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Odkrywanie Hobbita J.R.R. Tolkiena (2012)

by Corey Olsen(Favorite Author)

4.27 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Bukowy Las

review 1: I have read and reread Tolkien's classic The Hobbit many times. It is a fantastic story and a wonderful introduction into Tolkien's Middle Earth. A few years ago I discovered the podcast of The Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen. I have listened to many of his podcasts since then and it feels as if you are getting a graduate seminar in Tolkien. After rereading The Hobbit again in the fall I decided to finally read Olsen's analysis of it.It should be noted that this book was not written to piggyback off the success of the movies, Olsen was working on this book prior to the movies coming out. There are many books, or at least there were on the Lord of the Rings in the early 2000s, that purport to share lessons from the stories. The majority of these books are written with ... moregood intentions, almost as Christian devotionals, but are shallow and instantly forgotten. Olsen's book is by a true Tolkien scholar and is superb. Further, the spirit of Olsen's book somewhat reminds me of the spirit of Tolkien. Tolkien was a Christian but his books were not meant as allegory. There are truths and lessons in there if you look for them, but they are not as blatant as Lewis' Narnia stories where Aslan = Jesus. In analyzing Tolkien's book there were a number of places where Olsen could have gone the sermonizing route but did not. That step is left to the reader. I greatly appreciate that, as, like Tolkien's work, it demands a bit of thought by the reader. In other words, any lessons here are not spoon-fed.If you are a fan of the Hobbit, then check this one out. You may want to read the Hobbit as you read this, because Olsen does not explain the story in detail. For example, when Gandalf leaves on his errand, Olsen makes no mention of this, assuming you know at what point in the story that happens. So at least have the Hobbit story fresh in your memory. And enjoy!
review 2: There should be more books like this one. I used to listen to The Tolkien Professor's podcasts on iTunesU -- in fact, it's where I got the idea for the Day of Common Learning Lecture that turned into the "Trees of Life" book chapter on J.R.R. Tolkien and Paul Brand. In Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Corey Olsen (AKA The Tolkien Professor) recapitulates his Hobbit podcasts in book form.Olsen's focus is on the character of Bilbo Baggins, on the nature of luck in Tolkien's writing, and on what we can get from the frequent songs and poems. It gave me a new appreciation for the quiet faith of Tolkien: in his writing, luck is never just luck and the wind is also spirit, just like in the ancient Greek. Also, Olsen points out the teasing of the elves and the natural beauty of the Arkenstone. Tolkien's pure joy in the natural world is something we all share, and one of the reasons everyone can relate to these books. Although the elves are too somber in Jackson's movies, the natural beauty of New Zealand does provide this element. In Olsen's book, I would have liked more connections to Old English literature and to The Silmarillion (there's a really nice one comparing Gollum's riddle to Sauron's old speeches that left me wanting more). That can be the next book.This book's unique strength is that it is written for the ordinary person interested in The Hobbit, and as such, it's a very nice gateway drug into the land of scholarship. In fact, I was able to give this book to my 10-year-old son Sam and he finished it before I did. That is as valuable as the Arkenstone to me. So while the writing at times felt a bit baggy and redundant to me, I've got to say there's enough scholarly articles out there for me as it is. Fellow profs, let's write more things like this for my boy ... and who knows what he'll be some day? less

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