LotR The book........

Stilgar · Post by **Stilgar** » Thu May 30, 2002 5:19 am

I know i'm gonna get flamed for this,
After it was sugested to me 300times by different people and after i've seen the movie, I started reading in the book.

Everyone told me how the could put their imagination into it.
How the hell can they do that,

After a few pages i was sick of it, every bush the pass by is described in every annoying and pointless detail, and so is every person.
How can there be any room left for imagination?

And then there is the singing, it's ok they like to sing, but do they have to sing a whole page long?

I stopped reading after the got to Tom Bombardil, a VERY anoying person who dous nothing but dance and sing, and brag about his pretty girlfriend. Don;t you just want to shoot the guy.

Maybe I'll try to read some more later, but this is just my first opinion.

Mysteria · Post by **Mysteria** » Thu May 30, 2002 5:22 am

I think it gets better the longer it goes ... oh, and the good thing with books is that you don't have to read the singing, just skip it.

Stilgar · Post by **Stilgar** » Thu May 30, 2002 5:23 am

Originally posted by Mysteria
I think it gets better the longer it goes ... oh, and the good thing with books is that you don't have to read the singing, just skip it.

I found that out after the second song!

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Thu May 30, 2002 5:31 am

It's a heavy book, some like it how far he goes describing everything in, for example a room, and others think its way to slow.
Perhaps it's hard since you already know how this part goes and will the second book will be better.

Ode to a Grasshopper · Thu May 30, 2002 5:32 am

I have to agree, book 1 bored me to tears. If I hadn't seen the movie and knew that it got better I wouldn't have been able to finish the first book, and would have given up on the series. The remaining five books, though, were brilliant.

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Thu May 30, 2002 5:40 am

Originally posted by Stilgar
After a few pages i was sick of it, every bush the pass by is described in every annoying and pointless detail, and so is every person.
How can there be any room left for imagination?

Well, so I'm not the only one.

I've gotten into a few pointless arguments about things like that.

I only read the rest because I hate leaving a book unfinished, and yes you can say it got better. It passed the time well

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Thu May 30, 2002 5:40 am

My brother used to write fiction in that very style, a lone gun man would be sitting waiting for a meeting with his superiors and my bro would be busily describing what colour the carpet was and what a nice shag it had on it.

His (and my) English teacher wasn't best impressed, she told him that if one want's to write a book and add some interesting plot while still keeping the reader interested do not describe every single thing otherwise you will have no audience for your work...makes sense to me, apparently not to Tolkein

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Thu May 30, 2002 5:43 am

Hmmm, so how long until we get flamed by the Tolkien fanatics...

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Thu May 30, 2002 6:34 am

Originally posted by Tamerlane
Hmmm, so how long until we get flamed by the Tolkien fanatics...

I don't think they're going to flame you; I heard they're assembling down the block and are planning a visit to your place. There was something about getting an unabridged reading (including the songs!) by Gilbert Gottfried and Bobcat Goldthwait and making you listen to the whole thing . . .

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Thu May 30, 2002 6:39 am

Dear God!

I just barely withstood the seige of those amphibians a while ago, but now this!!!

Its all happening too soon...

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Thu May 30, 2002 6:46 am

Aegis may have some helpful tips for fending off seiges . . . I think there have been at least five lynch mobs formed to burn down his igloo and to the best of my knowledge it's still standing. I think at least on time he misdirected the mob to Gaxx_Firkraag's place; maybe if they're angry and confused enough, you could send them towards Mr Flibble's home . . .

::hastily switches gears to avoid getting a spam reprimand::

I've never read the books either; I started Fellowship of the Ring and didn't get out of the shire before putting it down.

CM · Post by CM » Thu May 30, 2002 6:51 am

You guys have no taste very simple!!!!

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Thu May 30, 2002 6:51 am

A never ending stream of igloo inhabitants you may say

However I'd leave Mr. Flibble alone, on the sole basis that one of these days, he is going to save my PC. Well provided that I can get to the Tech forum of course.

As for LotR, I stand by my comments

Morlock · Post by **Morlock** » Thu May 30, 2002 8:44 am

@Stilgar: I think your describing imagination from a very narrow point of view.
Imagination does not necesarily mean coming up with things. It's visualizing them- the fact that you know exactly how it's gonna look doesn't matter.

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu May 30, 2002 9:21 am

After a few pages i was sick of it, every bush the pass by is described in every annoying and pointless detail, and so is every person. How can there be any room left for imagination?

Eminem will no doubt be along shortly, so I shall pray for your soul.

In the meantime, bear in mind that the slowness of pace and wealth of detail is actually a feature of many traditional 19th and early 20th century novel in many nations, including Britain, the US, Russia, the German states, etc. Didn't your teachers back in school assign you novels that similarly enveloped you in a book's environment? Personally, I enjoy that.

I like watching the internal wrestling match of morals that takes place inside Raskolnikov's soul, or the way Knecht as Magister Ludi realizes before his death that you don't change things by arguments among the elite, but only by saving and broadening lives. There's nothing quite so heavy in Tolkien's work, but there's still plenty of that detail I enjoy sinking my imagination into.

And then there is the singing, it's ok they like to sing, but do they have to sing a whole page long? I stopped reading after the got to Tom Bombardil, a VERY anoying person who dous nothing but dance and sing, and brag about his pretty girlfriend. Don;t you just want to shoot the guy.

LOL! Yes, I know exactly how you feel. Remember, Tolkien was a diehard pastoralist, one of those stubborn British reactionaries who believed everything wrong in the world (meaning Britain) happened during the Industrial Revolution and beyond; that the country would be far better off if the foreigners all left, the cities were magically converted into villages, everybody knew their place and bowed to their superiors, and electricity hadn't been discovered. This is literally accurate, and Tolkien's circle in his youth included many distinguished representatives of the British upper class (remember, he was one, too) who shared his prejudices.

Tolkien's recourse to song follows on an older English tradition which had been revived in the 19th century by William Morris and his group, in turn. It dates back to the English plays of the Early Renaissance, years before Shakespeare, when relatively simple-minded humor and moralizing went hand in hand on stage with simple folk song. (This evolved during the reign of Elizabeth I into highly elaborate "masques," with extensive costuming, music and poetry by the best England had to offer--all of it furthering the Cult of the Queen, Elizabeth's attempt to intrigue against France and Spain. Interesting stuff.)

I suspect Bombadil was meant to represent the spirit of the earth itself, not intelligent but wise in its own way. I don't think Tolkien succeeded, because Bombadil's endless skipping prose and Morris Dance tunes make me want to join a French invasionary force. He's on better ground when he adapts Lord Dunsany's high manner of speech in chronicling more serious matters in the second volume, IMO.

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Thu May 30, 2002 4:02 pm

I started reading LotR when I was about 13 or so, and didn't get very far. When I read it last year, I did actually finish it... the first book was definitely the slowest, by the time I was halfway through The Two Towers, I couldn't put it down. Worth persevering with, IMO

josh · Post by **josh** » Thu May 30, 2002 4:23 pm

I agree that its a bit slow to start with, but stick with it and you'll find that it does get better.