In the late 1920s, J. R. R. Tolkien, a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, scribbled a sentence while correcting some student papers: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” Those ten words are the seed from which grew a complex and elaborate mythology that would captivate the imaginations of millions of readers throughout the world before spawning, some three decades after Tolkien’s death, a movie and entertainment franchise of fantastic dimensions, in every sense that adjective conveys. The hobbit Tolkien discovered at the end of his now famous scribbled sentence (it’s the first line of this book) is named Bilbo Baggins. One day Bilbo’s peaceful, lazy existence is interrupted by the arrival at his comfortable hobbit-hole of a wizard named Gandalf, who manages to lure the unassuming hobbit into an escapade being planned by thirteen dwarves. Their perilous quest: to regain possession of the Lonely Mountain and its fabulous treasure, which Smaug the dragon has seized from their ancestors. Bilbo reluctantly joins the daring band, and in the end, after harrowing encounters with an extraordinary assortment of invented creatures, including goblins, elves, wargs, trolls, sages, giant spiders, and the subterranean, riddling Gollum, he returns home with a modest fortune—and a piece of jewelry with dangerous powers: the One Ring.
I remember being told that this book would be too difficult to read while in elementary school - probably forth or fifth grade. Confident in the reading ability my mother instilled in my brother and I, I took it as a challenge. I don't think I have read it since completing it an such an early age, and I should really change that soon.
The very first real book I read. This work by Tolkien is responsible for every book I have ever read. My brother loaned me his copy when I was 13 on the promise that I would not put it down until I had read 100 pages and as he predicted, once I made it that far, I was never able to put it down.
This is the book that started by love affair with Tolkien, and fantasy in general. My uncle loaned me his illustrated copy and I had a hard time putting it down. Tolkien crafts a narrative that is fun yet detailed. The style of his writing in The Hobbit captured the essence of the campfire/bedtime story. I can't help but wonder if C.S Lewis' influence played a part. Very enjoyable. Highly recommend. The movies didn't do it justice.
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