After reading the first book of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, I feel that my reading skill has been challenged. There are adventure novels and then there are adventure novels.
Tolkien has a way with words that make things come alive. Even the nonliving things seem to breath. I feel as if I was transported to that place in that specific time with the characters.
He is very particular with details, from the changing color of the leaves, to the feel of the tree trunks, to the smell of impending doom.
He also likes to name things. Moria is also known as Khazad-dûm, Dwarrowdelf, Hadhodrond in Elven, Mines of Moria, Halls of Durin, and Phurunargian. There are many more others which also come in several names. No wonder. He was an acclaimed professor of the English language specializing in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval literature at Oxford.
And, the most challenging element of his writing style is poetry. He tells stories or gives description of characters in the book in poetry form. My favorite had to be, The Riddle of Strider.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
I was surprised that the movie sticks with most of the turning points in the book. Hats off to Peter Jackson, Sir. Discounting the time element, give or take some parts, they’re mostly similar.
But, ever since I watched the trilogy on repeat mode, I longed to have a copy of the book. I always knew books take a longer route to finish than their movie counterpart. Perhaps I just wanted to stretch Frodo’s adventure a little bit more. Or maybe I was a little in love with one of the elves. Who knows?
Tolkien makes me want to go trekking in middle-earth. I could go camp in the woods, build a fire, and practice singing one of those elven songs. I would not be alone of course. Strider will be with me. Woo-hoo!
Perhaps, I would invite myself to Rivendell and become a vegetarian for a while. Lord Elron might give me a grand welcome. And, he might give me free lessons on archery. Dream come true!
Then I would bid farewell and move on to Mirkwood. Hopefully, Legolas has returned from his woodland exploits. I missed him since our meeting many earth years ago. He might continue with our archery lessons, which was unfortunately cut short because of that terrible terrible business with the One Ring. He volunteered himself to join the Fellowship, so I had to let him go.
Afterwards, I would give Gimli a ring if he is available to be my guide to Lothlórien. You know that forest near the Misty Mountains. He has a thing for Lady Galadriel and I have a greater chance with him saying yes compared with the others. I really might need him since not everyone is welcome at Lórien. I heard it’s the fairest of all the dwellings among elves. Sleeping high up on their beautiful trees is just too good to miss. And I might, just might, see Lady Galadriel.
Before moving on to the Shire, I would take a cruise first at the Brandywine River, and perhaps spend the night at the Prancing Pony. A mug of excellent beer is always a delight. Though I am not really over fond of mushrooms like Frodo, and his cousins Merry and Pippin, I think I would give Old Maggot a courtesy call. I heard he helped hide the Ring-bearer from the Ringwraiths in the early part of his journey. Those Black Riders of Mordor are really nasty.
It still pains me to think about what happened to my great great grandfather Gandalf — several generations removed. I still don’t have any news about him. Hopefully, he will come out of the shadow soon.
I think I would give Mordor a pass. The place isn’t exactly friendly since that (forgive the expression) asshole Sauron decided to pick that particular spot to be his battle headquarter.
As I’m eager for more news about what has become of the Fellowship of the Ring, I would remain at the Shire and await the hobbits return before moving on to the next item on my bucket list. I missed sleeping on a real hobbit’s hole, with their round windows looking out towards picturesque hills. Though I learned early on that Frodo already sold Bag End to his lovely aunt Lobelia, I hope Samwise Gamgee’s folks would welcome me at their home.
Good nicely done