STAND BACK, HERE COMES THE INNER POWER NERD.
I know I know, it's an old book, it's been reviewed to death. There's movies made and everyone basically has an opinion of it already. To be honest it isn't even the first time I've read it. I've also read several other books this month but really... Come on... It's The Lord of the Rings! How could I not write about it?
The Lord of the rings to most of us is the Box Office busting trilogy of films which helped the Harry Potter generation accelerate their love of fantasy worlds to new and dizzying heights. Arguably the most successful trilogy of films ever (Grossing more than $6 billion, 30 Oscar nominations, 17 Oscar wins - 11 of which won by the Return of the King) it's easy to quantify the popularity of these films and in turn the world which Tolkein created. The actors who starred are no longer actors themselves because of it, when we see 'Orlando Bloom' we actually first see Legolas. Sir Ian McKellan is Gandalf and Gandalf is Sir Ian Ian. Middle Earth is a real place that lives within the minds of every young fantasy nerd who spent almost 15 hours glued to the tv screen so that we could finally watch Viggo Mortensan say "My Friends, you bow to no one" (cue ridiculously emotional music and so so many tears). Amongst all these nostalgic memories it is easy for us to forget that this was not an original story. It was in fact first laid out by probably the worlds greatest fantasy nerd, the god of high fantasy in fact: JRR himself.
Lieutenant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSL lived a pretty fascinating life by all accounts. The Battle of the Somme being an early highlight, tenure at Oxford, hanging out (and arguing) with the likes of C S Lewis in the Inklings, creating the seminal Beowulf translation, being trained as a WW2 codebreaker and having some pretty genius level children, he lived plenty without even taking into account his extraordinary writing.
It is important to remember that Tolkein was in essence, a linguist. In many ways the world of Middle Earth really began life as a way for him to invent his own languages, starting with Silvan (Elvish). When reading Fellowship this really shines forth, perhaps more so than in some of the later books when he becomes even more engrossed in his own story. Intricately woven songs, invented alphabets, whole conversations percolate the pages in languages entirely invented. It is through this intricate use of language we really begin to understand the depth of what he has created here. As an imaginative undertaking I personally do not believe it has a parallel in scope. When reading Fellowship we are made aware that this is merely one tale in a long history of stories that encompass the world of Arda. You have to jog yourself on occasion to remember that this history only ever occurred in the mind of one man.
It reads like one of the sagas, which I suppose is to be expected of the man who translated Beowulf. This was not a story that was born and then a world created around it, as most books and narratives are, Tolkein created Arda, Middle Earth and all those within it as its own design. He populated it with races of his imagining, with traits of his own invention. He created Gods and demons, unique creatures and mystic lores. He drew maps, diagrams, wrote legends and invented parables. He went so far as to create old wives tales for a world where old wives only existed because of him. Then, finally, he decided that this world needed a saga of its own. It is important to note of course that as he wrote The Lord of the Rings he also continued to write thousands of other works around it, filling and fleshing out his universe in a way that I feel is unparalleled by any author since, save perhaps only GRR Martin. Many fantastical Universes have taken on size and shape since the original fiction has been published, so few existed as Tolkeins had, almost in entirety, before even the first book was published.
This shows throughout Fellowship as we consistently are referred to histories and notes and characters who we have no record of within the book itself. Here is another device Tolkein uses perhaps unwillingly, to immerse us in the Universe, he gives the illusion that we know this backstory, even when it's impossible for us to do so. He has written these books for citizens of his Universe, not for those of reality. It is true that this is probably one of the reasons why initially many readers will put down Fellowship, never to pick it up again, particularly if they never read the Hobbit. It is not for the faint-hearted, at times it can feel like you've come into a story halfway through. That's the point though, to Tolkein you aren't reading a story, you're reading what is essentially a dramatised history and you're dropping in at what is only a continuation of previous events (of which The Hobbit, although the original book, is merely a catalyst for the wider events of the Trilogy).
It's interesting that Tolkein and CS Lewis were comrades, so to speak, in writing. It's important to remember that Tolkein himself was deeply religious and Lewis was not (for the most part). A great deal of Christian rhetoric can be found in the ethos of his universe, particularly in the Silmarillion, a book that is practically biblical in scope itself. We see throughout Fellowship a great many of the Christian-world's tropes shining through - the King returned, the resurrection of Gandalf, the redemption of Smeagol etc. etc. Tolkein himself in fact described it as an inherently Catholic work (not in origin but in revision). What is interesting though is that the religious connotations in Tolkein's works are far less 'shoved down your throat' than in the Chronicles of Narnia. I believe the important distinction here is that Tolkein's works were catholic in revision. I like to imagine that he began them as a flurry of nerdish excitement, pen hit paper and it didn't leave for days until breathlessly, excitedly the young veteran fell back into his chair with a grin and began to review what he had created, where upon looking through he discovered threads to be collected and attached to the various regularly occurring narratives of Western society. We are tuned to these simple ideals from birth in the Christian West, whether we are aware of it or not, after all the bible is nothing if not the first real collection of stories we become aware of. Lewis it feels was far more aware of his links to the Christian stories, Tolkein was far too excited to think of anything linking into it. That's how I choose to believe it anyway.
It is impossible for me to note make a note of the personal feelings I have towards the films in relation to this book too, after all it was the original Fellowship movie that introduced me to the books at the tender age of [redacted]. This book is up there amongst my absolute favourites for a plethora of reasons, the Films are a large part of it though, as they were a staple and defining aspect of my childhood. Years spent running through the trees pretending to battle orcs, arguing with my brother over who got to be Legolas, reading endless film guides and illustrated manuals about the film world, they opened my mind to high fantasy and seeded imagination and creativity. Anyone who says 'I prefer the books to the films' is an idiot and should have their eyes confiscated. There is no 'better' either way, the joy of the films is the joy of the books, it is an invitation to enter a world that is not your own and become a part of it. Fellowship - the book - covers far more than the movie could, it fleshes things out further, creates the universe around the story more, in much the same way as reading the Silmarillion and the Unfinished tales expands further upon the Trilogy. They do not detract from one another, they are merely expansions one on top of the other, mechanisms to excite the imagination, born of the mind of one singular man.
The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring is quite frankly a masterpiece of narrative, not as a simple book but because of everything the book insinuates and the embers of its existence. For me it should be the aspirational Everest for any young author, because at the end of the day it is a work of passion, of love and most importantly: all out nerdy thrill.