"Very pretty!" said Gandalf. "But I have no time to blow smoke-rings this morning. I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone.""I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk, and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them," said our Mr. Baggins, and stuck one thumb behind his braces, and blew out another even bigger smoke-ring.
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins loves his cozy little dugout home and his six meals a day and his smoke rings. Therefore, he is not very pleased when the wizard Gandalf invites twelve unexpected visitors to tea and then bundles him off on a miserable and dangerous adventure. But there is more to Bilbo than he himself knows, and he finds himself burgling, riddling for his life, and even facing a dragon to help his friends.
Notes: The Hobbit belongs at the top of its fantasy/adventure category—clever, funny, artistically written, and containing the very unlikeliest of unlikely heroes. From his cartoonish name to his combination grumpy-old-man and adorable-puppy-dog personality, Bilbo Baggins is far from the standard handsome young farm boy who can usually be expected to venture forth on a quest, yet the story succeeds mightily as a heroic tale. And now you can all scold or mock me for the fact that I got thoroughly bored with this book despite its excellence and almost put it down.
The book is not to blame for my lacking the gene that creates Tolkien fandom—though I approximate that fairly well as a fantasy fan, which requires acknowledging a debt to the Professor—but then, I don't think I can be quite wholly blamed for the fact that the characters didn't walk off the page and take up residence in my heart. I'll admit, of course, that plenty of people find Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Fili, Kili, Bombur, and the rest in a circle around their inner hearth. I just couldn't get attached enough.
Objectively, Bilbo is a fantastic character, complex and plucky and likable. Gandalf, however, while amusing, lacked the sense of power he exudes in The Lord of the Rings. Most of the dwarves were just alliterative names, though a handful were sometimes admirable and sometimes annoying—by authorial design, of course. Gollum and Bard and Beorn all proved interesting in their places, as did Smaug.
The action is more or less flawless. Goblins, terrifying wolves, fires, dark forests, giant spiders, disappearing Elves, a barrel-ride down a river, and a dragon-battle are a lot to fit into one small book, but Tolkien pulls it off. I'd like to say there was never a dull moment; if Rand al'Thor had been the protagonist, I would've been able to mean that. But those with the Tolkien gene—or at least a Y chromosome—should have no trouble staying hooked on the adventure.
Speaking of that Y chromosome: there are no named female characters in this book, as far as I can recall. Now, there are comparatively few named characters at all, and I'm no feminist by modern standards, so I'm not going to attribute any kind of ulterior motive to the author for that. Probably no female role occurred to him, or seemed to fit, especially considering that Tolkien lived and died before women really started running things in England. The lack may make the story harder for the average girl to get into, however. I wouldn't necessarily know; I'm an unusually girlish reader, which made things much harder for me.
Difficulties aside, The Hobbit is a brilliant, thoughtful little tale. Even I can comprehend why so many people love it. It's clear, for instance, that Tolkien loves his own protagonist; the little guy is treated with a great deal of fatherly tenderness, and from his unlikely beginnings Bilbo becomes a hero of the very best sort. It's hard to fault a tale containing that kind of glory, no matter how much my own emotions failed to invest themselves in it.
Recommendation: A near-perfect book for boys, as well as for girls who are less hung up on their own feelings than I am. Highly recommended.
I'll refrain from saying you're dead to me. ;)
ReplyDeleteHey, I tried to be nice! :P
DeleteYes, yes you did. It was a good job.
DeleteMy wife is not very "girly," and she has the same response. She's actually started The Hobbit multiple times and not been able to finish.
ReplyDeleteOh, good, I'm not the only one!
DeleteWhat's fascinating about the dwarf names (and Galdalf too, actually) is that they are actual names Tolkien took from the Edda..they aren't just alliterative names, they do have a purpose..and (like Lewis in A Horse and His Boy) he does the whole northern, family names play on each other thing..And Gandalf is supposed to lack the power he has in the LOTR, because it isn't the appropriate time for that power..But I do know what you mean in that I don't know if Tolkien really belongs in fantasy - he's sort of mythic literature, really. He doesn't play the game..sort of like War and Peace isn't exactly a 'novel' proper..Tolkien isn't really trying to write fantasy so much as he's creating a wholly English myth, and the fact that it is all technically 'fantasy' is just an unfortunate limitation of the publishing industry.. Not so much as LOTR..but it's all still there. (btw..there are plenty of named women in the Silmarillion ;)
ReplyDeleteInteresting point about the names. And yeah, Tolkien was definitely creating a myth with Middle-Earth, and it's doubtful whether anyone has done it better.
DeleteYes, there are plenty of named women in The Silmarillion, and some of them quite active, too. So apparently there's more to my failings than boredom at the lack of girls to play with, because I've been at The Silmarillion for a year and still haven't finished it yet. Good grief! What's wrong with me, Masha? :P
You're just not a Tolkien person, I guess.. Which is sad, but I forgive you. ;) Maybe someday you'll pick it up and just love it!
ReplyDeleteLate here, too.
ReplyDeleteI don't like The Hobbit either. I think I read it twice when I first discovered Tolkien in the mists of time, but never read it again. The Hobbit trailers don't even tempt me.
I like LotR much, much better, despite its masculine slant. I liked The Silmarilion, too, but the stiff, archaic language is off-putting, so I sympathize, Jenna.
--Arabella
Masha, I liked LotR far better on the second read (though this was actually my second read of The Hobbit). It's very possible that someday it'll just click into the Beloved category for me!
ReplyDeleteArabella, I have a bad feeling that I'm going to like The Hobbit movies for all the wrong reasons... like, random inclusion of female characters who aren't in the book. Except that I never did care for Cate Blanchett as Galadriel.
But yeah, I like LotR better, too. Even though the stiff, archaic language at the end--much like The Silmarillion's--drove me a little nuts. :)