I’m re-reading The Lord of the Rings this summer, whatever summer may mean to us over here in Singapore, who enjoy the perpetual delights of sun-bathed shores and sun-kissed limbs, and I say this without the slightest hint of sarcasm, if you take my meaning.
The Fellowship of the Ring isn’t something to analyse or ponder over in a long drawn-out review. Rather, it is something to be carried away by, the way a strong river bears a boat. The story is compelling and the characters so marvellously inventive and believable – it is as good a story as it gets. It is of the calibre of stories that shaped the world – don’t you remember that the world was shaped by a single word? – that kind of story, “stories that make a man grow old”.
I woke up at 7am this morning with the heightened awareness of the cool breeze on my cheek, no doubt an awareness made more keen by falling asleep while the company of the Ring lingered in Lothlorien, where Frodo “saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant...” (341) Lothlorien was where time flowed both swift and slow, where there was no corruption, no blemish, no evil. But it is surely fading away.
So, rather than a long and tedious review, here is a quiz instead:
1. Who am I quoting in the first line of this post?
Friday, June 16, 2006
The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien
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4 comments:
i love the book as well... during my uni days, when there was more time to read... i used to make an "annual pilgrimage" to Middle Earth... usually around mid-year or so - when the southern hemisphere is in the depths of winter... i'd curl up snugly in bed and get lost in the other world for hours... surfacing only when hunger or some other need calls... tolkien has a way of making me cry at will... the heroism and stoicism of some of the central characters... like Eowyn... and the poignant reunion of the fellowship after the great war... and the touching relationship between Frodo and Sam... bawl.....
You like it too! Cool :) These are one of the few books I actually own.
I found Lothlorian rather depressing --too otherworldly. I much preferred Rivendell.
I found Lothlorian sad too, but because of its inevitable passing away.
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