The Hobbit

The Hobbit

Book: The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
Genre: Fantasy

For this review, I've been reading the book "The Hobbit". The author of the book is J.R.R Tolkien, a very famous writer who also wrote the well-known trilogy "The Lord of the Rings". The Hobbit is actually the prequel to The Lord of the Rings, explaining how Bilbo obtains the ring. The hobbit came out in 1937, and was meant from the beginning as a children's book, but I think it holds appeal for both adults and children.

The book is about Bilbo Bagger, a wealthy little hobbit that is very liked by his friends. He lives a quiet and peaceful life in The Shire. One day, he stands on his porch early in the morning, smoking his pipe when an old man comes walking up the small road. It was Gandalf the Grey, a wizard.

Gandalf was walking around in the Shire searching for someone that he could send out on an adventure. Without Bilbo's knowledge, Gandalf picks him for this journey, so the next day Gandalf and his friend Thorin Oakenshild, plus Thorin's twelve dwarves, visit Bilbo. Gandalf explains to Bilbo that he had promised the thirteen dwarves that he would find the last man for their expedition. They needed one more because they didn't want to number thirteen, as this is an unlucky number. The adventure involves travelling across many countries to reach the Lonely Mountain, where the big treasure is. Unfortunately, the mountain is inhabited by the dragon Smaug, who's guarding the treasure.

After much persuasion, Bilbo finally agrees to come along, and here is where the adventure begins. That was the last day Bilbo spent in his little hobbit house for almost a year.

Mostly the book is about the events that happened on the way to Lonely Mountain. Bilbo and his company have many interesting encounters - for example, they're kidnapped by goblins, almost eaten by giants, and Bilbo finds a ring that makes him invisible.

Bilbo is a hobbit. They are smaller than humans but bigger than dwarfs, and have big feet with hairy toes. At the beginning of the book, Bilbo is very egoistic and does nothing unexpected. At this point, Bilbo would only lift a finger to help someone if it benefits him. However, during the adventure he grows and ends up helping his company without them even asking for it.

J.R.R Tolkien describes things in a very expressive way, leaving you able to imagine the scenes vividly, almost like you were there yourself. His characters and the language are incredible. He must have had a really good imagine.

The language is quite easy to read though. I understood it very well, but there were a few parts which had old English and they were a bit harder, though no real problem.

You can tell that Tolkien was a professor in Old Norse languages, and it also seems that he was interested in poetry, as many of the pages in the book are full of lyrics.

The book is definitely a fantasy - it has all the characteristics of the genre, from supernatural creatures to a battle between good and evil. Bilbo is the big hero, but when it's all over he goes back to being an unimportant hobbit. He shows that even if you're not a big and strong person you can be a hero, you can change things and make big differences. All you have to do is believe in yourself.

Last but not least, my opinion about this book.
I liked reading this book, since I'm a fanta...