Sunday, July 7, 2013

Book Review: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein

The Hobbit
By JRR Tolkein
Release Date: 1937
Source: Own Copy
Summary: Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug's left eye. He was only pretending to be asleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance... 

Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon...


Review: I have been meaning to read this book for so long, and after I saw the movie, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy as soon as I could. I loved Bilbo's story and since the movie was only 1/3 of the book, I really wanted to see what happened to Bilbo on the rest of his adventure to find the dragon and its treasure. 

Bilbo Baggins is used to living his quant hobbit life where afternoon tea is about as exciting as his day gets. So when the great wizard Gandalf shows up with a band of dwarves requesting Bilbo's help in a grand adventure, Bilbo just can't help imagining what the adventure could turn out to be. With a dragon guarding treasures one can only dream of awaiting them at the end, Bilbo finds himself agreeing to join the dwarves on their dangerous adventure. With goblins, spiders, elves, a mysterious ring, and a never ending forest, Bilbo embarks on a journey he will never, ever forget. 

Going into this book, I already knew what would happen in the beginning and I knew that this was one of the most loved books of all time. For some reason, though, I had no idea that it was a book more geared towards a younger audience than a more mature audience like Game of Thrones. That said, I absolutely loved how adorable the author made everything out to be, especially how Bilbo lived his hobbit life. I wasn't expecting a book that could make any of its character seem adorable, so it was fun reading a book that put a lighter edge to an adventure for treasure. 

Not only was Bilbo's character fun, but each of the dwarves and Gandalf made this book as awesome as it was. Each of the dwarves had their own personality and the way they acted on the journey made things so entertaining. You had no idea who would do what next, you just had to wait and see what was thrown their way. 

While I thought the story and characters were great aspects of the story, the plot sometimes dragged on, especially near the end of the book. The story itself wasn't all that long, but I feel like it could have been shorter without the ramblings of what Bilbo was thinking or other pointless details. By the end, i just wanted to get to the final part of their journey instead of reading the dragged out details. 

The Hobbit was definitely a cute, fun read that I really enjoyed. The only problem was that there were parts that seemed a bit tedious and unnecessary for the overall effect of the plot. The characters were so perfect and the adventure was so much fun to follow. Now that I know how Bilbo's journey pans out, I can't wait until the next two movies come out! I'll definitely be first in line to see The Hobbit's story pan out on the big screen.



1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on The Hobbit.
    Like you, I've been wanting to read the book since seeing the film. I'm unsure whether to wait until the films are all complete, so as not to ruin th plot. I don't know, do you think having now read it that viewing future films will be a different experience to the first?

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