Long, long ago I shared student accommodation with a group of ardent Tolkien fans. They were astounded I’d never read anything by their hero and kept insisting I was missing out on something wonderful.
I gave in to their exhortations to read the great man but the magic they saw in his work never materialised for me. I think I read about a quarter of The Hobbit before deciding it was all rather silly and a waste of time when I had so much solid 19th century literature to get through.
Well here we are some fifty years later and I can say finally that yes, I have read some Tokein. And you know what, I actually enjoyed the experience. Which is remarkable since fantasy fiction doesn’t interest me one bit.
In essence this is an adventure story featuring a hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. He’s a gentle soul who takes delight in the comforts of hold and has little desire to go wandering far afield. But then he gets a visit from the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves who persuade him to join their expedition. They’re heading to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim the dwarves’ lost kingdom and treasure from the vicious dragon Smaug.
The story is told as a quest in which Bilbo encounters many hardships and dangers. By the end of the novel, he’s become a wiser, more mature figure, and no longer a figure of fun.
Already he was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago. He had not had a pocket-handkerchief for ages.
There’s a clear moral lesson underpinning this novel. Personal growth and forms of heroism are central themes but we also get loyalty and the value of friendship. There’s also a clear message that the most unassuming people have hidden skills and talents.
But The Hobbit is never weighed down by such matters for this is a novel packed with energy and drama and much humour. Trolls, goblins, giant spiders and wood elves must all be confronted and overcome before the adventurers get within sight of the Lonely Mountain.f
These fast-moving action scenes are interspersed with slower, more meditative passages of description, poetry and song. The tone is sometimes playful and lighthearted in the vein of a jolly good jape, and sometime sombre as if this motley crew were akin to Greek heroes setting off on an epic trip.
“Clap! Snap! the black crack!
Grip, grab! Pinch, nab!
And down down to Goblin-town
You go, my lad!Clash, crash! Crush, smash!
Hammer and tongs! Knocker and gongs!
Pound, pound, far underground!
Ho, ho! my lad!Swish, smack! Whip crack!
Batter and beat! Yammer and bleat!
Work, work! Nor dare to shirk,
While Goblins quaff, and Goblins laugh,
Round and round far underground
Below, my lad!”
It’s great fun to read and I bet, if I’d had this read to me as a child, I’d have loved it. I can’t imagine how my parents would have coped with all those different character voices though.
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