I read The Hobbit when I was around 14, and I'm sure I cried at the end because I really wanted to live in that world. 
I didn't read The Lord of the Rings until I was around 18, but by then school friends had told me everything that happened, plus I'd watched Bakshi's animated film - so I never felt any sense of discovery while reading the story, and it was something of a let down.
Anyway, I've got 2 weeks off work and felt compelled to finally pick it up again after 27 years, and look at it with new eyes - not least to see if I can learn anything from it as a writer.
I'll make observations here in this thread as I get through the book.
I've skipped the Prologue - which appears to be an infodump about Hobbits and the Shire I have no patience for at present...
The Fellowship of the Ring
Book 1
Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party
I think it's fair to say the book has an awkward start. Most of the text is about very minor characters providing a rambling background on Bilbo and Frodo - Sam's dad seems to dominate a couple of pages with digressions. And there are so many exclamation marks! Really! The story struggles to begin, and the opening lacks the confident voice of The Hobbit.
What's really interesting - from both these books - is how Middle Earth appears directly connected to our world. In the opening to The Hobbit Tolkien mentions that Hobbits stay out of the way of us "big people". And The Shire at the start of The Lord of the Rings seems remarkably similar to rural England in the early 20th century - people grow potatoes, there is a post office, a metaphor is used relating to trains, legal contracts, fireworks, the same months of the year, etc. There's no real sense of the Mediaeval here, and Bilbo is effectively minor country gentry (no wonder Michael Moorcock railed about class issues!).
Then Bilbo disappears, but we don't really get any explanation of why - except, perhaps, to escape the pettiness of his long list of relatives.
Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past
The story disconnects itself from chapter 1 by moving forward a couple of decades - the weak voice we began with starts to fade as we join Frodo at 50, and a growing sense unease that is both internal (Frodo's growing restlessness) and external (strange happenings outwith the Shire).
On the face of it, this chapter is mainly one big infodump as Gandalf sits down and narrates the background to the One Ring - not least Gollum's involvement, and backstory! - and how it has finally ended up on a chain around Frodo's neck.
And yet - what we do get from this chapter is a wonderful underlying sense of tension. This grows through the chapter, from a general unease to a genuine sense of fear. Sauron isn't simply a "bad guy" - he is a shadow that cannot be defeated, merely weakened, and his reach is growing across Middle Earth - and moves toward the Shire.
A couple of especially interesting juxtapositions here:
- Gandalf suggests that Sauron would enslave the Shire for no other reason than a petty revenge, thus providing him with human motives. Many of the Hobbits described are also very petty - Lobelia tries to steal from Frodo out of petty greed, as does Otho who feels he was unfairly disinherited by Bilbo in preference of Frodo, and spends time denouncing both;
- Gandalf also suggests that Gollum originally started out as something like a Hobbit, before the influence of the One Ring corrupted him. However, Gandalf then describes his astonishment when Frodo makes the quick decision to leave the Shire, to protect everyone in it from Sauron's agents.
What's interesting about the two comparison is that while Hobbits can be very petty, they do not come across as completely malicious - which, so far, appears to separate them from Sauron and Smeagol in terms of motivation. However, Gandalf's warning is clear that such a separation may not be as large as Frodo might like to think.
Overall, the sense of a formless darkness - a shadow - that cannot be defeated in this chapter is used very effectively and puts me very much in mind of the Horror genre.
Chapter 3: Three is Company
The tension drops very quickly - although Frodo has decided to leave the Shire, he won't do so... for another 6 months. On the one hand, his plan to sell-up and move on, and thus arouse little suspicion needs to be accounted for, the length of time involved kills any sense of urgency built up in the last chapter.
When he does leave, the atmosphere is very much that of a walking holiday. There are some detailed descriptions that suggest the author using passing experience of places he's visited.
What I found especially interesting is that Frodo encounters the Black Riders twice on the road - and hides from them each time. Both films have condensed this into a single encounter with a greater degree of tension.
Also interesting is that afterward, Frodo joins a company of elves who helps him and his companions safely travel on away from the road - again, another detail that the films have cut out as unnecessary.
Chapter 4: A shortcut to Mushrooms
Another slow chapter of journeying, which sees them meeting Farmer Maggot and his dogs. Curiously, Maggot seems to feel put out rather than frightened by being questioned by a Ringwraith.
Chapter 5: A Conspiracy Unmasked
More wandering, a bit more of the Black Riders, but lacking in tension. Upon reaching the house where Frodo had told everyone he was going to live, he seems happy just to eat and then sleep through the night - even though the Black Riders are only 20 miles behind, and might expect to find him here anyway. I can see why the films cut this chapter - and the preceding ones - outright or down, in order to make for a more tense narrative.
One interesting point of note is Fredegar Bolger re-appears here, after being described as one of Frodo's friends in an earlier chapter (along with another Hobbit who appears to have had any mention written out of the films).
Another interesting point is that the chapter ends with Frodo having a dream of a white tower near the sea - he wishes to climb it, then is startled by light and thunder - then wakes. At first I thought it must be Isengard, as Gandalf and Sauroman battle - but a quick Google search suggests it's more likely at Minas Tirith, but I remain unsure why that should feature here? I also don't recall premonitory dreams being a normal part of this story
Chapter 6: The Old Forest
The Hobbits make their way through a forest which is thick and dark and oppressive. The trees almost seem to be alive. Then they all fall under the spell of an uncanny sleep by a pool - except Sam, who saves Frodo from drowning under the root of a willow - and then Tom Bombadil appears, helping them and inviting them to his home to enjoy his food.
CHECKPOINT: We're over 100 pages into the story, but so far there's not much story. The Hobbits walk, talk, eat, drink, sing, then sleep. The Black Riders are behind them, but don't come across as particularly threatening but instead more of a nuisance. When people talk about how much they enjoyed The Lord of the Rings, I don't think they tend to mention any of these chapters.
Coming next: chatting and eating and singing with Tom Bombadil!
Chapter 7: In the House of Tom Bombadil
As expected: a couple of days of chatting and eating and singing with Tom Bombadil, which isn't very interesting.
Something that is interesting: Frodo has another dream, of another tower - I had thought it was Sauron's tower, by the description of black walls ringing it - but the description is clearly of Gandalf's escape from Saruman via the eagle Gwaihir. In which case, what was the white tower he saw in a dream a couple of chapters ago?
Also, this use of premonitory dreams seems like something of a crutch for the fact that nothing is really happening in the story so far - so the dreams come to remind us that something is actually happening, even if it is somewhere else in this world and far from the characters at the moment.
Another point of interest is that Tom Bombadil is immune to the One Ring and its magic - he even puts it on, and nothing happens. There's a general sense that Tom is a personification of an earth-spirit, like a pagan diety, but he has always seemed out of place in this story and is always cut out from the film versions.
Chapter 8: Fog on the Barrow Downs
More chatting and eating and singing with Tom Bombadil - then the Hobbits go wandering into the Barrow Downs, get captured by a wight, and are rescued by Tom Bombadil. The Hobbits lose all their clothes and are left running through the grass to dry out and warm up (!!), before Tom returns with the ponies and spare clothes - and arms each Hobbit with an ancient dagger.
CHECKPOINT: My memory tells me that this book is going to get a whole lot better now. But most of these beginning 130+ pages has been pretty dreary and repetitive: walking, drinking, eating, singing - loop ad nauseum. Frodo and company are also pretty passive - they head in some direction, then things happen at them. Little moments of peril fail to move the story forward - in fact, they hold it back. And while I can appreciate an argument that this forms a transition between merry adventuring of The Hobbit to the grim and dark story to come, there has been nothing outstanding or compelling - or even much of a story - with the sole exception of Chapter 2, dealing with the history of the One Ring. It is very clear why these first 8 chapters are cut down or condensed for the film adaptations (actually, double checking, chapters 4-8 are completely omitted).
Chapter 9: At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
You'd never guess what this chapter includes? Yes - walking, drinking, eating, and singing!
However, the pace is stronger, and an undercurrent of tension returns as Frodo and friends make a point to hide their identities in Bree - and are looked upon with suspicion, not least because the Black Riders are about (and their spies). If it wasn't for the continued chattiness and use of exclamation marks I'd almost think I was reading a more modern book - though that could simply be because the narrative is finally finding its feet.
Chapter 10: Strider
A little melodramatic, but the plot thickens and the story moves on - danger approaches ever closer.
Note: Interesting to see mention that the Hobbits call the star constellation The Plough as The Sickle - again, these people share our world.
Chapter 11: A Knife in the Dark
Interesting to see Fredegar again, and the support he gets at Bilbo's house - an event also missing from the films.
Of course, there's the deception at the Prancing Pony, but also a busy farewell where Frodo and Strider are unable to hide the leaving of the company from Bree. Then an attempt to try and outwit the Ringwraiths that fails, with a confrontation at the end of the chapter on Weathertop hill.
I really don't understand the purpose of the story Strider spends a couple of pages telling on Weathertop - I thought it might be relevant to his backstory, but it actually appears to relate to Elrond instead, so it seemed somewhat superfluous.
Another point of interest is how the Ringwraiths seem more like something from a horror - they are undead things, come to hate the living. It makes me wonder at whether this is at least one reason why fantasy used to be more closely tied to horror in terms of market, before it began to break out proper in the 80's and then most definitely in the 90's.
Chapter 12: The Flight to the Ford
More travelling, but growing tension again with the characters being lost in the wilderness, as Strider tries to take them away from the road and threat of Black Riders. There is actually a lot more traveling in this bit than I remember - more than 10 days worth, actually - which is interesting because of the urgency the films take at this point, especially with Frodo's wound from the fight on Mount Weathertop.
And then - Glorfindel! And the dramatic chase to the Fjord. There remains an emphasis on the Ringwraiths using fear to control, and again the sense of supernatural horror as the over-riding enemy. It's interesting to see that LOTR relies so much on motifs we'd now regard as belonging to horror.
I didn't read The Lord of the Rings until I was around 18, but by then school friends had told me everything that happened, plus I'd watched Bakshi's animated film - so I never felt any sense of discovery while reading the story, and it was something of a let down.
Anyway, I've got 2 weeks off work and felt compelled to finally pick it up again after 27 years, and look at it with new eyes - not least to see if I can learn anything from it as a writer.
I'll make observations here in this thread as I get through the book.
I've skipped the Prologue - which appears to be an infodump about Hobbits and the Shire I have no patience for at present...
The Fellowship of the Ring
Book 1
Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party
I think it's fair to say the book has an awkward start. Most of the text is about very minor characters providing a rambling background on Bilbo and Frodo - Sam's dad seems to dominate a couple of pages with digressions. And there are so many exclamation marks! Really! The story struggles to begin, and the opening lacks the confident voice of The Hobbit.
What's really interesting - from both these books - is how Middle Earth appears directly connected to our world. In the opening to The Hobbit Tolkien mentions that Hobbits stay out of the way of us "big people". And The Shire at the start of The Lord of the Rings seems remarkably similar to rural England in the early 20th century - people grow potatoes, there is a post office, a metaphor is used relating to trains, legal contracts, fireworks, the same months of the year, etc. There's no real sense of the Mediaeval here, and Bilbo is effectively minor country gentry (no wonder Michael Moorcock railed about class issues!).
Then Bilbo disappears, but we don't really get any explanation of why - except, perhaps, to escape the pettiness of his long list of relatives.
Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past
The story disconnects itself from chapter 1 by moving forward a couple of decades - the weak voice we began with starts to fade as we join Frodo at 50, and a growing sense unease that is both internal (Frodo's growing restlessness) and external (strange happenings outwith the Shire).
On the face of it, this chapter is mainly one big infodump as Gandalf sits down and narrates the background to the One Ring - not least Gollum's involvement, and backstory! - and how it has finally ended up on a chain around Frodo's neck.
And yet - what we do get from this chapter is a wonderful underlying sense of tension. This grows through the chapter, from a general unease to a genuine sense of fear. Sauron isn't simply a "bad guy" - he is a shadow that cannot be defeated, merely weakened, and his reach is growing across Middle Earth - and moves toward the Shire.
A couple of especially interesting juxtapositions here:
- Gandalf suggests that Sauron would enslave the Shire for no other reason than a petty revenge, thus providing him with human motives. Many of the Hobbits described are also very petty - Lobelia tries to steal from Frodo out of petty greed, as does Otho who feels he was unfairly disinherited by Bilbo in preference of Frodo, and spends time denouncing both;
- Gandalf also suggests that Gollum originally started out as something like a Hobbit, before the influence of the One Ring corrupted him. However, Gandalf then describes his astonishment when Frodo makes the quick decision to leave the Shire, to protect everyone in it from Sauron's agents.
What's interesting about the two comparison is that while Hobbits can be very petty, they do not come across as completely malicious - which, so far, appears to separate them from Sauron and Smeagol in terms of motivation. However, Gandalf's warning is clear that such a separation may not be as large as Frodo might like to think.
Overall, the sense of a formless darkness - a shadow - that cannot be defeated in this chapter is used very effectively and puts me very much in mind of the Horror genre.
Chapter 3: Three is Company
The tension drops very quickly - although Frodo has decided to leave the Shire, he won't do so... for another 6 months. On the one hand, his plan to sell-up and move on, and thus arouse little suspicion needs to be accounted for, the length of time involved kills any sense of urgency built up in the last chapter.
When he does leave, the atmosphere is very much that of a walking holiday. There are some detailed descriptions that suggest the author using passing experience of places he's visited.
What I found especially interesting is that Frodo encounters the Black Riders twice on the road - and hides from them each time. Both films have condensed this into a single encounter with a greater degree of tension.
Also interesting is that afterward, Frodo joins a company of elves who helps him and his companions safely travel on away from the road - again, another detail that the films have cut out as unnecessary.
Chapter 4: A shortcut to Mushrooms
Another slow chapter of journeying, which sees them meeting Farmer Maggot and his dogs. Curiously, Maggot seems to feel put out rather than frightened by being questioned by a Ringwraith.
Chapter 5: A Conspiracy Unmasked
More wandering, a bit more of the Black Riders, but lacking in tension. Upon reaching the house where Frodo had told everyone he was going to live, he seems happy just to eat and then sleep through the night - even though the Black Riders are only 20 miles behind, and might expect to find him here anyway. I can see why the films cut this chapter - and the preceding ones - outright or down, in order to make for a more tense narrative.
One interesting point of note is Fredegar Bolger re-appears here, after being described as one of Frodo's friends in an earlier chapter (along with another Hobbit who appears to have had any mention written out of the films).
Another interesting point is that the chapter ends with Frodo having a dream of a white tower near the sea - he wishes to climb it, then is startled by light and thunder - then wakes. At first I thought it must be Isengard, as Gandalf and Sauroman battle - but a quick Google search suggests it's more likely at Minas Tirith, but I remain unsure why that should feature here? I also don't recall premonitory dreams being a normal part of this story
Chapter 6: The Old Forest
The Hobbits make their way through a forest which is thick and dark and oppressive. The trees almost seem to be alive. Then they all fall under the spell of an uncanny sleep by a pool - except Sam, who saves Frodo from drowning under the root of a willow - and then Tom Bombadil appears, helping them and inviting them to his home to enjoy his food.
CHECKPOINT: We're over 100 pages into the story, but so far there's not much story. The Hobbits walk, talk, eat, drink, sing, then sleep. The Black Riders are behind them, but don't come across as particularly threatening but instead more of a nuisance. When people talk about how much they enjoyed The Lord of the Rings, I don't think they tend to mention any of these chapters.
Coming next: chatting and eating and singing with Tom Bombadil!
Chapter 7: In the House of Tom Bombadil
As expected: a couple of days of chatting and eating and singing with Tom Bombadil, which isn't very interesting.
Something that is interesting: Frodo has another dream, of another tower - I had thought it was Sauron's tower, by the description of black walls ringing it - but the description is clearly of Gandalf's escape from Saruman via the eagle Gwaihir. In which case, what was the white tower he saw in a dream a couple of chapters ago?
Also, this use of premonitory dreams seems like something of a crutch for the fact that nothing is really happening in the story so far - so the dreams come to remind us that something is actually happening, even if it is somewhere else in this world and far from the characters at the moment.
Another point of interest is that Tom Bombadil is immune to the One Ring and its magic - he even puts it on, and nothing happens. There's a general sense that Tom is a personification of an earth-spirit, like a pagan diety, but he has always seemed out of place in this story and is always cut out from the film versions.
Chapter 8: Fog on the Barrow Downs
More chatting and eating and singing with Tom Bombadil - then the Hobbits go wandering into the Barrow Downs, get captured by a wight, and are rescued by Tom Bombadil. The Hobbits lose all their clothes and are left running through the grass to dry out and warm up (!!), before Tom returns with the ponies and spare clothes - and arms each Hobbit with an ancient dagger.
CHECKPOINT: My memory tells me that this book is going to get a whole lot better now. But most of these beginning 130+ pages has been pretty dreary and repetitive: walking, drinking, eating, singing - loop ad nauseum. Frodo and company are also pretty passive - they head in some direction, then things happen at them. Little moments of peril fail to move the story forward - in fact, they hold it back. And while I can appreciate an argument that this forms a transition between merry adventuring of The Hobbit to the grim and dark story to come, there has been nothing outstanding or compelling - or even much of a story - with the sole exception of Chapter 2, dealing with the history of the One Ring. It is very clear why these first 8 chapters are cut down or condensed for the film adaptations (actually, double checking, chapters 4-8 are completely omitted).
Chapter 9: At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
You'd never guess what this chapter includes? Yes - walking, drinking, eating, and singing!
However, the pace is stronger, and an undercurrent of tension returns as Frodo and friends make a point to hide their identities in Bree - and are looked upon with suspicion, not least because the Black Riders are about (and their spies). If it wasn't for the continued chattiness and use of exclamation marks I'd almost think I was reading a more modern book - though that could simply be because the narrative is finally finding its feet.
Chapter 10: Strider
A little melodramatic, but the plot thickens and the story moves on - danger approaches ever closer.
Note: Interesting to see mention that the Hobbits call the star constellation The Plough as The Sickle - again, these people share our world.
Chapter 11: A Knife in the Dark
Interesting to see Fredegar again, and the support he gets at Bilbo's house - an event also missing from the films.
Of course, there's the deception at the Prancing Pony, but also a busy farewell where Frodo and Strider are unable to hide the leaving of the company from Bree. Then an attempt to try and outwit the Ringwraiths that fails, with a confrontation at the end of the chapter on Weathertop hill.
I really don't understand the purpose of the story Strider spends a couple of pages telling on Weathertop - I thought it might be relevant to his backstory, but it actually appears to relate to Elrond instead, so it seemed somewhat superfluous.
Another point of interest is how the Ringwraiths seem more like something from a horror - they are undead things, come to hate the living. It makes me wonder at whether this is at least one reason why fantasy used to be more closely tied to horror in terms of market, before it began to break out proper in the 80's and then most definitely in the 90's.
Chapter 12: The Flight to the Ford
More travelling, but growing tension again with the characters being lost in the wilderness, as Strider tries to take them away from the road and threat of Black Riders. There is actually a lot more traveling in this bit than I remember - more than 10 days worth, actually - which is interesting because of the urgency the films take at this point, especially with Frodo's wound from the fight on Mount Weathertop.
And then - Glorfindel! And the dramatic chase to the Fjord. There remains an emphasis on the Ringwraiths using fear to control, and again the sense of supernatural horror as the over-riding enemy. It's interesting to see that LOTR relies so much on motifs we'd now regard as belonging to horror.
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