It appears at or near the top of every popularly chosen list of the best books of all time. It cast a lasting spell on the fantasy genre, where it set the tropes that would be explored for nearly forty years before darker, more ironic low fantasy, Harry Potter, and contemporary urban fantasy could even begin to put a dent in its armor. If you asked most readers to name a fantasy book, it would be the first words from their lips. Still, some readers and critics insist on taking cheap shots at The Lord of the Rings (hereafter “LOTR”).
Some say that it oversimplifies the struggle between good and evil. Others accuse it of racism because many of the forces of evil are dark-skinned. Some decry the shortage of female characters. Some simply find it too hokey. Some blithely accuse it of being loaded with clichés, but you can’t blame a trendsetter for establishing tropes for the fantasy genre that are mimicked so frequently that they become clichés after the fact.
LOTR is my favorite work of fantasy, probably my favorite work of fiction. I’m sympathetic to some of the criticisms against it, and I love many of the more recent works of fantasy that take a contrasting approach, but none of that negates LOTR’s positive points. So this week, nearly 1000 posts into Blogging for a Good Book’s positive reviews, I’ve decided to highlight ten of the reasons why I love LOTR. Because this is going to take some space, and because my favorite book deserves more than one post, and to honor the original trilogy, I’ve decided to split this into three parts.
1. CHARACTER DUOLOGIES
Those who accuse LOTR of being morally simplistic are not reading closely enough. For almost every major good character, Tolkien creates a mirror image, an evil counterpart. It’s by a slim margin of character and luck that Frodo doesn’t become like Gollum, that Gandalf doesn’t fall prey to the power hunger and corruption that twists Saruman, that Theoden escapes the insanity that traps Denethor, or that the elves maintain the individuality that their counterpart orcs lose. The nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring are mirrored by the nine Nazgul, reminders that they too must guard against the corruption and obsession that can turn moral, powerful people into creatures of evil.
2. FRIENDSHIP
In contrast to his dark duologies, Tolkien devised several happy pairs, examples of friendship that readers like me prize. The loyal bond of Frodo and Sam, the rowdy camaraderie of Merry and Pippin, and the adversity-grown admiration that Legolas and Gimli share are relationships to cherish.
3. THE POTENTIAL OF THE LEAST
While I’m sympathetic to complaints about the shortage of female characters (Galadriel and Eowyn are wonderful, but their appearances brief) and the shortage of positive dark-skinned characters, LOTR’s strongest message overcomes accusations of bigotry. That message is that even the least respected creature can perform the greatest of deeds. When wizards, immortal elves, rugged dwarves, and noble men cannot destroy the ring, a tiny hobbit steps forward and bears the load. When he needs help, his simple friend and servant keeps him going. And at the last, the tortured, groveling, mostly insane Gollum bears the ring into the Crack of Doom. Tolkien fills his book with such moments of empowerment.
I’ll be back tomorrow with four more great reasons to love LOTR in the second post of my trilogy.
Check the WRL catalog for The Lord of the Rings in one volume
Or try the first book of the trilogy The Fellowship of the Ring
Check out The Fellowship of the Ring on audiobook
Or try Peter Jackson’s wonderful film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring
LOTR is my favorite book of all time too. I try to re-read it every year but don’t always achieve that. I laugh, I cry–it has it all. People always take cheap shots at trailblazers, so don’t let the criticism get to you or take away your pleasure.
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I’ve always had a soft spot in my head for Eowyn – she was the most rebellious and forthright of the female characters, and the one upon whom the battle scene before Gondor centered.
Oh crikey! I meant Eowyn not Arwen, Andrew. I’m correcting the text above.
Thank-you Thank-you! Now (if you don’t mind) I can re-blog this great synopsis on my site and don’t have to labor over writing my own review! It’s on my list of fiction books every Christian should read. Awesome series of articles.
Reblogged this on I'm All Booked and commented:
Introducing my First REBLOG:
Trying to crank out a book review every week is starting to become a challenge! The biggest difficulty is writing reviews on books that I enjoyed and have included on my list of books I think every Christian should read, but that I read years ago. I could re-read them (and some I intend to), but there are so many books I have yet to read for the first time. As I have been discovering many other good sites that focus on books, I’ ve found some great articles and reviews that have already been published, so I thought “Why re-invent the wheel?” So, here is my first actual “Reblog” – sharing a well-written review of a book I recommend: “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. (By the way, in light of the newest Hobbit film, I did re-read the Hobbit at the beginning of this year.) Coming to you from “Blogging for a Good Book”:
Hands down this is my favorite book of all time. Nothing….Nothing touches LOTR for heart, soul, story and beauty! Love it till the day I die!
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