I don't know how old I was, but for my parents, watching the films of LOTR was essential for my upbringing. Even though I didn't understand the depth of the films (and books) at first, I enjoyed the story and fantastical aspect of it. Over the years, my love for the film grew and grew and eventually (last year) I got to the point where I just wanted to have read the books. I was so in awe with the story and the influence Tolkien has had on the fantasy genre, that it was time for me to actually also read the books (so that I know what I'm talking about). Obviously, these books are different from the modern fantasy books that are written and published (I will talk about that too), his books are often seen as the starting point of fantasy works becoming mainstream.
According to Wikipedia, Tolkien's The Hobbit was still called a fairytale at the time that it was published, and only his Lord of the Rings series became an epic fantasy. Because his books were read a lot, these books made fantasy and fantastical elements more mainstream. His level of worldbuilding was completely new and results in the fact that modern writers are still inspired by his works (me included). Before Tolkien's LOTR, fairy tales and stories with fantastical elements were definitely written and read, yet it was mostly these books that created the new genre of fantasy. This genre was new and is now only 70-ish years old. During these years, the fantasy genre has seen a lot of change and can now be divided into multiple sub-genres. It is incredible to see how much change the genre went through and how much it is still read today.
Now that I have read two books of Tolkien, I can say that he is still one of my heroes. I get that modern-readers might find his writing bland, but for me, these books are definitely classics in the fantasy genre. A lot of world-building that is done today, is still in some way inspired by what he did back then. The Hobbit was still written as a fairytale, with more of a narrator, but The Fellowship of the Ring is already a lot more different, even though the books build on each other. What is 'missed' in this book was more character-building and growth. We don't really get a look into their heads to see what's going on and that is done a lot more (and better) in the modern fantasy books. But that's okay. Tolkien's writing style is also different from modern books, as it is a lot more descriptive and telling. Many modern books (fantasy or other), are more showing. As a reader, you experience what the character goes through with them, instead of being told what they went through. This is not so in The Fellowship of the Ring, where we have a long chapter in which the characters and the readers are told about the importance of the ring, the stories and perspectives of other characters, etc. This way of writing a story is not really our age anymore because of the film industry. When watching a film, the viewer gets taken away with the characters and books (writers) started doing this too. Which I find more fun to read since it feels like you actually step into a world. But this phenomenon is also quite new.
Because I first saw the films, I read it with the film characters in my head. Personally, I didn't mind this at all because it allowed me to make it more of a film. However, I also kept thinking, how was this done in the films? Since I just finished a course on Adaptation, I have become more aware of how films can be (and are) adapted. So, I want to review the films once more and I might even write a post dedicating to this.
I decided to pick this book for this month's Monthly Classic because it is fantasy and has elves in the story. I haven't read The Silmarillion yet, but that discusses even more of the elves in Tolkien's world. Something that Tolkien is praised for often, is the fact that he invented multiple languages, especially for his elven folks. Tolkien was inspired by many different mythologies when he created his elves. Because of the success of Tolkien's works, elves became more popular in other high-fantasy works, but also in role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. While nowadays elves can have a lot of different forms, think of J.K. Rowling's House-elves or the elves of Santa Claus. The way in which Tolkien created his elves is still a popular trope in fantasy. Elves can also be called Faeries, Fae or Fey, but often are still similar in features and power. I've written a post about the history of fae, which you can read here.
I think I will leave this post here. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog, have a lovely day! I hope to see you soon.
Julia
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