The Hobbit

Rating:
Summary: The Little Hobbit
Review: I enjoyed this book. The stories of Biblo Baggin's adventures away from his safe Hobbit hole and into the dark underworld were riveting. I would have given it five stars if the plot had a few more interesting twists.

Rating:
Summary: A Great story for people age 7-130
Review: Anybody can read this book and love it.It's just a story about Bilbo Baggins-the hobbit with no adventure in his life who one day gets into an adventure with Gandalf the wizard and 12 dwarves or is it 13 dwarves.Anyway, it's an awesome book you should read.

Rating:
Summary: Bilbo Baggins - A Famous Antihero
Review: The Hobbitt elegantly presents an entertaining fantasy quest story in which the main character, a hobbitt named Bilbo Baggins, is an antihero (or, at least, a reluctant hero). The story describes a beautiful world in which live all manner of fantastic beings - dwarves, elves, hobbits, goblins, trolls, men, and a dragon named Smaug. These various somewhat disimilar beings live in such proximity that, if they only move around a small bit, they will affect each other in significant ways. That is what I like about the story. Mr. Tolkien succinctly describes and compares and contrasts these different beings as the story goes along in a way that, I think, provides a metaphor for relationships among different cultures in the real world in which we live. He shows that some differences are tolerable and, even, desirable and advantageous; that some differences are insurmountable; and, that this is just the nature of the world that must be handled, sometimes carefully.

Some may not agree with me when I say that Mr. Tolkien's descriptions are succinct. This leads to what I dislike about the book. I wish for even MORE elaboration. I wish the descriptions had been as full and elegant and as wide in scope as I know Mr. Tolkien could have made them - as in The Silmarillion (in my opinion, the real Tolkien masterpiece). Of course, I know this would have dramatically changed the realized audience and that may not have followed Mr. Tolkien's intentions. This is just a personal wish of mine.

This is a wonderful story for readers of all ages (8+ ?); however, I would not rank it as one of the greatest stories of all time as many other Tolkien fans seem to do.

The story contains some wonderful lessons for younger (and, I'm sure, some older) readers about self-reliance in the face of adversity and fear; commitment to one's values and relationships, especially when that is difficult; and, realizing that sometimes one must (even reluctantly) do things one would not have normally chosen to do in order to lead a life worth living.

Rating:
Summary: There and Back Again...
Review: I always go back to this book. Published in 1927 it is the prequel the world best-seller, the Lord of the Rings. Althouh, this book is considered a child's book, I strongly disagree. Tolkien's prose satisfies any age genre and paints a vivid picture of his Middle-Earth.

Never has a prequel been so good. It follows Bilbo Baggins, and a band of crazy dwarfs and the Magician Gandalf to the Lonely Mountain, where the dragon Smaug guards a notorious Dwarven treasure. I do not want to spoil any plot details so I will stop here. The most simple synopsis I can give is: For those who are 10 years old, and those who were once 10 years old.

Any review of this praised book is inadequate and one must experience for himself the poetry and magic of The Hobbit.

Rating:
Summary: THE BOOK to read and reread.
Review: I am currently rereading this book for maybe the sixth or seventh time. If you don't like this book you haven't an imagination nor a soul.

Rating:
Summary: The beginings of a masterpiece!!
Review: In anticipation of The Fellowship of the Ring movie due out this December, I've decided to re-read Tolkien's classics, starting with The Hobbit. This is a great and classic story about a quest. It was great to see Bilbo's character evolve from beginning to end, as well as get introduced to all the great characters that populate Tolkien's world. I loved Beorn and wished he was more integral to the whole story, but maybe he's in The Lord of the Rings (I've forgotten!). My only gripe is Gandalf - I thought he was extremely underdeveloped and there was so much more we could have learned about him. As a stand alone story, The Hobbit is a classic, but it just felt like Tolkien was going through the motions and saving his best work for his later novels...

Rating:
Summary: Reverse Beowulf
Review: This is modeled on Beowulf, but yet anti-Beowulf, in that the fierce dragon is stalked not by the toughest guy around who prefers fighting hand-to-hand, but by a rag tag collection of dwarves blundering around the countryside, at times the opposite of intentionality.

The lair, the hoard, the smoke--but games of wit and tricks of evasion, culminating in some other guy shooting down the dragon based on inside information mediated by a bird.

Another opposite trend of this is the way the characters strengthen and develop, whereas in Beowulf, the hero ages and deteriorates. These dwarves, by contrast, are already old, but become more adventuresome, and more bold.

The skeleton of the story, though, is still Beowulf. But much improved by the inversions. Another refreshing twist on the old story is the way both Gandalf and Baggins both hold their accomplishments lightly, Baggins preferring to go home to his pouch of tobacco and his pantry, and Galdalf vanishing somewhere undefined after closing off a conversation with Bilbo on the terminal point of how individuals acting on their own, yet have a part in fulfulling someone else's prophecy.

All the while as I was reading through this, for the first time since grade school, I was reminded of what I guess I'll call "Middle Led Zeppelin" and the Song Remains the Same scenes with Robert Plant dramatizing the songs of quest and discovery, many words of which seem lifted from the same old English sounds reflected in Tolkein's work, particularly this text.

So if Tolkein is updating Beowulf, were Robert Plant and Jimmy Page revising the Hobbit, or at least struggling to interpret it? Dwarves on a far cliff with dueling stratocasters? Elves down below churning and hopping around in curious pagan synchronicity? I'm thinking sure, why not?

Rating:
Summary: Beats the pants off of Harry Potter!
Review: I read The Hobbit many years ago, but now, reading it to my eight-year-old daughter, I've realized what a fine piece of literature this is. Unlike the Lord of the Rings trilogy (which are darker and more complicated), The Hobbit is suitable for most children of elementary school age (I'd say third grade and up, generally). While there is danger and adventure (and some very unsavory characters), there is not much violence or bloodshed. We have enjoyed the beautifully illustrated (by Michael Hague),large, softcover edition, published by Houghton Mifflin. If you can find this edition, buy it --- with the caveat that a couple of the illustrations are a bit scary, at least to younger siblings!

Rating:
Summary: The Hobbit(little people, big adventure
Review: The Hobbit is a very good book. It is about a hobbit(a little, outgoing, creature) who is asked to steal treasure from a dragon. He goes with 13 dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf. He fights giant spider, goblins, wolves, and ogres. This was my favorite book and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: "The Hobbit"(little people, big adventure)
Review: "The Hobbit" was a great book. It is about a hobbit (a small, quiet, outgoing, little creature)who is asked to steal treasure from a dragon. He travels with 13 dwarves and a wizard name Gandalf. On his adventure he finds a magic ring ,but I can't tell you what it does. While traveling north to the dragons lair he gets in many battles. He fights goblins, wolves, giant spiders, and ogres. It is the best book I have read.