like lotr:) greetings
Anyone reading this, please recommend books with slow pacing like lotr:) greetings
I didn't find it overwhelmingly detailed, I mean, the prose is freaking beautiful. I loved these books when I was a kid, and still re-read them.
Yes. It is a highly-descriptive book. It is not for everyone but the story is for everyone has to know.
It takes a while to get used to, the highly detailed renditions of everything in the environment. But if you let go of your expectations, and simply allow the story and the magic of this world envelope you, then you will find it to be a real gem. The first time i read it, i too felt it overbearing with detail, but on my second try, i realized that it was myself that had to change.
I think it is a matter of personal opinion. There are times when Tolkien goes deeper in describing certain settings than others. I personally didn't find descriptions too much and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
As I said, it is a matter of opinion. Comparing this book to, say, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, you would think FoTR to be cliff-notes.
As I said, it is a matter of opinion. Comparing this book to, say, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, you would think FoTR to be cliff-notes.
Yes. It is. It's also quite unnecessary to describe everything in every single detail.
Jamie Green
I don't see how it's unnecessary. Granted there were things that maybe could have been cut, but they help build the world and the setting, and help gi
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honestly it's been a while since i've read the books (i read them when i was about 13 so about 5 years), but i remember that i loved the fact that everything was so detailed. it made it easier to imagine the actions of the characters, to imagine the set up, the battles. i think it is genius ! but i can agree that in some ways, it can be a lot. i read the hobbit a while after i read the lord of the rings, and it was way easier to comprehend. but as you must know, they made 3 movies of 2h30 each to cover a roughly 300 pages book. it's saying all we have to know about the book and the importance of details in it.
and being extra descriptive is the style of tolkien : i don't know if you've read some of his other books, but it is always like that. maybe it just means that it's not a style for you, and that's okay !
and being extra descriptive is the style of tolkien : i don't know if you've read some of his other books, but it is always like that. maybe it just means that it's not a style for you, and that's okay !
Having read all three Lord of the Rings books, I really think this is only a big issue with the first one. Fellowship of the Ring, especially in its earlier sections very much feels like Tolkien finding his feet when it comes to describing in detail what is important what isn't. The whole Bombadil sequence is sort of the culmination of this issue with the book in my opinion. The Two Towers and The Return of the King are fine though, and even Fellowship picks up the pace a bit after The Council of Elrond.
I prefer books that are very descriptive. When reading, it helps with becoming immersed in the story.
Fellowship is probably the most fun and least mature of the Trilogy. I think that was by design. Tolkien draws you in, and by Return of the King, you believe in Middle Earth.
Fellowship is probably the most fun and least mature of the Trilogy. I think that was by design. Tolkien draws you in, and by Return of the King, you believe in Middle Earth.
The detail adds to the immersion and world- building and are a part of the style and era of the books. As Cornelie said all of Tolkien's books are long-winded and descriptive. As LOTR is such a fantastical book series it is necessary to describe things in detail. Tolkien was also the creator of the 'stereotypes' of elves, dwarves and men in fantasy stories and those races attributes. As such it was very important to give descriptions of characters, settings etc.
I know it's technically one book, but this is the one of the three that I turn off during the first half of. The Tom Bombadil section is irrelevant nonsense
I might be the wrong person to answer, because I read the trilogy once every year or two. The extreme detail is one of the things I like most about it. Tolkien created a whole world, and then told its history over the eons of time. It's part of what makes it a big enough story for me to become totally immersed in.
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Jan 17, 2023 08:52PM