Title: Lord of the Rings
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Published: 2002 Pages: 1168
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: 5/5
Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid
Plot Synopsis
The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy including Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and the Return of the King. I have read each book consequetively, one or two separately, and bits and pieces of a book every now and again.
FotR introduces readers to the cast of characters, especially the hobbits, situates readers in the time period, and begins the journey. TTT, of course, continues the adventure, and adds a twist to the plot by moving the main characters into two separate groups. RotK includes the height of the action, reunites our two groups, and wraps up the adventure.
I realize I've included very little detail, but I have two reasons for that. 1) I assume that most people are familiar with the storyline whether from the books or the films and 2) I hate reading plot synopses because they inevitably contain plot spoilers. What I really want to get to here are the questions posed for the Weekly Geeks assignment.
Becky asked quite a few questions so I'm going to handle them one or two at a time:
- Did you enjoy this trilogy? I loved it, absolutely adored Lord of the Rings.
- Who was your favorite character? Did you have a least favorite character? Both of those questions are very difficult to answer. I can't say that I have a favorite character. Gandalf and Saruman fascinate me the most, particularly their relationship to each other and to the world. As for least favorite character....probably Smeagol. He bothers me.
- Did you skip the poetry by any chance? The first time I read the books and possibly the second, I did skip the poetry. It seemed an unnecessary time killer. As I started to become more and more interested in the world Tolkien had created, I started paying more attention to details like the poetry/music, and it started making more sense as I read other Tolkien books.
- What is it about this one that you love most? I love the way Tolkien created an entire world with a past, present, and future. Each race has a language and a culture. The complexity is what drew me in and got be a bit obsessed.
- Have you read any other Tolkien Middle-Earth novels? I have read the Silmarillion, portions of the HoME series, and a few critical theory type books by other authors regarding Middle Earth.
- Have you seen the movies? Did you think they did justice to the books? I would say 80% of the time I find the movie seriously lacking, but in this instance, I was very pleased with the movies. I found them exciting, moving, beautiful, and well-done. And while there were definite differences, I fell that in the end the movies got at the Truth of the books.
My Final Thoughts on LotR
The trilogy is worth the time and effort it takes to read. From time to time, I found myself wondering why I had to read about every vein on every leaf on every tree in the forest (slight exaggeration), in the end all of that detail helped create the world I fell so much in love with. If you haven't read Lord of the Rings yet, go now to your nearest bookstore.
I read these as a teenager and loved them. I think the reason I loved the movies so much is because they appeared on the screen *exactly* as I'd pictured it all in my head as a teen.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to re-read them all again, looking for a new adult perspective on the whole thing. Maybe towards the end of the year I'll start in on them again.
Michele, welcome to my blog. I agree that the images on the screen were eerily similar to what I saw in my head and that was a big part of my enjoyment of the films. You definitely should re-read the books as an adult. It's a different experience.
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