Book Thoughts

I just finished reading "The Lord of the Rings". It only took me almost four months to get through it all! It was so worth it though. This is my second time through these books; I first read these books back when the movies came out, which was over ten years ago.

These books are so...satisfying. I think you would be hard-pressed to find another story out there with as clear themes of courage, loyalty, friendship, and love. I also do like the fantasy genre of literature, more than anything because I think it's incredible that a person can create entirely new worlds, races, languages, histories, animals, etc. and put it into writing in a way that makes sense and makes it seem almost real. Tolkien's imagination in developing LOTR blows my mind.

I also found myself drawn into the story by virtue of the writing itself, which is just great. Seriously, authors don't write like this anymore, which makes me a little sad. I think this is partly why lately I've found myself drawn to older, more classical writing. I like the challenge of reading something where I need to work at it a bit to get the story - especially when I know the story is a good one.

Another theme that comes through strongly in this book is that of hope. Even in the midst of great peril, danger, and pain, all of the characters demonstrate - in their own way - hope that things will be rightly restored in the end.

Far above the [mountains] in the west, the night-sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach. (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings)