The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) by JRR Tolkien – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.’

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy from JRR Tolkien. This is perhaps one of the most well-known books that I have read so far; being one of the most sold books in the world and also having highly successful film adaptations. I had loved the films as a teenager and wanted to get to reading the books someday. So, in this review, I would evaluate if it was worth reading the book.

The story happens in the world built by the earth, Middle-Earth, inhabited by various different species – being the hobbits, elves, men, dwarves, orcs, etc. The story begins with Bilbo Baggins celebrating his birthday in The Shire (the village of the hobbits) and leaves his possessions to his beloved nephew Frodo, including a ring with special powers. Frodo is visited by Gandalf the wizard, and is told of the evil powers of the ring; previously possessed by Sauron, the ruler of the land of Mordor. Frodo is joined in this mission by his gardener and close friend, Samwise, along with two other friends from the Shire, Merry and Pippin. The rest of the story is about their adventure and their path towards destroying this evil ring or as they say in the book, the one ring to rule them all.

This was a book that I wanted to like, a book that I had been meaning to read for a long time, it was a film that I enjoyed as a teenager, enjoyed the games that were from the universe, etc. However, the key word phrase here is that I wanted to like but I could not bring myself to like this book despite my best efforts. To start with, the narration was drab and often flat, providing no nuance to the characters and the manner in which they expressed themselves at various points. This was a standard young adult novel where each character had a clear identification of who was good or who was evil and there were hardly any layers to the personality of any of the characters.

There were aspects that could have made the book interesting, such as the distrust between the dwarves and the elves, and how they make do with that, but then, the ‘Fellowship’ is closely knit (something unusual for a group created on the spot by an elven lord, with only notable exception being the character of Boromoir who had shown some levels of dissent).

One could praise the writer for the detailed world that he has built and how this has inspired several other fantasy novel writers, whom I have personally enjoyed, but with that said, this book was a travelogue in a world that I was not interested in. There was nothing more to it than a bunch of people walking together, complaining about the weather, describing the surroundings, and moving from a point to another point. What was expressed in this particular book could have been expressed in a third of its size without losing the essential content of it.

While this book contains the features of a standard young adult novel, unfortunately, it is not a very easy read for a teenager either. Thus, I am unsure of whom it appeals to (no wonder this often features in the list of books people ‘pretend to have read’).

 To summarise this book, I would say that it is a boring travelogue featuring drab characters happening in a world that I am not interested in. On that note, I award the book a rating of three on ten.

Rating – 3/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

About Looking by John Berger – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘As a novelist, essayist, and cultural historian, John Berger is a writer of dazzling eloquence and arresting insight whose work amounts to a subtle, powerful critique of the canons of our civilization. In About Looking he explores our role as observers to reveal new layers of meaning in what we see. How do the animals we look at in zoos remind us of a relationship between man and beast all but lost in the twentieth century? What is it about looking at war photographs that doubles their already potent violence? How do the nudes of Rodin betray the threats to his authority and potency posed by clay and flesh? And how does solitude inform the art of Giacometti? In asking these and other questions, Berger alters the vision of anyone who reads his work.’

About Looking is a collection of essays by the Booker Prize winning novelist and art critic, John Berger. Most of these essays were published in the 60s and 70s which include the author’s take on interpretations of various art forms including photography, and the starting essay which was on the evolving relationship human beings have had and are still having with animals.

The author not only tries to make this a long technical summary of evaluating artists like Francis Bacon or Jean-François Millet but also brings in his political views into these essays such as the impacts of capitalism and how we tend to depoliticse events like war. This could please readers who are aligned with his politics and at the same time, alienate those who do not. I felt the first two essays were the most thought provoking and powerful, especially the way he explored how animals’ overtime have been marginalised and have now been reduced to mere relics such as in children’s toys, metaphors or in zoos. As aforementioned, the impact (or lack thereof) of the devastating photos of the Vietnam war was explored very well by the author in one of the essays.

However, the author frontloaded the best two essays and the rest were more difficult to understand, getting a tad too technical on artistic movements and various different styles. Initially, there were illustrations for the works of art that the author discussed but in the subsequent essays, I felt the author assumed the reader knew the works of art that he was describing – and beyond two or three essays, I did not have the patience to google every artist and work of art mentioned in the book.

The first few essays satisfy a general audience, and for a work of non-fiction, it is important to know who the intended audience is and unfortunately, the latter half is not for the general audience. I understand that the writer is British who lived a large part of his life in France, and thus, works of art from these two places are extensively discussed but considering his extensive knowledge on the subject, I would have liked to read an essay about artistic movements / artists in the other parts of the world.

To conclude, some of the essays, especially in the first half of the book were thought provoking and interesting. The latter half could be very interesting if you have deep knowledge in the subject that the author is discussing, but if not, you would be as lost as I was.

If the book had stopped with the two brilliant essays the author had started with, this book could have had a much higher rating, but considering the incomprehensible latter half, I would award the book a rating of four on ten.

Rating – 4/10

Have a nice day,
Andy