Catholic-ometer: 5 of 5
Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5
My intention, at this point, is to move on and review the Lord of the Rings. I may review the Hobbit as well, at some future time, but for now, I'm going to review the series that sprung from it, and I'll review each "book" of it separately. There are six in all. Two are found in the first volume, two in the second, and two in the third. Apparently, Tolkien originally meant for the books to be divided into six volumes; not three, so I'm taking him at his word, and that's how I'll review them.
The first "book" of the Fellowship of the Ring chronicles how Gandalf and Frodo discover the identity of an evil ring, and set out on a quest to get it out of Frodo's neighborhood (the Shire) before it can do any real harm. That is, Frodo and some of his friends set out on said quest, but they need to do it without Gandalf, who has some other things he wants to check up on. They expect Gandalf to reappear and accompany them, but he fails to do so, and in the end, they need to leave the shire without him.
During the first book, the hobbits leave the shire and have some adventures, encountering several strange things in the world outside. Elves, an evil willow tree, a very powerful singing man named Tom Bombadil, some undead called wights, a bartender named Butterbur, and a ranger named Aragorn. In the early parts of the book, not much happens to really excite or hold one in suspense. I got the impression that Tolkien was trying to ease readers into his adventure book. However, once the hobbits get to Bree, and meet Aragorn, things start to pick up. They wander in the wilderness with him and quickly fall under attack by black riders. Luckily, they meet an elf shortly after that, who gives Frodo his horse. Frodo then needs to ride quickly to the ford, in order to get away from the black riders.
The scene at the end of this book, with Frodo in a sort of standoff against the black riders was really something; especially compared to the rest of the book, which was more whimsical and fun than suspenseful and exciting. If all you know is the Peter Jackson movies, you may be surprised by how far the action and suspense were amped up in the movies (though, in my opinion, to great effect.) Still, when I said that this book was whimsical and fun, that was exactly what I meant.
Many points in this book are just plain fun to read. The adventure of the hobbits through the old forest, and their many songs and such while still in the shire were amusing and fun, and it was enjoyable to hear some of their stories about odd lands and strange people, as well as find out what happened to many of the characters from "The Hobbit." If I had to pick just one character, however, who truly embodied the overall whimsy of this first book, it would definitely be Tom Bombadil; perhaps one of Tolkien's most interesting and powerful characters. He's so powerful, in fact, that it's very hard to feel threatened with him around, and he dances in and out of scenes like a fairy in some children's tale.
That having been said, I think that most children would have a hard time sitting still for the whole story. Some of Tolkien's descriptions get a bit lengthy, and children (unless they're very good and have been raised away from television,) would have a tough time with that, as much as they might like the subject matter.
Lastly, I should bring up my reason for reviewing these books in particular. Tolkien was Catholic, and his writings reflect a Catholic view of the world; where evil and good are both refreshingly-clear, and evil attacks from both inside and outside, hiding in the smallest and seemingly most innocent things. The ring itself seems both like a beautiful piece of jewelery and a fascinating source of magic power, but it's also small enough that people wouldn't normally think of it as being capable of so much harm. There could not be a more perfect allegory for sin, which toutes itself as satisfaction for vanity, greed, the craving for power, and yet, often seems like it's no big deal. Just one little sin. No one would ever know. Then suddenly, you're wounded almost to the heart by it, just like Frodo nearly was.
However, although I view the ring as an allegory, it's important to note that the allegory is far, far subtler than the ones used by C. S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia. In fact, I think that's the greatest strength of this series. Lewis' allegories didn't interfere with the storytelling much in later books, but in Tolkien's writings, they hardly even seem like allegories half the time. The real strength here is in the world view that the books have; the correct world view. That there is good, and evil, and all types of people are somewhere along one of those roads, no matter how normal or odd they may seem.
Some might raise issue with the magic that gets thrown around in this story, and the other stories in this series, but it's important to remember that the "magic" in this tale is fantasy-magic. It bears no real similarities to the real thing. How can I tell? Because of the world view of those who use it. In this book, the heroes are, for the most part, outmatched and on the run from their enemies. Evildoers are very strong, and the good are very weak, but nonetheless, they go on a quest to triumph over their much stronger adversaries. The mentality of the weak prevailing over the strong runs directly contrary to the philosophy of the real occult; which always stresses the selfish pursuit of greater strength. So long as this mentality is present (victory in weakness,) any talk of "magic" in these books is not dangerous; just a harmless fantasy element. This is why I consider this book so good, overall.
The minor imperfections that I spot early on are simply that the pace starts out a bit slow, and doesn't really pick up until over halfway through. Still, a patient reader shouldn't have any trouble getting through them, and even appreciating the sheer amount of detail that Tolkien put into this work.
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