Hobbit or There and Back Again (Paperback)

~ J. R. R. Tolkien (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 1, 1992)
• ASIN: B001JDNLY4
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,630,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Children's Tale by an Adult Who Understands Childhood, September 17, 2009

By	John M. Ford "johnDC" (near DC, MD USA) - See all my reviews

The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, who leaves his quiet life of many meals a day to join a treasure-seeking company of dwarves. He encounters trolls, elves, giant spiders and magic of every kind. He returns home in the end to find his comfortable life waiting for him. Though he now has riches and a magic ring of invisibility, Bilbo will never again rest comfortably.

Tolkien wrote this book for his own children, and it has the chapter-by-chapter pacing of a tale to be told at bedtime to eager young ears. It is not mere childishness, however. While the magic is exciting, there is also an underlying system, a consistency to what magic will work and who it will work for and against. This encourages thoughtful questions and recognition of order in even a make-believe world.

Tolkien's hero grows as he journeys through Middle-Earth and through the book's chapters. Early in his adventures, Bilbo is rescued by either Gandalf the Wizard or by the more experienced dwarves. As the story develops, Bilbo takes a trembling hand in defending his companions and solving their problems. By book's end, he acts independently and makes his own decisions about what is right. In this entertaining and light-seeming tale, Tolkien shows his young readers what it means to grow up, to become capable and confident.

Having enjoyed the Hobbit's happy lessons of childhood, adult readers of The Lord of the Rings face maturity's darker challenges. Bilbo's simple adventure is retold, with secrets laid bare and threatening implications revealed. Bilbo's magic ring is a consuming burden that cannot be easily destroyed. His homeland is safe only because others struggle to keep evil at bay. The most frightening monsters Bilbo has encountered, the goblins, are merely tortured offspring of a world-threatening evil that must be fought. This change of perspective is more than the shift from a children's book to one written for adults. It captures the jarring difference between what children know, and what adults must know to protect them.

This book has the reviewer's highest recommendation. Read it to enjoy a delightful children's story, and to see a childlike hero grow toward adulthood. Also read it to appreciate more deeply the adult themes in Tolkien's books that follow it. Analytical readers may also enjoy the psychological insights offered by Timothy O'Neill in The Individuated Hobbit.