Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, now he's got an interesting story to tell. Born in 1892 in South Africa to an English family originally from Germany, he would grow up to write The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, the books behind the multiple award-winning movies of recent years.

The man behind the books, has a life mirroring his writings, I discovered recently on wikipedia. As a child, he was bitten by a spider, the effects of which would be written into his stories. And as a sick child, he was treated by a family doctor, who was later thought to have influenced his idea of Gandalf the Grey. And much of the life of Middle-Earth, the universe in which Lord of The Rings was set, was drawn from his interest in English history. Interestingly, this love was also shared by his close friend, C.S. Lewis, who at the time, was an atheist. Tolkien's devout Roman Catholic faith, it seems, was instrumental in the conversion of C.S. Lewis to Christianity, birthing one of the most prolific writers and thinkers of the Christian faith.

Tolkien even entered the war with the British Army, which provided a first-hand experience for his writings. The love theme between immortal elf and mortal man in his stories was also mirrored in his love for his wife, whom he waited 6 years to declare his love to, after advice from his Catholic priest.

The other stories he produced are not easily found for mainstream readership. Leaf by Niggle, and Farmer Giles of Ham are two of his more well-known works, the first an allegory to the ultimate pursuit of purpose in life (it reads better than it sounds!) and the second, a comic folktale parodying an ancient kingdom under attack from a ferocious dragon.

His first major novel, The Hobbit, was apparently written for his own children, but C.S. Lewis urged his to publish it. And as a sequel was requested, Tolkien began work on the Rings trilogy.


This was the first set of 'real' books that my father got me to read. I still remember the set of grey-bound volumes, dusty from having shared top shelves with the like of The Lost World, The Secret Garden and The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. Reading it, I thought it was boring to begin with, having just graduated from the Enid Blyton masses. The fellowship's trek through the Mines of Moria was my favourite bit in those days. Even now, reading the scene where Gandalf reads aloud from the journal detailing the destruction of the dwarf colony by the orcs still sends shivers down my spine.

I would go back again and again to read those books over the next few years, each time rereading bits that previously I'd thought boring. In this way, the world of Middle-Earth took on new form and seemed to grow bigger with every rereading. Even now, I think the world Tolkien created has no comparison with any other fantasy world I've read about. From new languages to a complete history of the lands, complete with family trees and accounts of characters' forefathers, the Lord of The Rings was pure genius, even to a 16 year-old hoping to make it through secondary school unscathed.

I'm glad that the movie was such a hit. Sure, the characters were fleshed out slightly different to my imagining of them, but Peter Jackson and his cast really brought the book to life. However, my love for Tolkien's work is something else altogether, something I know will remain and will manifest itself everytime I go back to read it. Wow, that was deep.

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I generally don't express strong feelings in my blogs, I've noticed, so this post surprised myself too.