Book Review May 2024 – The Hobbit

The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

This was the first book, I hope of many, that I read with my boyfriend (although at quite different speeds). Despite The Hobbit series being some of his favourite films, he had never read the book, so we decided to dive in together and neither of us were disappointed!

The Hobbit is a fantasy novel that tells the tale of the adventures of Mr Bilbo Baggins, a quiet, cautious hobbit from the Shire. The story begins when the wizard Gandalf visits Bilbo quite spontaneously then proceeds to sends a group of thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, to enlist Bilbo to join their quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug. Mr Baggins becomes the final member of this large group somewhat unwillingly. Despite being quite frightened at the thought of a lenghty quest with no certainty of a return home, Bilbo finally agrees to join the dwarves and wizard and so an adventure beings!

Throughout the course of the book, during the long journey, Bilbo and his new friends face a great array of dangers and adversaries from giant spiders to goblins, elves and trolls. There is even an encounter Gollum who once was a Stoor Hobbit of the River-folk now corrupted by a certain ring, a pivotal moment in the story, and the Lord of the Rings franchise overall. Despite his initial reluctance, Bilbo’s nerve and courage grow with each challenge he faces. 

After a lengthy journey, the story does finally lead the group the Lonely Mountain where conquering Smaug seems an impossible task and transpires not to be the final hurdle to overcome to claim the dwarves’ treasure. The quest then develops further involving the inhabitants of Lake-town when a conflict arises over the mountain's treasure. Elves, men, and dwarves all lay claim to it. The situation escalates until Gandalf warns them of an approaching army of goblins and Wargs. In the Battle of the Five Armies, the elves, men, and dwarves unite against the goblins and their allies.

At the end of the adventure, Bilbo comes back home. He is richer and wiser, not really because of any treasures acquired but, because of all he has experienced and the new friendships he has forged. Bilbo writes his memoir, which he titles "There and Back Again.", the story describing the Hobbit's travels and adventures. The novel ends with Bilbo's peaceful, but forever changed, life in the Shire.

I have read some fantasy novels in the past but this is not a genre I am very familiar with. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it was jam packed with characters, storylines and twists within the 368 pages (paperback edition). I read this book on my kindle and found that although the chapters were on the longer side, I was kept hooked with the engaging story and regular breaks within each chapter. I must admit I did end up buying a copy of the book because I enjoyed it so much and wanted to enjoy the maps and illustrations.

I have knocked a star off the overall rating because this book was somewhat hard to follow for two mains reasons. Firstly, there are so many characters and creatures in this book, despite the descriptive writing I struggled to create a good image of each character and keep track of who was who. When reading books like this, I feel like I need a reference and found myself going online to find pictures of the characters in order to remeber each character.

Secondly, although I enjoyed the rich plot, I found the way each adventure swiftly moves from one incident to the next, a little unbelievable. Or rather, the resolutions to the problems encountered by the group felt a little to coincidental at times. Despite these things, I did enjoy reading the book. I was definitely glad I persevered with the story, the writing may not have been my style throughout but it was definitely worth it, the fast paced book was certainly an engaging read.

My boyfriends thoughts: - It really helped having already seen the films to have a good image of the many characters in the film. - However, the story in the films does deviate somewhat from the books. The films apply a greater level of detail on the backstory of the world around the Hobbit to provide a base for the Lord of the Rings films. He did find he was focussing on the differences between the two versions of the story which could be distracting at times.

- He enjoyed the pace, the story flows and evolves at a fast past which keeps you interested and hooked throughout. - Overall he rated this 4/5 stars but there may be some bias as it is his favourite film franchise.

Note from me: having now started watching the films, I agree with some of these points. It would be far easier to keep track of the characters with a known physical appearance in mind. Also, the different personalities of the characters is easier to perceive and appreciate with the films which helps to distinguish the individual characters. A flaw of the film though is that although the story is told over several films, it remains at the same fast pace with quickly changing scenarios. The timescale also feels quite different from the book; the story which evolves over more than a year in teh book, appears to be more like days in the film.

Recommendations

Would I recommend?

Yes

To Who?

I would recommend this book to everyone, all ages from young to old would enjoy the escapism of the adventure from Hobbiton to the Lonely Mountain. Of course, as a fantasy novel, this would be over interest to those who know they love this genre, but for those new to it, I would say this a good book to dip your toe into the world of fantasy.

If you enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy:

- A song of Ice and Fire Series – George R R Martin

- Northern lights – Phillip Pullman

- The Harry Potter Series – J K Rowling

- Guardians of Ga’Hoole - Kathryn Lasky (this was one of my all-time favourite books as a child, me and my Dad read the books in this series together and definitely paved the way for me enjoying the escapism of reading).