Monday 21 January 2013

(Library) Review: THE HOBBIT by J. R. R. Tolkien


I first read The Hobbit when I was in Grade 3. I promptly wrote a creative writing piece entitled The Fobbit  in which 14 mythical creatures go to a mountain to recover treasure. My teacher thought it was a work of genius. 15 years later I was worried about rereading the children's classic. I'd read it before, I'd just seen the movie in which Peter Jackson drew out every possible moment form the 1st third of the book and in the lead up to Boxing Day, fueled by my anticipation, I'd been thinking about the story in minute detail. Would I be bored by a story I felt I knew so well? It is a testament to Tolkien's writing that no, I was not. Within 3 pages I was totally enthralled in the adventure all over again. Furthermore, much to my delight, my childhood images of the characters still held firm. Martin Freeman did a wonderful job in the movie but when I look at him I just see his pale English bottom whilst he mock humps in Love Actually. The Hobbit is a classic and rightly so. Currently at the library all our copies are on loan and there is a list of reserves. I sincerely hope this means a new generation is experiencing Bilbo's adventure through their own imaginations and not just relying on Jackson's Epic.