Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The Lord of the Rings

It all began when a colleague of S~ left a book in S~'s car. I pounced on it - it was "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien. I turned a couple of pages idly, felt it was quite readable, and promptly read the whole book.

And then, I wanted what follows, which, obviously, is "The Lord of the Rings". The same colleague of S~ had the book, and S~ brought it home for me.

I looked at that big fat book with the tiny writing. I looked at Puttachi. I looked at the book again. I looked again at Puttachi. Then I looked at S~ and asked him to take it back and return the book.

But within half an hour, I was already fingering the book, and peeking in to see what is in it. And before I knew it, I started reading it, leaning against the chest of drawers, one eye on Puttachi playing nearby.

It was then that I knew that I couldn't stop. S~ said it's fine, take your time, there is no hurry to return it. Ok, I thought. It might take me a year, but I am at least going to give it a shot.

It's not even a month, and I am nearly half way through.

There is something about the book. The tiny, intricate details? The beautiful, yet simple language? The characters that immediately catch hold of you and don't let you go? The pure fantasy of it all? The non-stop adventures? The fact that the book nearly makes you believe that such a world with these characters existed?

I don't know what it is. But what I do know is that it has really gotten to me.

And now, I am itching to watch the movies too.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay!! Am glad I am the first to comment on this one! Join the club, Shruthi!!! I used to consider myself as one of the biggest fans of JRR till I saw that I was simply one amongst millions.

I saw the first movie of the trilogy, fell in love with it, went to buy and read the entire LOTR, and then watched the other 2 offerings. I will advise you to get a DVD and watch the 3 movies at once (preferably at a stretch though am not sure you would get 9 hours free at once).

I am also the proud owner of almost all the other related JRR titles though none of them beats LOTR (The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, The Lost Tales, The Children of Hurin and of course LOTR).

Without revealing any of the remainder of the book that you still have to read, Shruthi, would just love it if you could post your comments about the best events you liked in this saga. Wow...sorry for this ultra long comment. Take care...

Anonymous said...

Forgot something....if you really liked LOTR that much and also Harry Potter, would recommend you read Eragon and Eldest (first 2 in another fantasy trilogy). Lol...now that I think of it, I seem to be remembering a lot of good books in the genre but I won't waste any more of comment space so let me know if you want any more recos.

Manav said...

COmpletely second sachin above on the fact that you should watch the complete trilogy at once. I think the pleasure comes from the fact that when you smile reading about the tree that sang a poem, you believe that a little bit of the "kid" is still left in you...thank god for that, and hope I never see the day when I shrug off LOTR as another piece of nonsense.

Manav said...

btw, I saw a particularly woerd piece of news that I couldnt help blogging about...so go see my latest post :)

http://whatssthat.blogspot.com

rajk said...

Hi Shruthi,,
THis was one of the times when I saw the movies before reading the books and I regret that because after seeing the movie, I started the book (Part1) and didn't like it at all!! I know, I know, I'm sure the problem is with me if I can't like Tolkien, right? But u know what, maybe I'll try again...Thanks for the input...
PS Loved the movies though..

parijata said...

I read LOTR before I read 'The Hobbit'. And though getting through the first part was a little tedious, I loved the series.
The movies, of course, as any movies based on novels, are not really satisfying, but are really well-made. I specially love the battle scene at Helms Deep in the second part.
Happy reading and movie-watching!

Viky said...

I am one of those who haven't seen or read LOTR!!! Or any of JRR. Harry Potter either.

I think I will have to read at least one, to see what actually brings out comments of such passion.

Sumana said...

Hey shruthi,
Nice to hear that you are almost getting done with the book. Same happened with me when i started reading Outsourced Indian. The book just takes you along and you never realise how engrossed you get.

I love Lucy said...

Tagged!

praneshachar said...

books are very good companions and they will not leave when you are vivid reader what has happened to you will repeat to all such others.
it enhances your knowledge and gives you what life is it is all a matter of luck and what stuff you choose.
all the best complete reading and share how you managed to finish fast in spite of knotty puttachi

Anonymous said...

Bestest book ever... even in the movie you can see the "attention to details" thing... I just love the Book and the movie in that order... and like others I will ask you to see the movie if not in a single day, then atleast over 3 days.. the special effects are unbelivable(cause they are so belivable)..

Sudipta Chatterjee said...

You know, these LoTR movies are the only ones I've found that have faithfully represented the magic and the story together. Unlike the Harry Potter franchise where the story is like pages torn from the book, the movies of the LoTR are very accurate and also have the entire feeling of grandeur and mindblowing special effects. Enjoy!

Wunderyearz said...

You have been tagged!

Anonymous said...

It's a clever book.

Tolkein was an academic of English Language and Literature - and his Middle Earth books blend lots and lots of European mythology: AngloSaxon, Norse, Middle English etc etc.
He especially drew upon the world of 'Beowulf'.

Read the rest of the book using Barbara Strachey's fantastic maps, which have now been scanned and put online:

http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/library/fantasy/11/maps.htm

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