The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien

The first thing that struck me while reading this was that it is truly part of a whole book; there was a reason why Tolkien wrote (what we know as) The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy) as one book – the stories seem to flow and ebb together nicely. The second thing that struck me is that there is no religion in these stories. Really. If you really root around in the books, you could argue that the characters (especially the Men of Gondor and the Elves) have a kind of ancestor-worship. In his introduction (I believe it was written for the 196? edition), Tolkien explains that he never intended for his books to be viewed at as or made into allegory (I am reminded of Twain’s similar attempt to forbid anyone to take his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn seriously : “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.”). Tolkien seemed to describe Middle Earth and the people in it so effortlessly that the reader believes that there is so much more to Middle Earth than this small (in comparison) story about a ring and some Hobbits. As we discovered after this Trilogy’s original publication, there were many other stories to be told from Middle Earth.

Other than the fact that this book is excellent in its dialogue, pacing, plot, and descriptions, Tolkien did not write very strong female characters (which Peter Jackson tried to achieve in his fantastic movies). I also especially like Tolkien’s way of juxtaposing plot and setting – of going against what is usual and expected in literature. For example, Frodo and Gandalf discuss the ring at length for the first time in the morning, with the sun shining and Sam outside the window, whistling.

Overall, I am very happy I’ve finally read this book, and I look forward to completing the trilogy.

If you enjoyed this book, please consider one of the following :
Fiction Recommendation : The Two Towers by Tolkien. The adventure continues in the second book of the trilogy.
Fiction Recommendation : The Hobbit by Tolkien. Here is where Gandalf and Bilbo’s adventures begin.
Nonfiction Recommendation : The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-Earth by Ruth S. Noel and J.R.R. Tolkien. This is the book on all of Tolkien's invented languages, spoken by hobbits, elves, and men of Middle-earth -- a dictionary of fourteen languages, an English-Elvish glossary, all the runes and alphabets, and material on Tolkien the linguist.