The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
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Book Reviews of The Hobbit
Book Review: The Hobbit is for fantasy people
Summary: 4 Stars
"In fact I will go so far as to send you on this adventure. Very amusing for me, and very good for you- and profitable too, very likely, if you ever get over it," Gandalf said. This is how the great adventure of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakshield, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Dori, Ori, Nori, Oin and Gloin began. The thirteen dwarves, one hobbit, and the wizard Gandalf set off to use `their' burglar (Bilbo) to steal back the treasure of the dwarves of Dale, stolen in the first place by Smaug the dragon. Gandalf leaves the group after they encountered three trolls, stayed at the home of Elrond, got lost in the goblins' lair, rested at the huge house of the man/bear Beorn, and reached the edge of Mirkwood. From there, the dwarves traveled alone and fought giant spiders, were captured by wood-elves, escaped by hiding in barrels, and were greeted and treated very nicely in Lake-town. Then the group traveled to the Lonely Mountain where the treasure was being watched carefully by Smaug. For a long time the dwarves and Bilbo waited until Smaug left and was killed by a Lake-town man. Then the treasure was fought over by dwarves, men, elves, goblins, eagles, and wolves. Finally the dwarf/elf/man/eagle side won the Battle of Five Armies and peace was restored. Bilbo was at last able to return home safely. I disliked the way this book was written, but I loved the story behind it all and I would recommend it to fantasy-lovers.
One reason that I disliked this novel is that often the author would complicate simple things. For example, he would write "You will get there in a few days now, if we're lucky, and find out all about it." Really all he needed, though, was- You will find out about it in a few days. The author definitely over used commas in The Hobbit. Sometimes the amount of detail was good, but a lot of instances the detail and description was confusing. One of the possible explanations for my confusion is the length of the author's sentences. For example, take the sentence, "The men of the lake-town Esgaroth were mostly indoors, for the breeze was from the black East and chill, but a few were walking on the quays, and watching, as they were fond of doing, the stars shine out from the smooth patches of the lake as they opened in the sky." I had to read this sentence a few times before fully grasping the meaning of it. This is just one of the many paragraph long sentences.
One thing I did like about this book, though, was the story line and the characters. Once I finished the book I was able to look at the "big picture" of the story rather than the specific details. I especially enjoyed the part in the book where Bilbo (with his invisibility ring on) talks to Smaug. I also really liked when Bilbo was playing riddles with Gollum because I could guess them, too. I also liked the character of Bilbo. Even though it seems as though there are many characters, Bilbo is the main character so you come to like his clever, kind, curious, and brave ways.
Lastly, I really didn't like the amount of violence in this book, especially in the end. The ways the battles are described are frankly quite gross. For example, during the fight between Bilbo and the dwarves against the spiders, one spider is described, "Then it went mad and leaped and danced and flung out its legs in horrible jerks..." Also, during The Battle of Five Armies, the valley was described as "the goblins were piled in heaps till Dale was dark and hideous with their corpses." These sentences were very disturbing to read.
In conclusion, I didn't really like the way this book was written, but I loved the over all story and characters. The novel was violent and sometimes it was very confusing, but I did enjoy some parts of the book a lot. I recommend this book to fantasy loving readers who have a lot of time to read this novel and who don't mind reading about war.
-C. Chaudhury
Book Review: History 101: the Hobbit- the World's First Self Help Book
Summary: 5 Stars
There are several important facts to remember in history: the first being the signing of the Magna Carta, the first movement towards democracy; the second is the rise and fall of the Roman Empire; the third is the Declaration of Independence in 1776; and lastly is the creation of The Hobbit. Now, the reader of this might be questioning the validity of this statement, however, in every case a new "empire" rises to introduce something so revolutionary that it shakes the foundation of the Planet itself. Understandably, overthrowing tyranny, introducing governments for the people, and building understanding for all that is good in the face of evil mark monumental events in history. Unlike previously mentioned events, The Hobbit is the first book to use fantasy to capture interest in the struggle to overcome pure evil from an underdog. The Hobbit is the world's first view at a self-help book that uses a magical world created by J.R.R. Tolkein to illustrate overcoming adverse odds to learn about the power of the mind and breaking out of the ordinary: in short, a must read.
When reading The Hobbit there are a few key things to remember. A Hobbit is a small person, only about three to four feet in height, with a taste for beer and food, a life without adventure, and normality. Bilbo Baggins represents the boring life of a Hobbit, constantly in uniform behavior with which he is expected to partake in. However, surrounding the land of the Shire, home to Hobbits, lies an immense world filled with goblins, trolls, dwarves, elves, dragons, and other fantastic creatures eager to be explored. Bilbo Baggins is the book's main character and symbol for taking on the unordinary and challenges contemporary theology. Living in Hobbiton, there are key differences between men and Hobbits, all of which Bilbo represents. Hobbits are only about half the size of regular humans, have hairy feet because they do not wear shoes, and are foremost opposed to taking up adventures, much rather preferring to Garden or drink tea. Bilbo's quest into adventure begins with the introduction of Gandalf, the Grey Wizard, and 13 dwarves in search of a `burglar' to accompany them on a mission to hunt out the marauding dragon Smaug, who took their gold and hordes it on Lonely Mountain. Surprised to find himself involved in such a quest, unbecoming of a Hobbit, Bilbo accepts the introduction to the `unexpected party' and heads out of his comfort to the land of Middle Earth.
While on his quest, Bilbo learns about relying on others, himself, and bravery. Bilbo partakes in fighting goblins, tricking trolls, riding upon eagles, and saving his entire band from killer, giant spiders. The themes of the novel and motifs are not very well exhibited, except through Bilbo's narration and the chapter titles, such as "out of the frying pan, into the fire". Through the chapter titles, and Bilbo's personal queries into fighting off creatures unknown in his homeland, the Shire, Bilbo learns the most about himself and displays the book's message: if faced with adversity and doubt, anyone can do anything if they just try and push through the comfort boundaries. Overall, The Hobbit is a wonderful book because it introduces things children and adults can come to enjoy in fantasy, with real world, mature lessons about life that connect to a broad range of readers. Like the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, and Roman Empire, The Hobbit teaches its followers to rise up against the tyranny of doubt and fight for anything previously linked to doubt, a true historical masterpiece of the human spirit and escape to a world of Fantasy.
BY SEAN CAMPERSON (NOT CYNDIE CAMPERSON)
Book Review: History 101: the Hobbit- the World's First Self Help Book
Summary: 5 Stars
There are several important facts to remember in history: the first being the signing of the Magna Carta, the first movement towards democracy; the second is the rise and fall of the Roman Empire; the third is the Declaration of Independence in 1776; and lastly is the creation of The Hobbit. Now, the reader of this might be questioning the validity of this statement, however, in every case a new "empire" rises to introduce something so revolutionary that it shakes the foundation of the Planet itself. Understandably, overthrowing tyranny, introducing governments for the people, and building understanding for all that is good in the face of evil mark monumental events in history. Unlike previously mentioned events, The Hobbit is the first book to use fantasy to capture interest in the struggle to overcome pure evil from an underdog. The Hobbit is the world's first view at a self-help book that uses a magical world created by J.R.R. Tolkein to illustrate overcoming adverse odds to learn about the power of the mind and breaking out of the ordinary: in short, a must read.
When reading The Hobbit there are a few key things to remember. A Hobbit is a small person, only about three to four feet in height, with a taste for beer and food, a life without adventure, and normality. Bilbo Baggins represents the boring life of a Hobbit, constantly in uniform behavior with which he is expected to partake in. However, surrounding the land of the Shire, home to Hobbits, lies an immense world filled with goblins, trolls, dwarves, elves, dragons, and other fantastic creatures eager to be explored. Bilbo Baggins is the book's main character and symbol for taking on the unordinary and challenges contemporary theology. Living in Hobbiton, there are key differences between men and Hobbits, all of which Bilbo represents. Hobbits are only about half the size of regular humans, have hairy feet because they do not wear shoes, and are foremost opposed to taking up adventures, much rather preferring to Garden or drink tea. Bilbo's quest into adventure begins with the introduction of Gandalf, the Grey Wizard, and 13 dwarves in search of a `burglar' to accompany them on a mission to hunt out the marauding dragon Smaug, who took their gold and hordes it on Lonely Mountain. Surprised to find himself involved in such a quest, unbecoming of a Hobbit, Bilbo accepts the introduction to the `unexpected party' and heads out of his comfort to the land of Middle Earth.
While on his quest, Bilbo learns about relying on others, himself, and bravery. Bilbo partakes in fighting goblins, tricking trolls, riding upon eagles, and saving his entire band from killer, giant spiders. The themes of the novel and motifs are not very well exhibited, except through Bilbo's narration and the chapter titles, such as "out of the frying pan, into the fire". Through the chapter titles, and Bilbo's personal queries into fighting off creatures unknown in his homeland, the Shire, Bilbo learns the most about himself and displays the book's message: if faced with adversity and doubt, anyone can do anything if they just try and push through the comfort boundaries. Overall, The Hobbit is a wonderful book because it introduces things children and adults can come to enjoy in fantasy, with real world, mature lessons about life that connect to a broad range of readers. Like the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, and Roman Empire, The Hobbit teaches its followers to rise up against the tyranny of doubt and fight for anything previously linked to doubt, a true historical masterpiece of the human spirit and escape to a world of Fantasy.
Book Review: An 11-year-old's review
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first picked up this book at the bookstore, with my parents, I didn't know what to expect. I decided to get The Hobbit because of its immense popularity. Being 7 years old at the time, this was one of my first 300+ page chapter books. The introduction was simple enough: A hobbit named Bilbo Baggins was sitting lazily outside his hobbit hole, with a long pipe, when the wizard, Gandalf, came by. Our first exposure to Gandalf is quite a bit different however. "Gandalf came by. Galdalf! If you heard only a quarter of what I heard about him, and I have only heard very little of what there is to hear, you would be prepared for any sort of remarkable tale." To the reader, Bilbo Baggins seemed the lazy type -- content with his quiet life, baking seedcakes, smoking pipes, and living in his father's enormous hobbit hole. One must question Gandalf's motives for choosing such a person to go on a daunting quest. The "daunting quest" is helping 13 dwarves, including the great Thorin Oakensheid, recapture their gold from the dragon, Smaug. Smaug smashed down on the merry village of Dale, utterly destroying the village itself, eating up all its inhabitants, and (to add insult to injury) taking all of the gold and moving it into the Lonely Mountain. Thorin himself was the grandson of The King Under the Mountain, and so was even more outraged at this attack. After eating most of his food, the dwarves sang a song, which made Bilbo feel many adventurous things. Hobbits do not normally even appreciate this type of music. Bilbo must use all of the qualities he never knew he had (i.e., bravery, wisdom, ingenuity, and unselfishness). Along the way, a major part of the book takes place in Bilbo's legendary meeting with Gollum, a peculiar underground creature who calls himself "My Precious". Here Bilbo picks up a magic ring that gives the wearer the power of invisibility. Now, to fully understand the curiousness of a hobbit going on an adventure, you may want to know details about them. Hobbits are half the height of humans, love to eat, dress in bright colors such as green and yellow, live in holes in the ground, and hate adventures or anything that is unpredictable. The Tooks are an exception to this, and are the unpopular relations of the Bagginses. This is why Bilbo has his "Tookish" side. Another amazing part is Bilbo's memorable confrontation with Smaug. I would recommend this book for all ages. As this was also the intended age, since J.R.R. Tolkien wrote this book for his children (unlike the darker, yet still fabulous Lord of the Rings). And many other children will probably also enjoy this book. Lastly, I have to say that my soft cover edition of The Hobbit has lasted four years, an amazing feat for a soft cover book.Book Review: The Hobbit's favorite review
Summary: 4 Stars
Without the hobbit, once self-confined to his home, the lands around the Lonely Mountain may never have found the greater peace that they did. In the beginning of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins hated the idea of adventure, but he could only do so much to stop this one when thirteen dwarves and one wizard came to his little hobbit-hole in the hill.
The lot of them needed his services as a burglar to gain their treasure back from he dragon, Smaug. He hesitantly agreed to go, and on the way, the group found Bilbo to be very handy, noble, and adventurous. Though the one to actually kill the dragon was a warrior from Dale, Bilbo played a large part in the entirety of the greater peace found after Smaug's death in the lands around. I strongly recommend this book to adventure-lovers and those in need of some inspiration.
One reason that I liked this book was that it had many points of great suspense, such as when Bilbo woke up to find a giant spider's eyes and legs tying his legs together to eat him. Bilbo luckily woke up in time to kill the spider. Also, when Bilbo and his friends had to fight off the trolls, it seemed possible that Bilbo would get his toes singed, or they would all get eaten. It was a point of great suspense when Bilbo darted invisibly from tree to tree, away from the spiders who were trying ton eat him and his friends, who were hanging from a web some way off.
Another good part of this book was the mystery that loomed in the background, though sometimes it was unnoticed until it was directly brought up. For example, when Thorin was lost from the group, it was quite unknown where he had gone, and it wasn't brought up for quite a while. Also, it was a mystery how Bilbo would get into his barrel, which he didn't get to, because he didn't think of it, but ended up floating down the river on top of it. It was quite a mystery how they would get out of the trees surrounded by wargs and goblins, but were eventually saved by eagles.
My favorite part of this book was the way it often made it seem impossible for the dwarves and Bilbo to go any further, like when they were in the Goblin's passages, in front of the Great Goblin, about to be eaten, or when they got caught in the forest with no idea of how to get out. The best example was when they got stuck in the elven-palace, guarded by elves and a spell-ridden gate.
The Hobbit was a very satisfactory reads, full of suspense, adventure, and friendship. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good book that keeps you turning the pages through Bilbo's adventure.
-K.Carson