You know, I've always wanted to start a forum where me and a few other people could talk about Lord of the Rings: Movies, Books, etc.
I've found that as I've gotten older, I understand characters and actions a lot more. They resonate more than they did when I first read them in high school, plus what's really moved me has changed over the years.
The ending, when the elf ship sails to Valinor, almost always leaves me misty-eyed, especially the line:
"on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise."
After all the trials and torment he's endured, it's a sweet, satisfying, melodic pay-off.
The one thing that surprises me, though, is the last paragraph, which I'd always considered tacked one, but upon reading Return of the King again in anticipation of the movie, I identified with it very strongly:
"...and he (Sam) went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready... and Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor on his lap. He drew a deep breath. 'Well, I'm back' he said."
And so here it is: My Wee Forum
Cool! I'm very pleased about your "Talkin Tolkien" (and sci fi, and more) forum, and left an initial entry there.
I've always liked the "Well, I'm back" ending, too, it's perfect.
I'd forward this to my wife, and let her self-promote, but our home Internet access is hosed at the moment, so I'll do it for her (I'm checking in from work). Kate's re-reading LotR, and posting her thoughts a chapter at a time on her LiveJournal:
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?
user=kate_nepveu&keyword=LotR+re-read&filter=all
Wow -- a treasure trove of commentary by her, and lots of comments from others as well. Thanks for telling us about it.
Reading LoTR out loud is a tremendous pleasure. We did it the summer after we graduated from college, when we spent a great deal of time traveling around the eastern half of the country by car. As you imply, one of the best things about reading out loud is that it forces you to read everything, including all the long, detailed descriptions, the poetry (of varying quality), and the songs, that you might be tempted to skip if you were reading silently. And so much of Tolkien is in the descriptions...
I am very much looking forward to the day when Lyra is old enough to sit and listen. Last week she pulled a bunch of books off the shelves and told me she wanted me to read "the big one," but her attention didn't last beyond the first paragraph (which is, I suppose, equivalent to the amount of text in the average board book).
Well, add Paperwight to your book club. He's writing about it as well.
I am embarrassed to say that I've never read it. Fantasy isn't my bag. Although I loved Madeline L'Engle's stuff as a kid.
How about that! Paperwight, I mean. As usual, better in 100 words than I am in 1000. That's a significant line by Faramir, and one I'd forgotten about.
While I haven't read The Lord of the Rings every year like Paperwight, I probably have read it four or five times by now -- although I'd guess not for at least ten years before the current look. It's both a really fine ripping yarn and a satisfying piece of literature; you might like it more than you think -- even if you've seen the movies and all these spoilers.
Mrs. Coulter,
It's true, reading The Lord of the Rings out loud has been a treat (for me, anyway). I've had some practice by now: Johnny Tremain, the Narnia series, the Borrowers series, the Edgar Eager series (Half-Magic, etc.; highly recommended.)
I used to love to read board books to Maddie, too. I had "Miss Spider's New Car" down to a science -- when to sound happy, "sad," doing the build-up... and then "look out for that tree KABOOM!" (Or was it rock?) Maddie would "read" along, we all had a fine old time. Once she was a little older, we also especially loved to read "Loud Emily", and "Henry Hikes to Fitchburg," and... (he chatters on for hours.)
How about that! Paperwight, I mean. As usual, better in 100 words than I am in 1000. That's a significant line by Faramir, and one I'd forgotten about.
That's both very kind and quite untrue. I often say too little, trusting to the underlying knowledge of the reader, and I fear it comes across as run & gun.
In any event, we aimed at different targets, and you certainly hit yours.
Thanks, I appreciate that, paperwight.
Your observations on the vividness of Tolkien's landscape writing, and on what makes LOTR so moving, are very well put.
One thing, though: Tolkien's sense of loss didn't come from the diminishment of the British Empire. He was no imperialist. It was the loss of the rural landscape in England itself, and the loss of innocence and of life in WW1 (not WW2, which had little impact on Tolkien except through his sons who fought in it) - as he notes of both in the foreword to the second edition - that moved his imagination. But mostly that overwhelming sense of loss was due to the native cast of his mind.
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