The Lord Of The Rings

After many weeks (read months) I've finally completed The Lord Of The Rings series. Now, as aforementioned, I feel that this book should be considered three different books as it's been published (in most instances) as three different books. However, this was not the case, and, though intimidated by the length of the book(s) when I started, I picked it up with interest.

I mean, I have the three movies. I loved them. They were great. I only imagine that the book is as good, as, in my opinion, it is very rare indeed for the movie to be better than the books. The same held true. J.R.R. Tolkien was a master-class fantasy writer. Weaving characters in and out the story with seeming ease. Creating a background and history to all of Middle-Earth that would put an Egyptian historian to shame. Of course, most of this history was not told in the LOTR, however, there is reference to it.

For anyone that doesn't know the story, it is a sequel (if it can be called that) to The Hobbit. It is based on the ring that Bilbo gets from Gollum. Gandalf (the wizard who lead the Hobbit crew) discovers that this ring is the ring of Sauron, the evil in Middle Earth. The only option is to go deep into Mordor (Sauron's land) and destroy the ring where it was made. A fellowship (hence the name of the first "book") of nine is formed to take the ring to Mordor. So the story is basically the fellowship's adventures as they try to destroy the ring. What ends up happening pits the good beings of Middle-Earth against the evil beings...the ultimate fight of good versus evil.

All in all it was a good book. The story was wonderful and beautiful written. It was also interesting to attempt to read Tolkien's Christian theories in it (as that was why he wrote it). Unlike C.S. Lewis (of whom Tolkien was a close friend) and the Chronicles of Narnia, Tolkien was much more discreet in his beliefs. The characters are interesting and as varied as nine characters who have the same basic set of beliefs can be.

My only complaint about it was that it can be tedious. I think that a lot of this comes from having seen the movies in advanced. There were no real surprises for most of the book. Black shadows that creep around the scene are already known and are no longer secret. There are also huge portions of Frodo (the Ringbearer) and Sam. And there story is by no means as exciting as the other. I found myself devouring the stories of the other characters and dragging through the story of Frodo and Sam. While I know that some people can quickly read through this book, I found the Frodo and Sam portions almost too much to bear at times. While it was interesting to see things from Sam's perspective on occasion (as this is rarely done in the movie), it was too long.

I would definitely recommend this book. And if you haven't seen the movie, read the book first, as I don't think the movies will be a disappoint as they followed the story pretty closely.

The Morale Of The Story: Reading the book first is usually better to do as the movie, even a good one, could slow the book progress. And when the 80 page introduction is about the type of pipe weed that Hobbit's smoke...skip it.

A Bend in the River

A Bend in the River

So I've started reading more regional fiction. This is going to be my first post about a book that doesn't take place in the US. A Bend in the River takes place in Africa, specifically where the river bends.

The narrator leaves home to find his destiny on the other side of Africa. He opens a store and weathers through the various turns of events that his life takes, living as a stranger in a new city, however what the essentials of what makes Africa remain.

I liked this book for two reasons. The first is because the main character left home to find his own way in the world. Looking over my life, I realize that I've had three new starts… moving to Marietta… moving to Athens… and then moving to DC. Although each of these was scary of the unknown at the time, each has been better than the last. I like the fact that the main character knew what he knew, but plunged himself into what he didn't know, just because there was a chance that it was better than the world he did know. Although he's not particularly all that likeable or complex, you can't help but admire his initial lust for the unknown.

The second reason is because it doesn't have a happy ending. It's pretty realistic of how I feel a lot of people's fates are in countries where the governments are so unstable. I tend to take the fact that I live in a country with a stable government for granted, where my life is not going to become a government induced nightmare at any given moment.

Moral of the Story: You'll never know what lies at the Bend in the River if you don't go there yourself.

Sometimes a Great Notion

The panel of 1001 Books is hereby forgiven for not including East of Eden. Although I don't understand why it wasn't included because it is an excellent book that everyone should read, Sometimes a Great Notion had brought the panel back into my good graces. Bygones.

Set in an Oregon backwoods logging country, Sometimes a Great Notion is the story of a not-so prodigal son returning home to seek vengeance on an adulterous older brother. For Leland (the not-so-prodigal son), it's a story of discovering that you are stronger than you think. But there are many other stories within the book, those of Hank, Henry, Faye, Joe-Ben, and others as they come to realize their own truths about themselves and the world.

The book itself started off rather slow, but it's one of those that slowly creeps up on you, and you realize just how engrossed you've become, to the point where randomly, at work, or while driving, you'll be thinking about what the characters are doing next. I realized how much I really liked the book when I read the "blessed day" passage, which was a real turning point in the whole novel, although not terribly significant to the overall plot.

I don't say this lightly, but this book ranks up there on the list of best books I've ever read. Now, if only I could find something to make up for Willard and his Bowling Trophies and Blonde....