All reviews copyright 1984-2025 Evelyn C. Leeper.
THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT by J. R. R. Tolkien, with annotations by Douglas A. Anderson:
[From "This Week's Reading", MT VOID, 09/16/2016]
THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT by J. R. R. Tolkien, with annotations by Douglas A. Anderson (ISBN 978-0-618-13470-0) got very good reviews, and I generally like annotated editions of classics. However, the majority of the annotations for this are noting the differences between the 1937 and 1951 editions, which are usually minor changes in phrasing. A lot of the remainder are philological in nature, indicating the sources (Scandinavian, Old English, and so on) for many of the words and names. Very few seem to be about the actual content--the origins of the Ring, or the number of White Wizards in Middle Earth.
It does include an assortment of illustrations from various editions of THE HOBBIT, although many that were in color in them are rendered in black-and-white here. (There are a few color plates.)
And the layout of the annotations is less than ideal. As I have noted in comments on other annotated books, there are two ways of solving the "runaway annotation problem" (the annotation is so long it continues onto the next page) when doing annotations as a separate column in the margins (rather than as footnotes).
The first is to let the columns run independently of each other, which can result in (for example) the annotation for text on page 20 not appearing until page 23. The only rule here is that annotations do not start *before* the text they annotate. The second is to halt the text until the long annotation finishes, if necessary having two annotation columns and no text column on a page. This happens of necessity at the end of the chapter anyway, and is much easier to follow when one is reading, so I prefer this. However, THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT uses the first method.
If you're interested in textual minutiae, you might like this, but most readers will find the annotations of little use.
THE FALL OF ARTHUR by J. R. R. Tolkien:
[From "This Week's Reading", MT VOID, 11/05/21]
For those who enjoy the old alliterative style, there is a translation by J. R. R. Tolkien of SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT in that style. I have not read that, but Tolkien also wrote an original poem in that style, THE FALL OF ARTHUR by J. R. R. Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN 978-0-544-11589-7). The poem itself is rather short (and apparently unfinished), but there are several essays about its creation and so on to fill out the book. Here are the opening lines:
Arthur eastward in arms purposed is war to wage on the wild marches, over seas to Saxon lands, from the Roman realm ruin defending. Thus the tides of time to turn backward and the heathen to humble, his hope urged him, that with harrying ships they should hunt no more on the shining shores and shallow waters of South Britain, booty seeking. [--THE FALL OF ARTHUR]
SMITH OF WOOTON MAJOR & FARMER GILES OF HAM by J. R. R. Tolkien:
[From "This Week's Reading", MT VOID, 07/23/2004]
When I bought J. R. R. Tolkien's SMITH OF WOOTON MAJOR & FARMER GILES OF HAM (ISBN 0-345-27351-6 and ISBN 0-618-00936-1) it was one mass-market paperback; now they are two trade paperbacks. Back then, the appeal was that these were the only other works available by Tolkien other than THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Now, the appeal is more that these are about the only other works published under Tolkien's name that are primarily his work (other than THE SILMARILLION). They are enjoyable enough children's fables (albeit with a bite), but not necessarily better than a lot of similar works. I guess I'm saying that if you pick these up expecting another "Lord of the Rings" experience, you will probably be disappointed.
THE HOBBIT by J. R. R. Tolkien:
[From "This Week's Reading", MT VOID, 12/28/2012]
Of course, everyone seems to have it in for rich people. Even J. R. R. Tolkien, in THE HOBBIT (ISBN 978-0-618-15083-3) says of Smaug's rage that it was "the sort of rage that is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy suddenly lose something that they have long had but have never before used or wanted."
THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J. R. R. Tolkien:
[From "This Week's Reading", MT VOID, 06/13/25]
Listening to the BBC adaptation of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, I found myself wondering why all the characters in that and in THE HOBBIT react differently to the Ring. To take it chronologically after Isildur loses The One Ring (TOR), first we have Deagol who finds TOR. Almost immediately, Smeagol murders him for the Ring. So both of them seem to have been corrupted by merely being in the presence of TOR.
Then Smeagol has it for a long time, and it turns him into Gollum. I won't list all the ways he changes, but it seems to be physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Then Bilbo finds it. He has it a long time (possibly not as long as Smeagol), and he uses it, but it doesn't seem to have a negative effect on him, rather than his "feeling stretched" or "spread thin". The only negative effect seems to be when Frodo shows him TOR in Rivendell and he goes quite fierce for a second.
But he leaves TOR for Frodo at Gandalf's suggestion/insistence. He has some unconscious reluctance when he keeps forgetting to actually put it on the mantel.
Frodo has TOR for a while, but apparently has just kept it in a trunk or something. Then Gandalf returns with more knowledge of TOR, and that it is dangerous. Frodo offers him TOR, but Gandalf flatly turns it down, so somehow he is able to resist the effect.
They go to Rivendell, where the fellowship is formed. None of the elves there seem affected by the presence of TOR. For that matter, most of the fellowship (Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, and Pippin) don't seem to be affected at all despite their extended time physically near TOR.
They go to Lothlorien, where again no one seems to show any effects. Frodo offers TOR to Galadriel, who seems tempted, but ultimately refuses TOR. (Or is she just telling Frodo what the offer implies?)
But the as they are traveling, Boromir suddenly decides to try to get TOR from Frodo. Why? And why then? And why does his brother Faramir later declare (quite honestly) that he has no desire for TOR?
Meanwhile Frodo has been carrying TOR a long time, yet seems unaffected by it. Only when Sam offers to carry it, and later does carry it briefly, does he "fly off the handle."
Sam, on the other hand, seems totally unaffected by his contact with TOR. Yes, it was brief, but it took no time at all for Deagol and Smeagol to get taken over.
So how does TOR work? It's not a question of time (Deagol and Smeagol), nor of physical proximity (most of the fellowship), nor of race (we see beings of each race who are affected and beings who aren't). I know Tolkien was very diligent about his world-building, but I can't help but feel he was not as careful with this aspect.