“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit of the Shire living peacefully in his hole is the ground in Hobbiton, Middle Earth. That is until Gandalf, the grey wizard, comes along to the Shire looking for someone to share an adventure with. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mr. Baggins finds himself in the great world of Middle Earth far away from his cozy hole in the Shire; fighting dragons, riding in barrels, meeting elves and making life-long friends with a couple of dwarves and an old wizard.
This book tells the magnificent tale of how the One Ring of power came to be with the little hobbit and his adventure to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug, who flushed out the dwarves that ruled there many years ago and took their great wealth. Hobbits are known for their dislike of adventures or straying far from home and are known to be cheery folk with a love for food, comfort, song and dance. Bilbo has no intention of leaving his beautiful home, until one morning a wizard named Gandalf, known for his spectacular fireworks, comes along to the Shire. “I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.’ ‘I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”
At first Bilbo is hesitant to climb aboard an adventure but Gandalf disregards Bilbo’s refusal and gathers Thorin and Company, consisting of 13 dwarves, to the hobbit’s house. This is where the group lays out their plan to travel to their long lost kingdom of the Lonely Mountain, where the dragon now resides, and steal back the riches in the mountain that are rightfully theirs; bringing Bilbo along as their burglar to steal back their treasure.
Reluctant at first, Bilbo finds himself carving this adventure and starts off on a long journey with his companions. Along his journey Bilbo finds himself in places he never expected, such as: bargaining with trolls, avoiding Goblins, telling riddles in the dark with Gollum, floating down the river in a barrel, or even humoring a dragon.
This exciting adventure book is definitely one readers will not want to miss out on. It carries themes of bravery and luck and the humorous characters will definitely capture readers hearts in the very first chapter. A truly fantastic read. Although at times it can be hard to imagine and remember each character due to the fact that there are so many. The names of characters and places can be challenging and it is recommended that readers watch the movie first to get a visual of each character to put a face with the name.
“Where there’s life there’s hope.” This story is truly one of life and hope. After reading this book readers will not be able to wait to start the Lord of the Rings for the hobbit characters give readers so much hope.