What makes the Lord of the Rings a Good Book?

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ray gower

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It is a simple enough question, but remember the book is technically very poorly written:-
Major characters are suddenly introduced.
Huge chunks of the story doesn't do anything.
The beginning is far too long, compared to the very short ending.
There is the epilogue (the scouring of the Shire) which is longer than many novels.
The way the various storylines are ignored for hundreds of pages

and so on.

In short, if you, as a writer, were to present this book to a publisher today it would not be read, let alone published!
 
I guess, to me, that it's one of those books that just draws you into the world and one that you can read over and over again and still discover new things about it.

Tolkein has created his own world within the book which is entirely believable because he goes into detail so much. Also with the Silmarillion and the rest of his books you almost believe that he thought it was a real world as everything is explained (apart from the mysterious Tom Bombadil).

I'm sure other people will have much better explanations as to why they like they books but thats my reasoning behind it.
 
Originally posted by ray gower
Major characters are suddenly introduced.
Huge chunks of the story doesn't do anything.
The beginning is far too long, compared to the very short ending.
There is the epilogue (the scouring of the Shire) which is longer than many novels.
The way the various storylines are ignored

Click to expand...

Think about it, doesn't all this sound like "life"
You meet new people all the time
Much of life is doing nothing
It takes forever to grow up then when you do you realize life is really very short
And after your "story" is over people are still putting the pieces of your life into meaning
Finally, much of our lives are ignored
Tolkien's works are masterpieces becaise his stories have life and breath to them . I could be placed into Middle Earth today and know all I need to interact and move about. When I read LOTR I am there. Thats a gift the surpasses what the majority of authors I've read have ever given to me.
 
Re: Re: What makes the Lord of the Rings a Good Book?

Originally posted by roadster


Think about it, doesn't all this sound like "life"...

Tolkien's works are masterpieces becaise his stories have life and breath to them . I could be placed into Middle Earth today and know all I need to interact and move about. When I read LOTR I am there. Thats a gift the surpasses what the majority of authors I've read have ever given to me.
Click to expand...
Excellent way to put it, roadster! And I think you're right, too. The way the details mimic life is one of the reasons I loved Farscape so much.

As for the question posed, it's the complexity of detail that keeps me rereading LOTR. I can understand the dropping in and out of "major" characters because Tolkein has created entire languages and cultures for all of these people. There were things that bugged my while I was reading, but kept reading anyway. The characters that we get to know well are complelling and fascinating. I like knowing more, and Tolkein gave me plenty of details to find.

As for the structure of the book, you gotta know that the second time I read it, I read it the way the timeline spelled things out (thanks for the timeline) and ignored the broken structure altogether. :D That's just me. Besides, I figured PJ would make the movie more along those chronological lines anyway. ;) And I wanted the movie to make sense to me. It is the reason I read the book in the first place.
 
Very good Question and very a big one.

1.The level of history and detail of Middle earth make it seem like this place could exist.
2. Main characters that are 3 dimensional and believable
3.Its epic scope.
 
There are many factors, but I think Tolkien's knowledge and command of underlying foundations of the story (e.g. mythology, the structure of languages etc.) gives a depth to LOTR that very few books in this vein can match. He had a profound understanding of storytelling and although I'll willingly concede his narrative is a little muddled at times (and certainly breaks many accepted 'rules' of story) I don't believe this diminishes the novel.
 
Some years ago I wrote an article that may have something to say about why so many people keep coming back to this. It's the great fantasy novel, but it also speaks to the matters that touch us so deeply--namely the four loves: affection, friendship, eros, and charity or self-giving love. I hope some Chronsfolk will give the linked article a reading and tell me what they think.

Touchstone Archives: Rings of Love

Scroll down for the article. It appeared in a religious magazine, but I don't think the article should put off non-religious people very much.
 
roadster said:
Think about it, doesn't all this sound like "life"
You meet new people all the time
Much of life is doing nothing
It takes forever to grow up then when you do you realize life is really very short
And after your "story" is over people are still putting the pieces of your life into meaning
Finally, much of our lives are ignored
Tolkien's works are masterpieces becaise his stories have life and breath to them . I could be placed into Middle Earth today and know all I need to interact and move about. When I read LOTR I am there. Thats a gift the surpasses what the majority of authors I've read have ever given to me.
Click to expand...
Such a brilliant way of putting it thanks roadster!

I think the strength lies in its depth. its like every time you are exposed to a new fact 10,000 more things appear for you to learn about. really fascinating
 
ray gower said:
Major characters are suddenly introduced.
Huge chunks of the story doesn't do anything.
The beginning is far too long, compared to the very short ending.
There is the epilogue (the scouring of the Shire) which is longer than many novels.
The way the various storylines are ignored for hundreds of pages
Click to expand...

None of these things are objectively bad. Most of them don't even make sense. No story lines are "ignored". They are simply divided into separate books and focused on in turn. Huge chunks of the story don't do anything? Name one example and I'll tell you what it actually accomplishes. So the "ending" is too short? But the "Scouring of the Shire" is too long? The Scouring of the Shire IS the ending. It's not an epilogue. Major characters are suddenly introduced. So? Most books do that. Not every character that matters is in it from the beginning. There's not a single valid criticism here.

The Lord of the Rings is a masterfully well written book. Tolkien was a master of language and he uses it expertly to tell his story. To be honest, I think fantasy literature would be a lot better off these days if writers had half the skill of Tolkien and more of them copied his literary methods rather than his world.
 
None of the imitaors would exist. The opening little verse is enough to hook readers. The story is good and you can speedread the songs etc. It's really good, and would be published immediatemonte. The amount of rubbish published since is a lot, really. Technically I think it's better than most. Etc.
 
It's funny reading this now. I actually was thinking about Tolkien today... in the shower of all places. I was thinking about his legacy. We can say Tolkien is the greatest pioneer for the genre of epic fantasy. We can find flaws and create controversy about any literary work the way we do with bar-raising movies and video games. But nothing can be beloved if it remains hidden. And that which is worthy to be beloved is only brought about after the finding of much courage and determination. Something is beloved because it touches someone's heart in a very special way. It sends a chill down someone's spine. It raises eyebrows in amazement and wonder. In the case of Tolkien's fantastic works, it challenges millions to embrace that foreign world in their mind with a creative hand and bring it to life.
 
Eli Grey said:
It's funny reading this now. I actually was thinking about Tolkien today... in the shower of all places. I was thinking about his legacy. We can say Tolkien is the greatest pioneer for the genre of epic fantasy. We can find flaws and create controversy about any literary work the way we do with bar-raising movies and video games. But nothing can be beloved if it remains hidden. And that which is worthy to be beloved is only brought about after the finding of much courage and determination. Something is beloved because it touches someone's heart in a very special way. It sends a chill down someone's spine. It raises eyebrows in amazement and wonder. In the case of Tolkien's fantastic works, it challenges millions to embrace that foreign world in their mind with a creative hand and bring it to life.
Click to expand...

Well said. (y):cool:
 
The spasmodic nature of LotR as experienced by some readers is down to it being a novel set in Middle Earth, rather than simply history unfolding. As opposed to JRR laying out everything we're offered snapshots, glimpses of a far bigger picture, one outwith the focus of this particular narrative.

I first read LotR whilst at school, requesting the hardback volumes via the library. The end of 'The Two Towers', when Frodo is 'killed' and Sam becomes the ring-bearer, made me shake. When I finally laid hands on 'The Return Of The King' its the only time I've ever flipped straight to the end - just the final few lines, and "Well, I'm back." he said - and it answered nothing. I tore through it, staying up late, getting up tired for school. I've re-read it twice since, every 20 years or so, so perhaps its due for another dusting down...
 
I remember zooming thru the first bit, and then when Strider appears the adventure takes off. And it was 3 books, uncommon at that time, so you knew it had time to really get rolling, and it did.
 
A thousand years from now, people will still be reading and enjoying Tolkein.
 
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