The Hobbit

The Hobbit

By J.R.R. Tolkien

I've always been an ardent lover of fantasy stories, and when I was younger my brother and I had an old animated video of The Hobbit. You remember those videos where the animated characters' mouths don't quite match up with the words being spoken? And all their actions are sort of jerky and mechanical? Yep. The Hobbit. Regardless, we loved it, and I think it was one of the few movies we could agree on when we tried to pick a movie to watch together.

As a teenager I tried reading The Hobbit, but I sincerely disliked it. Slow-moving. Too much description. Impersonal characters. And now, after re-reading it, I still somewhat agree with my first assessments, but I'll add another: stilted language. However, over all, I must admit that I enjoyed The Hobbit more this time through. I suppose maybe I'm a faster reader, so I could get past the slowness of the novel and enjoy the story.

I've often heard C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien compared, but to be honest, after reading The Hobbit, I don't think that Tolkien can hold a candle to Lewis. My husband tells me I'll enjoy the Lord of the Rings trilogy more than The Hobbit. He says the series is really very good. I'm willing enough to believe him that I've committed to reading through the series.

What do you think? Is Tolkien a good writer? How does he compare to C.S. Lewis?