What do You think about The Hobbit (2002)?
Maybe one day soon I'll write a proper review of The Hobbit.In the meantime, I want to say this:If you are a child, you need to read this for Gollum's riddles.If you are an adult, you need to read this book to children (if you don't have children, rent borrow some) for at least one opportunity to roleplay Gollum.Becuz GOLLUM ROOOLZ!!!!! See here, he even won an award!! (Click on the link to see a hilarious video)Of course the most compelling reason to add this to your reading list in haste is that it's coming to the MOOVIEZZZ!! (Update: commentary on the moviez below).Btw, if you like kickass fighting elves, not to mention pretty kickass she-elves and some sizzling elf/dwarf romance--well, then you might like the second Hobbit movie more than the book... ahem!Part 3 coming to a cinema house near you soon(-ish). My PRECCIOOOUUSSSSS!...and soon I'll have a copy of the all the moviez, and they will be me MINE, all mine, just like my precciousss illustrated copies of the novel.Ha, you didn't think one copy would be enough did you??If you get around used bookstores a lot, do look out for an illustrated version of the book!Update: About the 3 films by Peter Jackson: I didn't find the first 2 films very memorable. He seemed to draw it out almost unbearably, and it also felt to me as if he was embellishing the original story a bit. The whole thing seemed like actiony rubbish, though I personally actually quite enjoyed the swinging, shooting, swordfighting ninja elves and the bit of romance.But the THIRD film, The Battle of the Five Armies , now -that- was a good one. I almost missed it on the big screen because of the mediocrity of the first two films. But I was glad, oh so glad that I actually did go and see it. The cinematics, acting and editing was all very well done, but it was the screenwriting and directing that really shone. Here we saw a story of courage and cowardice; of generosity; of greed and avarice; of greatness of soul and of smallness of soul; of love; of selflessness; of brotherhood; of hatred; of humanity; of pain; of sacrifice; of struggle; of moral and spiritual victories; of sadness and loss, but above all, of triumph of the soul.Yes, The Battle of the Five Armies is certainly something that does Tolkien justice at the very least, and what a joy it was to behold on the big screen. :)PS. The movies also taught us that dwarves CAN be hot!
—Traveller
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.Books exist in time and place and our experience of them is affected by the specific time and place in which we encounter them. Sometimes an uplifting or inspiring book can change the path of a life that has wandered onto a wrong course. Sometimes a book, discovered early on, can form part of the foundation of who we are. Or, discovered late, can offer insight into the journey we have taken to date. Sometimes a book is just a book. But not The Hobbit. Not for me. In January, 2013, I pulled out my forty-year old copy in anticipation of seeing the recently released Peter Jackson film. It is a substantial book, heavy, not only with its inherent mass, but for the weight of associations, the sediment of time. The book itself is a special hard-cover edition published in 1973, leather bound, in a slipcase, the booty of new love from that era. The book, while victim to some internal binding cracks (aren't we all?) is still in decent shape, unlike that long-vanquished relationship. Not surprising. I had read the story six times and been there and back again with this particular volume five.The Hobbit had first come to my attention in 1965 or '66. I was then a high school underclassman, and my eyes were drawn to it at a school book fair. That was probably the ideal age, for me anyway, to gain an introduction to Tolkien. Not too far along into adolescence and an appreciation of the reality of the world to have completely tarnished my capacity for child-like wonder. That is what one must bring to a reading of this book, openness and innocence. Tolkien was a step sidewise for me, as I was a fan of the science fiction of that and prior eras. It was also, of course, a gateway drug for the grander addiction of LOTR, still my favorite read of all time. One might think that looking at this book again with old, weary fresh eyes might lend new insight. After all, I have read literally thousands of books since, and have picked up at least a little critical capacity. And yes, there are things I notice now that perhaps skipped past back then. Of course that begs a specification of which back then one considers. While I first read the book as a high-schooler, I read it again when I was gifted with this beautiful volume, in my twenties. That makes two readings. But there would be more. I well recall reading the book aloud while sitting in a chair by my son's bed. And yes, each of the major characters was delivered with a distinct voice. I went as deep as I could for Gandalf. I vaguely recall giving the dwarves a Scottish burr. Bilbo was definitely a tenor. My Gollum was remarkably like the sound of the one created by Andy Serkisssssss. (patting self on back). Of course, my son was not the last to arrive at the gathering. Some years later there was a daughter, and more bedside theater. It was a bit more of a struggle then. Life was rather hectic. Nerves were often frayed. Sleep was in short supply. And there were far too many times when my eyes closed before those of my little gingersnap. But reading it that fourth time, one couldn't help but notice the absence of any significant females. Who might my little girl relate to here? It is certainly possible for folks to identify with characters of another gender, but the stark absence of representatives of the female persuasion did stand out. Somehow I managed to keep my eyes open long enough to get through the volume.But the party was not yet complete. There would be one more arrival, and one more opportunity to sit on or near a daughter's bed and read aloud, sometimes to an upturned, eager face, sometimes to a riot of ringlets as she settled. My capacity for consciousness remained an issue. By then, my voice had also suffered a bit with the years, the reward for too many cigarettes, too much yelling, too much ballpark whistling, and the usual demise of age, so it took a fair bit more effort and strain than reading it aloud had done previously. I am pretty certain I made it through that third time aloud. Truthfully, I am not 100% certain that I did.You probably know the story, or the broad strokes anyway. In the quiet rural village of Hobbiton Across the Water, in a land called Middle Earth, an unpresupposing everyman, Bilbo Baggins, lives a quiet existence. He has a smidgen of wanderlust in him, the genetic gift of ancestors on the Took branch of his family tree, but he is mostly content to enjoy hearty meals and a good pipe. One day, Gandalf, a lordly, father-figure wizard Bilbo has known for many years, comes a-calling and Bilbo's life is upended. Gandalf is helping a group of dwarves who are on a quest. Led by Thorin Oakenshield, a dwarf king, they aim to return to their home, inside the Lonely Mountain, somehow rid the place of Smaug, the dragon who has taken up residence, and regain the land and incredible treasure that is rightfully theirs. Gandalf has recommended that Bilbo accompany the group, as a burglar. Bilbo, of course, has never burgled a thing in his life, and is horrified by the prospect. But, heeding his Tookish side, Bilbo joins the dwarves and the adventure is on. One need not go far to see this as a journey of self-discovery, as Bilbo finds that there is more to him than even he realized. This raises one question for me. How did Gandalf know that Bilbo would be the right hobbit for the job? Bilbo faces many challenges and I betray no secrets for any who have not just arrived on this planet by reporting that Bilbo's dragons, real and symbolic, are ultimately slain and he returns home a new, and somewhat notorious hobbit. Bilbo serves well as the everyman, someone who is quite modest about his capacities, but who rises to meet the challenges that present, acting in spite of his fear and not in the absence of it. He is someone we can easily care and root for. Elements abound of youthful adventure yarns, treasure, a map to the treasure, a secret entrance that requires solving a riddle to gain entry, a spooky forest, foolishness and greed among those in charge, a huge battle, and, ultimately, good sense triumphing over evil and stupidity. Oh, yeah, there is something in there as well about a secret, powerful ring that can make it’s wearer invisible. Sorry, no damsels in distress.(Rivendell remains a pretty special place. If I am ever fortunate enough to be able to retire, I think I would like to spend my final days there, whether the vision seen by Tolkien or the Maxfield Parrish take as seen in the LOTR films.)There are magical beings aplenty here. Hobbits, of course, and the wizard and dwarves we meet immediately. A shape shifting Beorn assists the party but remains quite frightening. There are trolls, giant spiders, giants, goblins, were-wolf sorts called wargs, talking eagles, a communicative, if murderous dragon, elves of both the helpful and difficult sorts, and a few men, as well. Then there is Gollum.IMHO, Bilbo is not the most interesting character in Tolkien's world. Arguably there is a lot more going on with Gollum, an erstwhile hobbit riven by the internal conflict of love and hate, corrupted, but not without a salvageable soul. While he is given considerably more ink in the LOTR story, it is in The Hobbit that we meet him for the first time. He is the single least YA element in this classic yarn, one of the things that elevates this book from the field and makes it a classic. The Hobbit was written before Tolkien's ambitious Lord of the Rings. While there are many references to classic lore, the bottom line is that this is a YA book. It is easy to read, and to read aloud, (something that is not the case with LOTR. I know.) and is clearly intended for readers far younger than I am today. It remains a fun read, even on the sixth (or so, I may have dipped in again somewhere along the line) time through. Were I reading it today for the first time, I would probably give it four stars. But as it bears the weighty treasure of memory and fond association, I must keep it at five. If you are reading this for the first time as an adult, or an antique, the impact is likely to be different for you. If you are a younger sort, of the adolescent or pre-adolescent persuasion, particularly if you are a boy, it might become an invaluable part of your life. Maybe one day you can sit by your child's or grandchild's bedside and be the person who reads these words to them for the first time, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit" and begin the adventure again. To see the glowing young eyes as the tale unfolds is nothing less than absolutely precious.PS – I would check out the review offered by GR pal Ted. He includes in his review outstanding, informative and very entertaining excerpts and comments re info on The Hobbit from JRRT's son Christopher. ==============================EXTRA STUFFHere is a lovely article on JRRT, from Smithsonian Magazine, January 2002In comment #32, below, GR pal Rand added a link to a reading of the entire book by Nicol Williamson. It is just the thing for bedtime, yours or your child's. Adding it here was done with Rand's kind permission.
—Will Byrnes
I love this book. Have I mentioned before how much I love Tolkien's books? They are part of my childhood and my memories are incredibly fond of them (yes I'm a nostalgic type of person alright). The Hobbit in many ways is of all my books part of my childhood. I was certainly the first time that I entered Tolkien's world when I first read it ten years ago. So I decided to re-read this for the fifth time ever as part of a fantasy challenge and to re-familiarise myself with a story I know by heart. And what I found surprised me.Even though I know this story so very well I was surprised to find hidden depth again. For one thing I saw Tolkien's wit shine through with some quotes. For instance in the following dialogue: Gandalf: "Indeed for your old grandfather Took's sake, and for the sake of poor Belladonna, I will give you what you asked for."Bilbo: "I beg your pardon, I haven't asked for anything!"Gandalf: "Yes, you have! Twice now. My pardon. I give it you. In fact I will go so far as to send you on this adventure. Very amusing for me, very good for you and profitable too, very likely, if you ever get over it."And that's one example out of many I noted this time around. Another thing I couldn't help but do was to compare what I read with this:The Hobbit TrailerI noted of course that the trailer shows a tone that hints at closer to the darkness of The Lord of the Rings and must suspect that the suggested references to Moria and the Necromancer in The Hobbit will play a larger role in the film. After all the Necromancer is Sauron. But there we go in conclusion there is an amazing film due out at the end of the year and this tale retains all of its potency and loses none of its vibrancy. If you haven't read it then 'fly you fools' to a bookshop or library and get a copy.Appendix - again this is one of those things that's added as an afterthought and turns what I write into a second edition even though nothing's really that different. 1.There's a new trailer out so I thought I'd link to that in my review. I personally am anticipating this film eagerly. I want to see a different view of this book on the screen, one that's (hopefully as good or better) what Peter Jackson did with 'Rings', staying to the story and yet making it into something I can look at and go: I'd never considered that in the book! (Also I can actually watch this at cinemas as I missed out on the Lord of the Rings phenomenon as a 7, 8 and 9 year old child...)The Hobbit Trailer 22.As for a further update I finally saw The Hobbit Part 1. I loved it and am actually surprised at the criticism being levelled against it. The 3D 48fps, while it took a few minutes to get used to, provided some of the best use of 3D in a film that I've seen without being forced. I'm very happy with what I got in the adaptation of my favoured childhood book.I loved the casting. Of course as soon as I heard that Martin Freeman was going to be Bilbo I thought: brilliant choice. I thought the choice of actor for Thorin was great. A lot of people are saying he's different from in the book but I see a lot of the book character's traits in the film characterisation. Speaking of the book compared to the film I didn't think that they messed up the plot too much at all. The additions they made, in my view, fleshed it out with little details from the Lord of the Rings nicely (in fact almost everything in the film is consistent with the internal logic of Tolkien's world and these films - they messed with things a little less than with The Lord of the Rings films anyway). The pacing was great and in fact I thought it had a better overall pace than some of The Lord of the Rings films. It's still a Hobbit film to me, it's just also a Middle Earth film too... I guess probably the major change is in tone, but we all knew that the tone would be a mixture of comic relief and the dark seriousness of The Lord of the Rings. The film also made a smart move in adding Galadriel to provide a female character in a male dominated cast. 3.Three weeks ago I did see the second part of The Hobbit 'trilogy'. There were changes I liked, some I found a touch odd and yet on the whole it was a film that was much, much better than the first. It basically is just a decent action film, and considering that the book is an adventure and action book it works. The addition of love interest may not add much to the plot, but it does add a female character (sorely lacking in an active role in the books) and a hint of romance which all good epics need. Also: Smaug, the spiders and the barrel riding scene are some of the finest scenes I have seen this year! In other words, these films are fine action films that update the book in ways some people do not like but are still good fun!
—Jonathan
