Whenever possible, I tend to read books before watching their adaptations, but for these 4 books - the Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings, this wasn't possible. Indeed, I had watched the former (LOTR) first, starting a few years ago with the first two parts' extended editions on dvd ; then, I waited a very long time before watching them again, this time all three parts and absolutely loved them. Then, came The Hobbit movies, and between second and third parts, I decided to read the book as I'd been told there were significant differences between the cinematic adaptation and the original - which I confirmed indeed.
I remember in my youth hearing that Tolkien books were really great, and through the years had heard that they are so influential that scholars have been studying them in depth... My humble blog entries represent only my appreciation for this great piece of High Fantasy, one that is bound to spoil your will to read anything else under its high standards for story telling, inventiveness as well as poetic composition, just it has done to me.
So, back in August 2014, and for the first time of my life, I finally tackled the Hobbit, a book written in the early 1930's and published in 1937. As I'm a slow reader, I thought it'd take me very long weeks... Instead, it took me just about a week and a half and I couldn't put it down - but I had no choice and do so, because I was still getting used to my new glasses. Once finished, I was rather sad that the movies had strayed so much away from the book, and had to reconcile with the fact that they are totally different pieces of art.
Months later, in January 2015, finally with some time ahead and an easier access as I'd finally gotten used to my glasses, I decided to continue with the challenge and head on to the sequels, published in the 1950's, Lord Of The Rings, this massive 1349 page project, which I had imagined finishing in over a year, at first.
Well, in spite of many delays, I managed to get it done in just about 4 months, about 1 per book, not so bad all factors considered.
This time, I noticed the high fidelity the movies had to the books, and also the few differences, some of which I deemed ''mistakes'' in the sense that they are so important in the books, and aren't present at all in the movies, or certain aspects changed a bit too much... Then again, I realise that if everything had been included, LOTR movies would've lasted many more hours.
These 4 books have been released many times and are available either alone, or in box sets, and even limited editions. LOTR has also been released in a one-massive-book versions, as intended (and yet less practical to carry around and read, especially in public transports).
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, after such a long read (almost 1800 pages) are, in the end, only a portion of what Tolkien wrote - his bibliography is extensive - and are parts 6-9 of what is called The History of Middle Earth - which extends about 12,000 years of invented history!
I shall review in the next entry this edition, a 4 book boxset.
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