leilaghanbar's review against another edition
4.0
There are a lot of walking, and considering the detailed description, you will hurt your legs while reading.
the_bitextual's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
5.0
paginetta's review against another edition
Ho letto La compagnia dell'anello e finita in data 20/11/22.
Ho letto Le 2 torri e finito in data 18/07/23
Ho letto Le 2 torri e finito in data 18/07/23
dllh's review against another edition
4.0
I never read this (or The Hobbit) as a kid, but when all the movies started coming out a few years ago, I read in preparation for them. I've since read The Lord of the Rings at least twice more, aloud to my family. So this was probably my third time through the books. I really enjoyed it this time through. There's a lot of lyricism in the book, and I especially enjoyed finding sort of hidden rhythms or other poetry even in the prose. I also liked the songs and poems that followed sort of the old Anglo Saxon poetic mode (alliterative verse with caesuras). The variety of landscape words and descriptions can seem tedious but also makes the books pretty richly described. There's heroism here, and courtliness, and admiration of beauty (Gimli's description of the caverns in Rohan is dazzling, for example). It's long, and at times a little slow, and Frodo is a pill, but this to me really is a delight to revisit. I started rereading The Hobbit right afterward, and the quality of the books is markedly different (The Hobbit being the lesser book).
aomccourt's review against another edition
5.0
The classic fantasy trilogy. Excellent descriptions - I could picture everything. Unforgettable characters. I was so sorry when it was over.
This is a series I have read and reread, over and over.
This is a series I have read and reread, over and over.
sundy1997's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
sheev_says_dewitt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
hermitix's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mtmdays's review against another edition
5.0
There and back again: Frodo Baggins Queering the Shire
I’m not as well-versed in queer theory as I should be or want to be, but it behooves me to indulge in this brief observation because those contemporaries of mine who are, may refuse to take this up. “This,” of course, is the Frodo/Sam dynamic that arises in the final pages of Lord of the Rings.
Now, many have made their Brokeback Mountain jokes about Sam and Frodo’s journey into Mt. Doom. Such jokes are in poor taste and too easy. But, let us for a moment take Sam and Frodo’s relationship as it plays out in the final days of their life together seriously, as a true alternate configuration of friendship and love.
First, Frodo is settling in nicely in his hobbit hole, and he invites Sam to come and live with him, in fact, assumes that he will. Sam seems troubled because he’s feeling pressure to marry Rosie - a good kind of pressure - he wants to marry Rosie, but he says he’s conflicted. He wants to marry Rosie, but he also wants to live with Frodo - equally, he seems to imply. Sam, truly torn about what true love means, about caring for his ring bearer and trying to choose one, torn about how he might split his affections equally and ethically.
Frodo does not hesitate. He invites Sam and Rosie to live with him. A compromise or the fulfillment of a dream that he’s really wanted. It’s clear that Frodo’s love for Sam knows no expectation, no boundary, and no social constraint, and this is how the Lord of the Rings ends, lovingly and generously.
I’m not as well-versed in queer theory as I should be or want to be, but it behooves me to indulge in this brief observation because those contemporaries of mine who are, may refuse to take this up. “This,” of course, is the Frodo/Sam dynamic that arises in the final pages of Lord of the Rings.
Now, many have made their Brokeback Mountain jokes about Sam and Frodo’s journey into Mt. Doom. Such jokes are in poor taste and too easy. But, let us for a moment take Sam and Frodo’s relationship as it plays out in the final days of their life together seriously, as a true alternate configuration of friendship and love.
First, Frodo is settling in nicely in his hobbit hole, and he invites Sam to come and live with him, in fact, assumes that he will. Sam seems troubled because he’s feeling pressure to marry Rosie - a good kind of pressure - he wants to marry Rosie, but he says he’s conflicted. He wants to marry Rosie, but he also wants to live with Frodo - equally, he seems to imply. Sam, truly torn about what true love means, about caring for his ring bearer and trying to choose one, torn about how he might split his affections equally and ethically.
Frodo does not hesitate. He invites Sam and Rosie to live with him. A compromise or the fulfillment of a dream that he’s really wanted. It’s clear that Frodo’s love for Sam knows no expectation, no boundary, and no social constraint, and this is how the Lord of the Rings ends, lovingly and generously.
rzahradnik's review against another edition
5.0
A re-read begun when I was in real need of comfort. And what's more comforting than a war to save the world from the darkest evil—a war where those who appear to be the least of all the heroes good and great must play the most important role? If these books already mean something to you, there's little I can add to what's been written. If you haven't picked them up, there's probably little I can do to change your mind. In reading the appendices (again), I noticed Sam Gamgee's family name eventually changes to Gardener. Zahradnik translates as Gardener from Slovak. So there you go.