Into the Book

4

The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

Recommended
A lonely hobbit named Frodo, living in a secluded country called the Shire, one day finds himself as the heir to one of the richest most respected citizens, Bilbo Baggins; a rather old hobbit living in a large hobbit hole called Bag-End. One thing in particular is especially important about Frodo being his heir: Bilbo is the owner of the evil ring of power, so naturally, as heir, Frodo will inherit the ring.

On Bilbo’s 111th birthday, he mysteriously disappears and entrusts the ring to the care of Gandalf the Wizard to give to Frodo after the party. Frodo soon learns all about the ring and all its dangers, and so he must embark on a quest (with several of his Hobbit friends) to destroy the ring in the fire of Mount Doom. Through many perils, and also the welcoming a new member to the small group, Frodo arrives at last at Rivendell, a place where there is much joy and music.

However, Elrond, the master of Rivendell, tells Frodo of his quest in greater detail than Gandalf’s summary. Elrond chooses several companions to travel with Frodo, including: an elf, a dwarf, Frodo’s three hobbit friends, two humans, and Gandalf the Wizard. So the Fellowship sets off on the quest to destroy the ring of power.

Unable to cross over the mountains, they pass through Moria, ancient Dwarf mines now taken over by an awakened evil. They pass through, but not without losses. In the mines, Gandalf had fallen, and was destroyed. They continue on towards Lothlorien, a very peaceful dreamy elf forest, where they spend a month before continuing the quest.

They travel by boats southward, coming ever closer to Mount Doom; where they must decide the next path that they will take. Since Frodo is the ring-bearer, they leave the decision up to him. Frodo can’t bear to take the others along with him, so he takes only Sam, his closest friend and continues on.

Being only the first part of a larger book (The Lord of the Rings), The Fellowship of the Ring is commonly in error called the first book of a trilogy (The Two Towers and The Return of the King as the next two parts of this "trilogy"). Tolkien originally intended for it to be published as a single volume, but would only get the book accepted if he broke it up into a book of three volumes.

Tolkien had me flipping pages eagerly trying to find out what would happen next, striving to see the fate of little Frodo. This book is definitely one of the best written books that I’ve read in a long time, and I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter of it. To any person who enjoys reading fantasy novels, I strongly recommend this classic tale.

4 comments:

  1. I love 'Fellowship of the Ring', it is a wonderfully written novel that is so detailed that it drags you straight into Middle Earth (metaphorically speaking). I reckon the thing I love most about all the Lord of the Rings books is the theme of friendship which runs throughout them. Samwise Gamgee (my personal favourite character) is a real example of someone who lays his life down for his best friend, Frodo Baggins. Thanks for the review :)

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  2. I also LOVE how faithful Sam is to Frodo. The hobbits all rank as my top four favorite characters with Sam right there at the top. But I also like the way that Tolkien paints that picture of an amazing friend willing to give his life, but doesn't heartbreak the readers by having him actually die. (and I'm not quite done with the book, so keep quiet if he does! ;)

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  3. It's okay, I won't say anything about the ending ;) I only Finished 'Return of the King' myself last December. :)
    Another thing I love about Lord of the Rings is the theme of greed for power, and how it tempts us all at times (because, loathe as I am to admit it, that is true). Power can corrupt people in horrible ways, and Tolkien does a great job in warning us of this. Even though Lord of the Rings doesn't mention God and isn't strictly speaking Christian, it still has many Christian themes in it and is refreshing in its message and how the characters express how much they care about one another.

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  4. Yes. I agree with you. I also find it interesting how, though the orcs are bound to Saurons will, they still break out into violent battles among their own troops and eventually destroy each other. If it weren't for this, the story would have had a different outcome.

    I know Tolkien hated allegory, so the story itself isn't anything to look at. But, like you said, there are several good, Christian themes that you can take things from after you read the books.

    Thanks,
    Caleb

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