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matthewlysyhh7's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
nwhyte's review
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2157381.html[return][return]It is actually rather good - as well as following through the manuscript changes (of which the most unsettling is that Gandalf was originally the name of the dwarf leader we know as Thorin Oakenshield; the wizard of early drafts was Bladorthin), Rateliff has taken the time to chase down the history of various elements of the story of The Hobbit; he argues, for instance, that Tolkien's trolls appear to have been the first in literature who were turned to stone by the rising sun, and that while invisibility-conferring rings were not completely new, many aspects of the Ring found by Bilbo are indeed original. He also shows how the writing of The Hobbit was affected by and in turn affected the other writing Tolkien was engaged in at the time, some of which became The Silmarillion and some of which only saw light in The History of Middle Earth. Note also that Laketown is the only culture in Middle Earth which is clearly rooted in the Western European medieval period which was Tolkien's own specialisation, and its Master is the only speaking character in the entire corpus who has won an election.
lisa_setepenre's review
4.0
The History of the Hobbit is a series similar to Christopher Tolkien's History of Middle-Earth, with Rateliff providing early manuscripts of the story, plot notes and his own commentaries, allowing fans to see how [b:The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again|5907|The Hobbit Or There and Back Again|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1273500946s/5907.jpg|1540236] was formed. While a few names differ from the published version, the story isn't so dissimilar from the published version we're used to. Indeed, the biggest change is probably the meeting between Gollum and Bilbo, which was only changed to the version everyone knows after Lord of the Rings was published. The plot notes, however, allow us a tantalising glimpse at different ideas Tolkien thought about including.
The commentaries are – to me – more readable and interesting than those in History of Middle-Earth. They trace possible inspirations to related material, including historic texts, but also to Tolkien's own legendarium.
On a shallow note, the presentation of the hardcover editions are absolutely beautiful.
The commentaries are – to me – more readable and interesting than those in History of Middle-Earth. They trace possible inspirations to related material, including historic texts, but also to Tolkien's own legendarium.
On a shallow note, the presentation of the hardcover editions are absolutely beautiful.
bookwomble's review
5.0
Mr. Baggins is a scholarly book and one more suited to the die-hard Tolkien enthusiast than the casual reader. That's not to say that it's dry or boring; quite the reverse, in fact.
This is a book about a book, or more precisely a book about part of a book, as it covers about 2/3s of the action of The Hobbit. Rateliff has taken a number of fragments and drafts of The Hobbit and presents them to us with copious notes and commentaries. Although the main plot is essentially the same as Tolkien's published story, there were many differences in detail and it's fascinating to see how the accumulation of such modifications affected the work as a whole.
The book is divided into the chapters of the published story that we're familiar with, although the draft version had no such divisions. Tolkien's text is annotated to highlight the variations. Each chapter is then followed by Rateliff's commentaries on what we've just read, providing fascinating insight into Tolkien's sources, inspirations and useful background information.
Thus we learn about Tolkien's fascination with "eagles-to-the-rescue"; the development of elves from Norse and Celtic folklore, through the Middle-ages and into the late Victorian and Edwardian era; Tolkien's likely source for Beorn the werebear; neolithic lake towns, etc.
That the commentaries are annotated, and frequently refer back to Tolkien's own invented mythology, makes the book wonderfully convoluted and recursive. And some nice illustrated plates are thrown in for good measure.
Next time I read The Hobbit, it will certainly be with this book, and the companion volume, [b:The History of the Hobbit, Volume 2|978772|The History of the Hobbit, Part Two Return to Bag-End|John D. Rateliff|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390961531s/978772.jpg|963660], by my side.
This is a book about a book, or more precisely a book about part of a book, as it covers about 2/3s of the action of The Hobbit. Rateliff has taken a number of fragments and drafts of The Hobbit and presents them to us with copious notes and commentaries. Although the main plot is essentially the same as Tolkien's published story, there were many differences in detail and it's fascinating to see how the accumulation of such modifications affected the work as a whole.
The book is divided into the chapters of the published story that we're familiar with, although the draft version had no such divisions. Tolkien's text is annotated to highlight the variations. Each chapter is then followed by Rateliff's commentaries on what we've just read, providing fascinating insight into Tolkien's sources, inspirations and useful background information.
Thus we learn about Tolkien's fascination with "eagles-to-the-rescue"; the development of elves from Norse and Celtic folklore, through the Middle-ages and into the late Victorian and Edwardian era; Tolkien's likely source for Beorn the werebear; neolithic lake towns, etc.
That the commentaries are annotated, and frequently refer back to Tolkien's own invented mythology, makes the book wonderfully convoluted and recursive. And some nice illustrated plates are thrown in for good measure.
Next time I read The Hobbit, it will certainly be with this book, and the companion volume, [b:The History of the Hobbit, Volume 2|978772|The History of the Hobbit, Part Two Return to Bag-End|John D. Rateliff|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390961531s/978772.jpg|963660], by my side.
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