The journey goes ever ever on
Having finished The Hobbit, I saw this book at the library and decided a new perspective on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel would not go amiss.
Corey Olsen is a huge fan of The Hobbit. He's taught whole courses on Tolkien's work and hosted a podcast devoted to every lingering detail. Now he takes us through the story of Bilbo Baggins and his company of dwarves chapter-by-chapter, uncovering the layers of narrative and the subtext of characters' actions, deceptively simple events, and every baffling song lyric. Olsen manages to shed new light on every character - Bilbo especially - and takes cues from the narrator to describe how a story can flesh out its world by seemingly mysterious wordings. As a guide, Olsen is enthusiastic and thorough; as a fan, he is simply very good company.
This companion book is a clever piece of writing and a fun way to relive the spirit of adventure that so easily exudes from The Hobbit. It's also a great exercise in close reading, which - for the uninitiated - is a useful reading technique that uses context to get at subtext, thus uncovering new ways to look at a story. Olsen focuses a lot on Bilbo's growth as a character and what he learns in the end. Particularly revealing is his discussion of the riddle game in Gollum's cave and how each riddle reflects the mood and mindset of the character telling it. Some of the things he elaborates on grow a bit tedious - I was never all that interested in the evilness of the goblins, for example. But even reading this book back-to-back with its subject, I was surprised at how much I missed. Olsen's writing style is formal, but flexible enough to be welcoming and friendly. He occasionally draws on Tolkien's writing history to support some of his points, but for the most part he sticks to The Hobbit.
Is it an essential read for a Tolkien fan? I think so; Olsen lavishes over small details in a way that fellow fans will appreciate. If you're a fan of reading in general, you wouldn't do wrong in checking this out, and I think that's where Olsen excels: he inspires us to read carefully and enthusiastically. Rating: 4 honest burglars out of 5.
This companion book is a clever piece of writing and a fun way to relive the spirit of adventure that so easily exudes from The Hobbit. It's also a great exercise in close reading, which - for the uninitiated - is a useful reading technique that uses context to get at subtext, thus uncovering new ways to look at a story. Olsen focuses a lot on Bilbo's growth as a character and what he learns in the end. Particularly revealing is his discussion of the riddle game in Gollum's cave and how each riddle reflects the mood and mindset of the character telling it. Some of the things he elaborates on grow a bit tedious - I was never all that interested in the evilness of the goblins, for example. But even reading this book back-to-back with its subject, I was surprised at how much I missed. Olsen's writing style is formal, but flexible enough to be welcoming and friendly. He occasionally draws on Tolkien's writing history to support some of his points, but for the most part he sticks to The Hobbit.
Is it an essential read for a Tolkien fan? I think so; Olsen lavishes over small details in a way that fellow fans will appreciate. If you're a fan of reading in general, you wouldn't do wrong in checking this out, and I think that's where Olsen excels: he inspires us to read carefully and enthusiastically. Rating: 4 honest burglars out of 5.
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