Book Banter: The Hobbit By J.R.R. Tolkien

Editor’s Note: This article is reposted from Sam Seery’s blog: Nerd Chronicles

Welcome to the first official issue of Book Banter, the Nerd Chronicles article series that covers classic and modern books, and reviewing them. Today’s novel, and the first novel of the Book Banter article series, is the extraordinary fantasy adventure, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

A Brief History:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a classic fantasy novel and was released to the public on September 21st, 1937. An English scholar and professor at the University Of Oxford, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was fascinated by the field of languages. He started to invent his own in his spare time (which one of these languages would become the language of the elves within The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings series), as well as mythologies. This eventually inspired him to write a story. His first sentence for this story was “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…” And so began The Hobbit.

Once Tolkien had written a major chunk of the novel, he showed it to his children, and many of his friends, including his published author friend, C.S. Lewis, and it eventually landed in the hands of Susan Dagnall. Dagnall was an employee of the publishing firm, George Allen And Unwin, and convinced Tolkien to finish the draft and publish it. Once published, The Hobbit was an immediate success and has since sold over 100 million copies of the original form since 1937. This novel’s influence inspired much of modern fantasy today and defined some of the core aspects of the fantasy genre.

Synopsis:

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, a “hobbit” (a humble, short, dwarf-like creature with large hairy feet) embarks on a quest given to him by the great wizard Gandalf, to retrieve the treasure of the dwarves, which was stolen by the evil dragon Smaug, who had destroyed countless villages with his flames. Throughout their journey, many creatures are fought, a magical ring is found, and comprehension of the world around Bilbo comes in tuition.

Review:

Books reviews within the “Book Banter” series will be reviewed by a few general aspects of each novel, such as the plot, character development, and movie progression. Here are four main aspects reviewed below:

Plot:

The plot seems a little dry when compared to other fantasy novels of the modern era, but let me remind you dear readers that this was the origin of all of those fantasy novels. Although, when not compared to fantasy novels in the present, the novel still gives a decent plot and an amazing journey to follow.

Character Development:

The character development of the main character, Bilbo Baggins, is relatively simple. He was originally timid, cautious, and non-adventurous, but then became braver throughout the journey of the dwarf party. Bilbo also becomes wiser in life, and eventually finds a new purpose (journal writing, with his fictional book, There And Back Again) in life, which changes his daily perspective of aspects of the world.

Novel Progression:

The progression of The Hobbit is slow and detailed, which is perfect for a fantasy novel of this kind. It really immerses the reader in the world that Tolkien is trying to create. The novel is usually around 310 pages, and is usually a longer read for younger readers, but is the perfect length for older readers.

In Comparison With Its Sequels:

When it comes to the rest of the series, The Hobbit is the better out of the main four. It set up what the sequels would become, and is an excellent example of classic fantasy. Although the rest of the series was better written when it comes to world-building.

In Conlcusion:

The Hobbit, simply, is one of the greatest fantasy novels ever written, as well as one of the greatest stories ever told. It may seem very cliché at times, but the novel created those tropes and clichés. Tolkien’s masterpiece has changed the minds of readers everywhere. It developed a following in pop culture than will likely never be forgotten, and the world that The Lord Of The Rings series established began all with The Hobbit. The Hobbit, overall, is an unmissable read.