As a Christian and a lover of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, this title caught my attention. I had read both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was in 5th grade. I recently reread The Hobbit and I, of course, saw the Lord of the Rings movies. While I felt they were good, it seems there were significant parts of the story that got lost on the screen. What this author discusses is part of those significant parts.
He opens the book with a quote from the review C.S. Lewis wrote in 1937 of The Hobbit, where he boldly stated the book "may well prove to be a classic". This opening allows the author to discuss the relationship that Tolkien and Lewis had, as well as many other aspects of these two men and their writing. However, the book is really about Tolkien, what he believed, and how he incorporated those beliefs into his writing. The first chapter is all about who Tolkien was. In it, the author brings to the forefront the essential point of his book. That Tolkien essentially placed his faith firmly in the stories he produced. He quotes a letter of Tolkien stating: "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". This is the essence of what the author wants to prove. That The Hobbit is also an essentially Christian story.
He uses chapters 2-4 to discuss this idea, talking about providence in chapter 2, purpose in 3 and the moral landscape in 4. The arguments were well thought out and convincing. At times, I found some of the points to be repetitive because the author would use the same event in the book to show all three of the religious aspects he's discussing. This didn't affect his overall point, but I found myself wishing there was an additional example whenever I found him repeating one from a previous chapter.
The chapter on providence was the most convincing for me and the chapter on the moral landscape was quite interesting. For me, the chapter discussing purpose was the weakest of the three, but the author was able to make his point convincingly. In making his points, the writer did not rely solely on Tolkien or his stories. He discussed other writers, particularly C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. This is why the relationship between Tolkien and Lewis as discussed in chapter 1 was so important to point out to the reader. Obviously, this author wasn't trying to give a comprehensive biography, but he did show how these writers influenced each other. Therefore, it was interesting that he included portions of these other writers stories and statements in making his point.
Finally, the final chapter discusses the response and legacy of Tolkien's writing. The author points out how the literary world has never fully embraced these works as serious literature even though the world over has loved them for generations. This point may help explain why I can never find Tolkien's work in the literature or classics sections of a bookstore, but only find them in the fantasy section. In addition, he talks about criticism of the works, particularly that they are too scary for children. The author quotes Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton on this point, making the argument that a good fantasy story for children must also be good for adults and that whitewashing a story to make sure you don't scare the kids does the children a disservice because having something scary defeated at the end shows the children that evil can be defeated and that there is something greater in control of the world. I hadn't really thought along those lines before, and as a father, I found myself thinking, yeah, that makes sense.
At any rate, I found this book quite interesting. It was easy to read and can appeal to a wide audience. Anyone who loves Tolkien will probably enjoy this book. For a Christian who may not like magic and goblins and dragons, etc., I'd say this book is an essential read, if for no other reason, than to help them understand how Tolkien intended his books to be, not only embraced by a Christian audience but, understood as containing a very Christian perspective on how the world works. For the non Christian who simply enjoys the books, they can gain greater insight into the mind of Tolkien and more appreciation for the world he created without having to read a long biography. For the literary world who has failed to fully embrace these works, the author does not seem to be trying to convince you that you should. It seemed to me that he is simply telling the reader why the literary world has rejected these works without actually going into great detail. I found that I wanted more of this argument in the book.
Perhaps other works have already dealt with this aspect of things, but I couldn't help but feel that I needed more than a few pages, perhaps an additional chapter, just on this topic. I don't fault the author, because that isn't really the point he is trying to make. However, he has piqued my interest in the topic enough to look for additional writings on that particular aspect of things.
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