Reviews
Obviously, everyone talks about Tolkien's language obsession, but I want to point out his skill with emotionally cathartic and confronting bedside scenes. Deathbed, Elrond's bed, doesn't matter, Tolkien makes it memorable.
Gotta say Tolkien's work doesn't seem to be for me, but I'll read the LotR trilogy one day still, just not soon.
I think "The Hobbit" and likely the entire LotR universe has reminded me a lot of "Dune" in that it's a world with so much thought and effort put into it, yet its stories just wind up being close to junk.
Bilbo is unlikable by design; he never wishes to be a 'hero' of any sort and wants to stay inside. He has to be more-or-less tricked into going on this adventure. That's fine -- what a literary classic, no? Well, part of that trope is growth and I don't think Bilbo does much of that on this trip. In fact he really seems to be a lucky moron who whines the entire time, and not in any sort of amusing fashion.
Gandalf is cool, at least he does something from time to time.
None of the dwarves are given any personality aside from Thorin, and you'll just end up thinking he's a lousy moron. Of his dozen friends, one is given the personality of "He's fat" and that will be all we learn of the whole lot.
There are other characters, but they kinda suck. I wish we heard more from Bard, the only interesting person in this book who is royally screwed by inattention.
I found myself bored by this trip that took an entire year(!), this short book really feels quite long. Some of the action sequences are well done: I really enjoyed Smaug's anger and fiery-blasting of his Lonely Mountain home, and some of the Battle of Five Armies was okay. The rest? I hope you like reading songs (why would anyone?) and stiff dialogue. There is a lot of landscape description that I found dull. I hope the Woodelves all die.
Again, I'll read LotR I'm sure, but this was a bad start to things. I really hope the rest of the series is a step up, because "The Hobbit" sucked. I do not recommend it.
considering this book came out in 1937 i can understand how revolutionary it was for the fantasy genre. it was very easy to read and i enjoyed it but it felt a little dragged out -that might just be because there are other books i want to start reading atm tho
reread!!!! love love love, somehow i always forget that this is a kids book lol but it’s so fun and the world building is MWAAH! so good. there’s a reason it’s the start of such a huge franchise. i should really read the lotr books next…
My daughter and I loved reading this before her bedtime
O melhor livro de fantasia de todos os tempos.
3.5
So fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved!!!!!!!!! I honestly never thought i would love a children's book as much as this much!!!!!!!
This was boring and I just didn’t care.
3.5* I didn't love it, but i also didn't hate it. It's my age, your honor! It's a me problem. I'm gonna say this but i really hoped i read this when i was younger. i don't know but I just had a feeling that this really didn't suit my taste in books right now, but i'm still really glad I read this. Not only is tolkien a good writer, he's also a great lyricist! I enjoyed reading them so much! His writing is also magical, this piece was beautifully written. I haven't read many epic high fantasy yet, and the few that I read was not as epic as this, so sometimes I just can't fully grasp the whole situation (it's like imagining the unimaginable, and forgive my poor imagination rn, if that even make sense) and I really loved this aspect. It's so good for escapism.
A much lighter reading that Lord of The Rings, I think I enjoyed The Hobbit much more because of that. Not many long descriptions, made a quicker reading. The way in which Bilbo changes through the story was adorable, and, from someone who read Lord of The Rings first, it was really interesting to see how the small hobbit progresses from being someone who is suddenly thrown into an adventure to someone more akin to his LOTR self. Reading more about the Middle Earth is always fantastic, and now I'm left with desire to reread Lord of The Rings, or find The Silmarillion or read it.
This was amazing! So sad that I haven't read this book when I was 12, I would love it even more. Definetly it is the best for children, but it is still a great book
I can’t believe it took me so many years to get around to reading this! Absolute classic and brings new life & meaning to the movies!
i did not want to commit to Lord of the Rings so i decided to read The Hobbit to get a taste of the lore and writing style. I liked it as a cozy read. Although i am not jumping into the Lord of the Rings quite yet I liked this book and the world building a lot.
Noble, good for the soul. (view spoiler)[Maybe the real dragon was the friends we made along the way? (hide spoiler)]
I too am just a little fellow in a big wide world 😭😭 this is what i thought all LOTR was going to be like
these dwarves were fake as hell......... (not you balin bombur kili and fili)
3.5 stars i mightve been just be a tad bit too dumb for this
“You are a fine person, Mr Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all.”
oh to live like a hobbit
Love it, just a bit more Thorin would’ve been nice🙏🏻❤️
I never would've finished this this early if I didn't, on a whim, intend to watch its film adaptations asap. But I was really fascinated (save the fatphobia) at how unpretentious Tolkien's prose is. I also like how he wrote with verisimilitude sparingly, (very unlike A Little Life that came off to me as too much, which thus "unsuspended" my disbelief). I wonder if TLOTR gets better than this.
"El Hobbit" de J.R.R. Tolkien es un cuento encantador que ha cautivado a lectores de todas las edades desde su publicación en 1937. Esta obra, que precede a la monumental trilogía de "El Señor de los Anillos", se destaca por su narrativa envolvente, personajes entrañables y la rica creación del mundo de la Tierra Media. La historia sigue a Bilbo Bolsón, un hobbit apacible y hogareño, que se ve arrastrado a una aventura épica después de ser reclutado por el mago Gandalf y un grupo de enanos liderados por Thorin Escudo de Roble. Juntos, emprenden un viaje peligroso para recuperar un tesoro custodiado por el feroz dragón Smaug. Lo que distingue a "El Hobbit" es la habilidad de Tolkien para combinar elementos de fantasía, acción y humor en una narrativa cohesiva. Su prosa es rica en detalles y evoca una sensación de asombro constante a medida que Bilbo y sus compañeros enfrentan peligros, desde trolls y trasgos hasta elfos y arañas gigantes. El personaje de Bilbo Bolsón es el corazón de la historia. A medida que evoluciona de un hobbit cómodo y relajado a un valiente aventurero, Tolkien captura la esencia del viaje del héroe. Bilbo demuestra que la valentía y la sabiduría pueden surgir de los lugares más inesperados, y su transformación es conmovedora y universal. Tolkien también introduce en "El Hobbit" elementos que luego se convertirían en sellos distintivos de su obra, como el Anillo Único y la conexión con la trama más amplia de "El Señor de los Anillos". Estos elementos agregan profundidad y cohesión al legendarium de Tolkien, haciendo que la obra sea aún más fascinante para aquellos que continúan explorando su vasto universo. La escritura de Tolkien es accesible y atrapa a lectores de todas las edades. La trama cautivadora y el ritmo ágil hacen que la obra sea ideal tanto para jóvenes como para adultos. Además, la creación de canciones y poemas dentro del libro añade un toque poético que enriquece la narrativa. En resumen, "El Hobbit" es una obra maestra de la literatura fantástica que ha resistido la prueba del tiempo. J.R.R. Tolkien crea un mundo mágico que invita a los lectores a embarcarse en una aventura inolvidable. Con su prosa imaginativa, personajes memorables y temas universales, "El Hobbit" sigue siendo un clásico atemporal que continúa encantando a generaciones enteras de lectores.
Der Humor ist großartig und Gandalf ist einfach der Coolste 🧙♂️
Highlights
Far to the North are the Grey Mountains & the Withered Heath whence came the Great Worms.
"Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don't really supposed, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!"
Merry is May-time, and merry our meeting.
happy birthday to me !
It was on May the First that the two came back at last to the brink of the valley of Rivendell, where stood the Last (or the First) Homely House.
the way i got this for my birthday,, genius mo talaga @jellypoppd
"'While there's life there's hope!" as my father used to say, and 'Third time pays for all.'
You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.
Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that ae good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even more gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.
You can say Expert Treasure-hunter instead of Burglar if you like. Some of them do. It’s all the same to us.
For trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again.
'There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.'
But the Elvenking said: 'Long will I tarry, ere I begin this war for gold. The dwarves cannot pass us, unless we will, or do anything that we cannot mark. Let us hope still for something that will bring reconciliation. Our advantage in numbers will be enough, if in the end it must come to unhappy blows.'
The Elvenking himself, whose eyes were used to things of wonder and beauty, stood up in amazement. Even Bard gazed marvelling at it in silence. It was as if a globe had been filled with moonlight and hung before them in a net woven of the glint of frosty stars.
The Elvenking had received news from his own mess- engers and from the birds that loved his folk, and already knew much of what had happened. Very great indeed was the commotion among all things with wings that dwelt on the borders of the Desolation of the Dragon. The air was filled with circling flocks, and their swift-flying messengers flew here and there across the sky. Above the borders of the Forest there was whistling, crying and piping.
Fili and Kili were almost in merry mood, and finding still hanging there many golden harps strung with silver they took them and struck them; and being magical (and also untouched by the dragon, who had small interest in music) they were still in tune. The dark hall was filled with melody that had long been silent. But most of the dwarves were more practical: they gathered gems...
With that he put on Bilbo a small coat of mail, wrought for some young elf-prince long ago. It was of silver-steel, which the elves call mithril, and with it went a belt of pearls and crystals. A light helm of figured leather strengthened beneath with hoops of steel, and studded about the brim with white gems, was set upon the hobbit's head.
'Thrushes are good and friendly - this is a very old bird indeed, and is maybe the last left of the ancient breed that used to live about here, tame to the hands of my father and grandfather. They were a long-lived and magical race, and this might even be one of those that were alive then, a couple of hundreds of years or more ago. The Men of Dale used to have the trick of understanding their language, and used them for messengers to fly to the Men of the Lake and elsewhere.'
'Well, he'll have news to take to Lake-town all right, if that is what he is after.' said Bilbo; 'though I don't suppose there are any people left there that trouble with thrush- language.'
He at any rate did not believe in dwarves fighting and killing dragons like Smaug, and he strongly suspected attempted burglary or something like it - which shows he was a wise elf and wiser than the men of the town, though not quite right, as we shall see in the end. He sent out his spies about the shores of the lake and as far northward towards the Mountain as they would go, and waited.
In the meanwhile the Wood-elves had gone back up the Forest River with their cargoes, and there was great excitement in the king's palace. I have never heard what happened to the chief of the guards and the butler. Nothing of course was ever said about keys or barrels while the dwarves stayed in Lake-town, and Bilbo was careful never to become invisible. Still, I daresay, more was guessed than was known, though doubtless Mr Baggins remained a bit of a mystery. In any case the king knew now the dwarves' errand, or thought he did, and he said to himself:
'Very well! We'll see! No treasure will come back through Mirkwood without my having something to say in the matter. But I expect they will all come to a bad end, and serve them right!'
There were guards at the head of it, but they were not keeping very careful watch, for it was long since there had been any real need. Except for occasional squabbles about river-tolls they were friends with the Wood-elves. Other folk were far away...
'I hope I never smell the smell of apples again!' said Fili. 'My tub was full of it. To smell apples everlastingly when you can scarcely move and are cold and sick with hunger is maddening. I could eat anything in the wide world now, for hours on end -but not an apple!'
With the willing help of Fili and Kili, Thorin and Bilbo at last discovered the remainder of the company and got them out.
Soon men would come up from the South and take some of the casks away, and others they would fill with goods they had brought to be taken back up the stream to the Wood-elves' home. In the meantime the barrels were left afloat while the elves of the raft and the boatmen went to feast in Lake-town.