A book review of "The Fellowship of the Ring"
An almost perfect journey
The story of the “The Fellowship of the Ring” is a well-known one, mainly because of the movie adaptation. It is the continuation of the story set-up in “The Hobbit.” in which Bilbo Baggins find a ring which grants him the power to turn invisible. He uses the ring and thinks nothing else besides that it is a magic ring that he found. It is discovered that in this book, about 50 years so after the last, that the ring is far more than just that. It is part of the will of an old and evil being named Sauron, and he is coming back to life. In order to stop that, Frodo, Bilbo’s adopted nephew, must journey to mount doom and destroy the ring. Eventually, Frodo travels with a group which is the titular fellowship and adventures through many lands and navigates many dangerous paths. However, the story does not resolve in this book as it the first of a series of three.
This book has much to love about it, but also somethings which are a mark against it. Firstly, it should be said that this is the grandfather of most modern fantasy books so as a result it can be rough in places which you would not find in a modern style of this book. One is that the chapters which set up the story about the first half of the book are almost painfully slow. It is well written but if you like to hear about every path and tree passed then you are in luck because Tolkien does just that. Thankfully, the last half of the book all but makes up for these over-indulgences in storytelling. Much of those chapters could be cut with little lost. One aspect I did like is how alive the world felt. If you want to have a masterclass in world building, look no further. Most people recognize that Tolkien is a master of weaving lore and story together in a way that feels natural and enjoyable. Those parts of the book are what made it for me during my read through. But what really put it over the top for me is the characters. While they all talk in a refined speech and sometimes it does not seem to fit the moment, they all still are very unique and the interactions between the party members were the parts of the book which really drew me into it and made me forget I was even reading a book. It felt so life-like and authentic in a way that some lesser authors could never match. The dialog also had many gems of wisdom in it which felt like advice from a grandfather to his grandchildren but maybe that is just because Gandolf, the old wizard, said most of those lines.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
This book is great it will have you enjoying the story and reflecting on your life at the same time. It would be a 10/10 if not for the technical issues with the writing which I attribute to age mainly and that it was a pioneering work in the genre. However, it does still play an effect on the experience so for those reasons I give "The Fellowship of the Ring" a 9/10 score for the review.