Reviews

I finished the book yesterday for second time after 12 years it seems and... I was a little disapointed. It was still fun, I still like Bilbo and Gandalf, and I still love the world Tolkien created, but all the other characters seems so plain, the situations were too fantastic, even for a high fantasy book. So, for a 12-16 years old person, it's fine, now that I'm over 24... was too childish.

school_for_scandal's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lucysnowy's review against another edition

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4.0

a very lovely book. i love the depiction of the journey, how each step forward leads to a confrontation. its just one battle after another haha.

i love how bilbo is constantly thinking about his eggs and bacon that he will have when he gets home. tolkien's creation of perspective is brilliant, and hearing bilbo's thoughts is very funny. the moments, though, when we step out his head and into someone else's, or into the omniscient narration, are great too.

sometimes things seem to be mentioned very quickly when they're of great significance. thorin's death, for example, is a blink and you'll miss it line, half a sentence. and the battle of the five armies lasts about ten pages.

i'm excited to get round to reading lord of the rings at some point now!

eek0001's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted

3.75

ladykaylee's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this book for the first time in third grade (to the best of my recollection.) I loved it so much that I wanted to create my own book on tape, so I got out my little Fisher Price cassette tape recorder (and yes, I am old) and proceeded to try to record The Hobbit on cassette for myself. I did not make it past the first chapter in my own audiobook recording, but I know there is no way I could have done as phenomenal a job as Andy Serkis. He is such an incredibly talented narrator, and he really makes each individual character come alive in the telling of the story. He narrated the parts that were familiar to me in such a way as I felt he had captured them straight out of my imagination. He also narrated the parts I had forgotten in such a way that I waited with baited breath to see what would happen next. This was a wonderful book made even better by amazing narration. My only (small) quibble is that when he sang the songs, the tunes he used did not match up with my memory (which I think came directly from the 1977 animated movie.) Still, it was beautifully done, and I recommend that all fans, old and new, listen to this version of the book.

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