“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, by J.R.R. Tolkien [BOOK REVIEW]

Welcome, fellow readers, to my first book review on the website and in the English language. I hope you all enjoy and leave your impressions about the text, it will help me a lot!

Firstly, I came to know Professor Tolkien’s wonderful universe, as many others, through the movies made by Peter Jackson, and I am a huge fan of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Only then did I read my first book by the author, The Silmarillion, followed by The Hobbit.
One of the things I noticed when I finally read the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy was that Peter Jackson’s adaptation was really well done, and no, watching the movie before reading the book did not interfere with my imagination whatsoever (although Tom Bombadil is a really cool character, I understand perfectly why he was left out of the movies).

It is a fact that J.R.R. Tolkien is the father of modern fantasy, but his narrative style is not yet as dynamic as we are used to. You may notice that he “loses” some time with fairly detailed descriptions of the scenery, minutiae of each stretch of the Society’s journey, which makes his rhythm resemble the rhythm of works of the late nineteenth century that I read, like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, which have a more “dragged” rhythm and are a little more difficult to read, especially for those who don’t have this habit. But this somewhat slower pace ends up being even more immersive, in a way, for the journey of Frodo and his companions, only in this first part, already lasts for many, many weeks. That way, when you finish reading, it really seems like you’ve been on that journey for all those days of walking, fighting, and so on. So far, for me, The Hobbit’s rhythm of narrative is the most dynamic of the author.

As for worldbuilding, I really don’t think I need to say anything. Tolkien knew in depth the universe that he created and shows this in each page, as if he lived there himself. It would be incredible to be able to visit the Shire, Lothlórien, Rivendell, see the Argonath, and the songs in Elvish leave us wanting to learn to speak those beautiful languages.

Finally, it’s never too much to reinforce how much Tolkien was a mark in world literature and that he’ll be eternal because of his fantastic works, not only in genre, but in quality. If you’re not an avid reader or have never read a work of this author before, I suggest that you start with The Hobbit, to gradually get used to his narrative style. But one thing is certain for everyone: Middle-earth never leaves the heart of those who come to know it.
