Wednesday, December 29, 2010

THE LORD OF THE RINGS BY J.R.R.TOLKIEN


"It is an army bred for a single purpose , to destroy the world of men."

Sauron the dark Lord has risen again and has gathered the rings of power. With the help of Saruman he has formed a big army. All he needs now is the Ruling Ring which will ensure his victory over the world of men , elves and dwarves. Young Frodo Baggins is faced with an immense task,as the ring is entrusted to his care. Thus he sets out on a risky journey to the territories of the Dark Lord. Though he has to take the burden of the ring all alone but in his mission he is supported by great wizards, warriors , kings and 3 friends.

The book is simply awesome and highly detailed. It may seem to be a bulky one but none the less it is the huge volume which makes it special. Frodo's quest at times seems to be your quest and it feels as if you are climbing the mountains and walking the roads. The description of the wars is perfected to the minutest detail. To quote few lines from the book,"Shadow had fallen to the valley below, but there was still a light on the faces of the mountain far above. The air was warm. The sound of running and falling water was loud, and the evening was filled with a faint scent of trees and flowers,as if summer still lingered in Elrond's gardens." The description of each day , details of the lands visited is really beautiful.Another fascinating aspect of the book is the hobbit songs through which they speak about the grandeur of events in the past.

This book falls in the fantasy genre and stands tall on its plot . Divided into 3 parts there are many stories which run in parallel and has umpteen characters.The book smartly interconnects these stories and every character has an important part to play. It has all the ingredients of making a great book.The book is about great friendship, treachery , valor , greed ,wisdom, sacrifice , grace , cruelty , humor , emotions and last but not the least power.After reading the book you will feel elated and the favorite character may vary from person to person. It was hard for me to choose mine and finally after I narrowed it down to Sam and Gandalf. If you have not seen the movies based on the book then I would advice you to read and watch the movie.
I quote here my favorite lines from the book which happens to be a conversation between Sam and Frodo. 
Sam," It's like in the great stories,Mr.Frodo. The ones that really mattered,full of darkness and danger they were.And sometimes you didn't want to know the end ....because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing ..this shadow. Even darkness must pass.A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out clearer.Those were the stories that stayed with you that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think. Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now, Folk in those stories .. had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't.They kept going because they were holding on to something."
Frodo,"What are we holding it to Sam?"
Sam,"That there's some good in this world,Mr. Frodo and its worth fighting for."  

On a different note :  Had resisted long from watching the movies based on the book in spite of people telling that movie is better that the book. Finally December happened to be a traveling month comprising of  long train journeys. This book had been lying since second year of college and perhaps this was the right time to read it.Finally saw the movies and would say that it was more fun after reading the book.

Rating : 4.6/5 
Category: Movies based on Books.

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