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This is a temporary review. When I continue the series ( and passed my challenge), I will probably put the LotR as one book. I really wanted to finish fellowship this year, it had been a stain on my reading for a while.
Book 1 : **
After finishing 'TheThis is a temporary review. When I continue the series ( and passed my challenge), I will probably put the LotR as one book. I really wanted to finish fellowship this year, it had been a stain on my reading for a while.
Book 1 : **
After finishing 'The Hobbit' book at 11 or 12, I thought to myself "let me get a crack at the sequel". I loved the films, I am surely going to love the books. I could not get through the first few pages.
I probably rented the book some times but my actual second try was in college. A friend kept talking about how great they were, warming me up to buy the books myself and give it another go. During this time, I switched to reading mostly in English, so I convinced myself to give the original book a shot, for it would surely have had to do with the translation. I couldn't get passed 'Concerning Hobbits', the prologue.
Then, I trapped myself half a year ago (+-6 years later than my last attempt) by bringing the first book on holiday as only option. So every time we laid on a beach, I would be confronted with not reading. I checked out after Tom Bombadil.
And then, finally, I picked it up yet again this month and finished the book.
I think it took me so long because you really need to get used to Tolkien's writing. Simply put, he is a linguist and wants to show off his academic work. Which he definetly should to some extend, but not as an exchange for pace. The amount of songs in this first part was simply to much. By the end I basically skipped them. This, and the fact he has to write almost every time they eat and sleep, make the first book seem like filler. He definetly nailed the they-are-on-a-long-journey part, but a book with this much 'filler' would probably not be published now.
When it was good, it was great. But for every compelling scene and genius piece of world building, there is a dying Frodo requesting a song while they try to escape the Nazgûl.
Book 2: ****
The second part, however, (after arriving at Rivendell) really switched my reading pace. There might be some small thing that I found weird, being:
- Gandalf first reaction after being locked in a dangerous mine being mourning two tree's that fell while they entered - Aragorn being all 'ach, too bad you died Gandalf, I was so right tho advising not to come here, that was quite smart of me'
I loved this part, mostly because each member of the fellowship has more time to interact with the reader, each having a private moment with Frodo. And after finishing the book, I felt eager to complete the series.