A Reader's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien & 'The Hobbit'
- Description
- Specifications
- Customer Reviews (0)
The Hobbit lacks what I usually look for in a book – an interesting and developing heroine, a magnetic hero, realistic dialogue about human concerns, a recognisable setting, and a satisfactory romantic conclusion. And yet, in spite of these lacks, I do really love this book and have never found the same appeal in The Lord of the Rings.
So, it’s hard to pin down the appeal of The Hobbit. It’s the tale of a strange-looking middle-aged creature with hairy feet. There’s no romance, and there are encounters with beings that do not actually exist. It was written for children, but is sophisticated enough for an adult reader. It contains deaths and violence. What do we relate to as we read it? Do we all share Bilbo’s love of an easy life at home, yet have lurking within us the desire for strange adventures? Does the book make us discover our own inner-Hobbit?
The story is a brilliant balance between the real and the unreal, the known and unknown. Tolkien mixes the mundane and the mythical, satisfying our unfulfilled wishes as he does so. What child has not longed for the power to be invisible (as J.K. Rowling so well knew when she gave Harry Potter an invisibility cloak). We are given a dragon, treasure and rivers that send you into deep sleep, yet we also have seed cake, pies, and pocket handkerchiefs.
It is also a novel that makes you appreciate ‘Home’. Reading it makes you want to go to the pantry and see what delicious things might be lurking there; it makes you want to curl up at a fireside and stay there until the tale is finished; and it makes you acknowledge the places that mean much to you. Most of us love to travel, but Bilbo so well expresses the power of home that draws us all: “I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing.
No wonder The Hobbit has become a classic.
Add more enjoyment to your copy of J.R.R. Tolkien& The HobbitLiterary Reader's Guide at its online companion page. Susannah has prepared these recommended resources to accompany J.R.R. Tolkien& The Hobbit.
[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_PLUS]
Featured image credit- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit. Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/
DOWNLOAD product in pdf format
25 pages including full colour images
A pdf viewer is needed to open and print this document
If payment is made via EFT or cheque, the download will not be available until funds have cleared in Susannah’s bank account. Please pay via credit card or PayPal for immediate download.
Add a review for A Reader's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien & 'The Hobbit'
Related Products
-
￩￫
A Reader's Guide to Jerome K. Jerome & 'Three Men in a Boat'
$5.00Jerome K. Jerome wrote one of the funniest and best-loved books in the English language, Three Men in a Boat and spawned a mini tourist industry on the Thames River. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do – that you revel in its comedy, sigh over its hopeless young men, picture the wonderful river scenery that conjures up so much English history, laugh over its eccentricities, and of course never forget that dog, one of the best dogs in literature.
PLEASE NOTE:
This product is a DOWNLOAD multipage, printable document with full colour images.
If payment is made via EFT or cheque, the download will not be available until funds have cleared in Susannah's bank account. Please pay via credit card or PayPal for immediate download.
Maximum quantity exceededMinimum purchase amount of 0 is requiredA Reader's Guide to Jerome K. Jerome & 'Three Men in a Boat'
$5.00Successfully Added to your Shopping CartAdding to Cart... -
￩￫
A Reader's Guide to R.L. Stevenson & 'Kidnapped'
$5.00In my view, the greatest Scottish novel ever is Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped. Rich with Jacobite history, full of superb descriptions of landscape, this novel gives one of the best depictions of friendship I know. I’d rank Kidnapped in my list of ten favourite novels of all time. Come and discover its treasures with me.
PLEASE NOTE:
This product is a DOWNLOAD multipage, printable document with full colour images.
If payment is made via EFT or cheque, the download will not be available until funds have cleared in Susannah's bank account. Please pay via credit card or PayPal for immediate download.
Maximum quantity exceededMinimum purchase amount of 0 is requiredA Reader's Guide to R.L. Stevenson & 'Kidnapped'
$5.00Successfully Added to your Shopping CartAdding to Cart... -
￩￫
A Reader's Guide to Wilkie Collins & 'The Moonstone'
$5.00I first read The Moonstone as a teenager, after an adaptation of it had been on TV. I went on to read a few of his other books, but this one has always been my favourite. I hope you enjoy your trip into a murky world of diamonds, thwarted passion, secrets and shaky ground.
PLEASE NOTE:
This product is a DOWNLOAD multipage, printable document with full colour images.
If payment is made via EFT or cheque, the download will not be available until funds have cleared in Susannah's bank account. Please pay via credit card or PayPal for immediate download.
Maximum quantity exceededMinimum purchase amount of 0 is requiredA Reader's Guide to Wilkie Collins & 'The Moonstone'
$5.00Successfully Added to your Shopping CartAdding to Cart... -
￩￫
A Reader's Guide to Gerald Durrell & 'My Family and Other Animals'
$5.00Gerald Durrell wrote many books, but none has ever enjoyed the popularity of 'My Family and Other Animals'. In this monograph, you will learn more about this remarkable man (whose first word was evidently ‘zoo’) and his classic tale of an eccentric English family let loose on a Greek island.
PLEASE NOTE:
This product is a DOWNLOAD multipage, printable document with full colour images.
If payment is made via EFT or cheque, the download will not be available until funds have cleared in Susannah's bank account. Please pay via credit card or PayPal for immediate download.
Maximum quantity exceededMinimum purchase amount of 0 is requiredA Reader's Guide to Gerald Durrell & 'My Family and Other Animals'
$5.00Successfully Added to your Shopping CartAdding to Cart...