The Hobbit: Thoughts After A Reread

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Genres: Classic, Fantasy
Pages: 306
Goodreads

Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and his skill as a burglar! Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit met with instant success when published in 1937. Now, in 1997, this special new edition, illustrated by Alan Lee, commemorates the sixtieth anniversary of a great classic.

Initially, I didn’t really think The Hobbit was the kind of book you need to review because it’s a classic – everything’s already been said. Then I realized, a lot of people in the YA community actually haven’t read any of Tolkien’s work. So, here’s me just sharing some very simple thoughts about my reread (I’m not analyzing the book or getting too deep with my thoughts).

Simply put, The Hobbit is good wholesome fun. It’s a short book (about 300 pages) that crams a whole lot of shenanigans into it. How I like to describe it is: a band of misfits goes on a quest and everything that can go wrong does. Each chapter is a new adventure for the group and that is something I love about it. It’s fast-paced and doesn’t dwell too long on one event – and that works, for the most part.

I will say that sometimes I’d like more detail in certain chapters and less in others. For example, the encounters with Smaug are not nearly long enough (which is also frustrating if you’ve seen the movies) but we get 17 pages of them basically just floating down the river in barrels (this chapter is totally different than the movies).

Yet, there are chapters like Riddles in the Dark, Over Hill and Under Hill, Out of the Frying-Pan Into the Fire, and then all the songs that really make me love this book. I laugh out loud at parts, I roll my eyes at others, and I even teared up a bit at the end. It’s a book that anyone, of all ages, can enjoy and follow along with its humor, adventure, songs, dragons, elves, and more. If you’re intimidated by The Lord of the Rings trilogy, or maybe you really disliked LOTR, try The Hobbit – it’s definitely a lighter, more fun read.

One of my favorite humorous parts:

“…Old Took’s great-grand-uncle Bullroarer, who was so huge (for a hobbit) that he could ride a horse. He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul’s head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented at the same moment.”

Rating Report
Plot
Characters
Writing
Overall:	5 / 5