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| I read the e-book version |
Right after
I closed the last page of LOTR, I said to myself: "Finally... I have
conquered thee!!" Indeed, LOTR has been one of books I dreaded most
because of its length; but most of all, because fantasy is not my cup of tea.
Someone told me to read it as myth, not fantasy; but even myth is my less
favorite genre. Then too, people praised it so much that I felt I must at least
give it a try. In fact I have tried years before, reading the Indonesian
translation, but only after the first pages. I got bored, and gave up. So this
time I 'forced' myself to read all the three books from first page to the last.
And I did, yay!
As everyone
seems to have read LOTR, I need not taking effort to write the summary. In
short, a group of nine delegations was assigned to destroy a dangerous ring,
lest the Dark Lord, who was rising in power, found and used it to rule the
Middle Earth. Curiously, from the nine members, the fellowship composed of four
hobbits—creatures that were famous of being weak and lazy (they were also called
'halflings'), one wizard, two men, an elf, and a dwarf. Trusting a job so
crucial against such powerful enemy to some hobbits seems absurd. That Frodo is
the ring bearer—because his uncle, Bilbo Baggins, was the latest owner and has
bequeathed the ring to him—it was understandable that he was one of the
delegations. Sam Gamgee is his esquire, so he too must go. But Merry (Meriadoc)
and Pippin (Peregrin), why must they? But that is one of the most important points
that lay behind this adventurous epic: minority and diversity.
While there
was a wizard and a valiant knight and Lord (Aragorn), yet in the end, the
greatest heroes were these halflings, who often hindered them during the
journey, while complaining about food or pipes, aka the hobbits! I am glad that
though people regarded them as "nobody", Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli
treated and respected them equally. That is why, I think, Boromir must go very
early, because he was no team player; he was too much into himself.
Of the four,
my favorite is Sam Gamgee. Here is a simple, warm, and honourable man.. err...
hobbit. Heroism is when you face terrible danger, you are horrified and
hopeless, yet you force yourself to go through, for the sake of something (or
someone) dearest to you. And Sam is simply the highest hero here!
My favorite
part is everytime Merry or Pippin was around. I enjoyed the comical or
emotional side of their journeys, and how they fit completely with each other.
Frodo, on the other hand, is too dreamy and felt a bit unreal to me. At least
his hundred-years-old uncle Bilbo was much more vigorous (in The Hobbit) than
him.
Finally, of
the three books, I liked Book 3 (The Return of the King) the most. Book 1 (The
Fellowship of the Ring) is full of flat narration on Middle Earth and its people,
and it instantly bored me. The names of the houses, mountains, lands, country,
and I don't know what else, overwhelmed me from the first, that I neglected
them altogether since Book 1. Book 2 (The Two Towers) was more enjoyable, but
the best was Book 3. Overall, LOTR is the modern version of epic fantasy
written in poetic prose. Despite my satisfaction of finally reading it, the
journey has been rather a struggle—I skipped most of the songs and description
of woods or lands. Again, fantasy is not yet my cup of tea (Harry Potter is the only exception), and
through the book I have longed for ordinary lives!
And for all
that...
3,5 to 5 is
my fairest verdict