Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Lord of the Rings

I just have to include LOTR in this blog.  First of all, don't judge the books by the movies.  The movies are OK, but the writers took liberties with the story to simplify everything, focus a lot on the violent parts, and to add tension where none was needed, at least not in the books.  Example:  when they were in Mordor, Frodo never sent Sam away in favor of Gollum.  When I watched those scenes in the movies I kept yelling "What?  WHAT??" It was so preposterous.  And what did they do with one of my most beloved characters, Faramir?  They changed his personality almost completely; in the books he was a man of valor, honor, and perception, which was essential to the line of the story.

I'd better change horses here. 

The first time I read LOTR I was 11 years old and my family was spending some time in India.  We met a couple from Australia, and they gave me the book.  What treasure!  It kept me out from under my grateful parents' feet for at least a week.  Since then I have reread the story many times, or listened to it on audiobook.  The library has an audiobook of LOTR that is read by Rob Inglis:  fantastic! 

If you enjoy becoming immersed in another world, I promise you will love this one.  At its most basic, it is a story about good versus evil, but there is also beauty, poetry, wisdom, and humor throughout.  The author, J. R. R. Tolkien, greatly enjoyed studying languages; he makes up words and phrases in Elvish, Dwarvish, the Orc tongue, and more.  There are also some truly unique and wonderful beings that Tolkien brings to life, such as the Ents (tree herders), and the hobbits themselves, which an introduction in the book(s) goes at some length to describe.