The Lord of the Rings - book review part 1

The Lord of the Rings

by

J R R Tolkien

A book review - part 1

'Three rings for the Elven kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them,

One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the land of Mordor where shadows lie.'

I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on this rhyme from the 'Lord of the Rings' (LOTR). I chanced upon a copy of the book in the Chandigarh Central State Library, c1995. I had always been interested in fantasy and science fiction, but limited availability of these sort of books had restricted my own reading. Despite being an avid reader and being labelled publicly and privately as a book worm, I had never even heard of the name of J. R. R. Tolkien. Amazing, when I now think of it. For an excuse, pitiable and flimsy as it may be, I can state I was young, isolated and of course, without access to the internet (which in any case didn't exist as yet!)

I can remember the shivers I got while reading these lines for the first time. More than twenty years and multiple readings later, the impact has still not dulled. Even now, when I got out my paperback edition of the book (purchased with the help of a relative) to copy the lines from, I still felt the faint tingle and the rising tide of excitement that I had on my first reading.

It is difficult to define what reading this short poem (if one can call it so!) brings up in my mind. Many possibilities come to mind - the evocation of the spirit of adventure and of the unknown, the allure of musty halls, ruins and forgotten realms or the excitement and fascination of something new. However, I think the best explanation would fall short, so we'll leave it at that.

The 'Lord of the Rings' is, without doubt, the greatest work of fantasy literature published in the modern era (in my humble opinion!) This is despite some tough competition, especially in recent times. I may honorably mention here the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R. R. Martin, who incidentally is a great fan of LOTR. The publication of this book actually kickstarted the genre in the modern era and has influenced almost all writers in this field to some extent. 

In this regard I would like to quote the eminent historian, Ramachandra Guha, here. In an essay on the threats to the freedom of expression in India - in his latest book 'Democrats and Dissenters'  - he mentions that in Modern India, the icons of different regions, castes and/or communities have become - in the eyes of their followers - untouchable and above criticism. The only exception to this seems to be Mahatma Gandhi, whom every Indian feels confident enough to criticize or denigrade (that this is done without knowing a single word of his philosophy is a separate issue!) Maybe it is because Gandhi belongs to all Indians and not to a specific caste, community or region.

Anyway, the point to be made is that the 'Lord of the Rings' serves as a sort of literary counterpart  to Gandhi, in that anyone can rip off or mock it, without in anyway lowering its prestige, quality or popularity and that's a pretty big achievement.