The Hobbit is the forerunner to the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It gives the first glimpse to the world of hobbits, dwarfs, elves, and wizards. It also gives the first taste of Tolkien’s adventures, which are fully developed in the trilogy. Gandalf and Bilbo, who we later meet in The Lord of the Rings, mark their first appearance here. But what’s important is that we learn how the most powerful ring of Sauron, which becomes central to the story of the trilogy, comes to the possession of Bilbo, the hobbit.
Apart from acting as the precursor to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit has its own adventure story. Bilbo Baggins, at the bidding of Gandalf the Grey, goes on an adventure with a group of Dwarfs led by Thorin to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the treasures hidden in it from the hold of the Dragon, Smaug. Facing many hardships and perils, they outmaneuver the dragon successfully at a heavy cost.
The Hobbit is a children’s book, and I believe must be read in your childhood or at least in your teens. If you are an adult by the first time you read it, I fear some of its magic is lost. An adult’s mind can never awaken the innocent wonder of a child’s. This, unfortunately, is my story as well. I read it as an adult, and so it deprived me of the charm it might have had as a child. As if this mistake was not enough, I piled it with additional follies. First, I read The Lord of the Rings before The Hobbit; second, I read the book immediately after watching the movie. Of course, the movie is an extensive interpretation of the book, but unfortunately, watching it had made me expect more. All these unintentional mistakes prejudiced my opinion of the book.
This is my second time reading The Hobbit. And happily for me, I was in for better luck this time. I listened to the audio while following the text. The combination worked wonders for me. I was able to enjoy the book for its worth. Listening to the audio narration created a sort of a similar atmosphere to listening to a bedtime story. 🙂 I don’t claim I had the same awed experience of a child, but I enjoyed it and appreciated it as an independent, important work of Tolkien canon.
Rating: 4/5
