Mini Review – The Hobbit

From Goodreads:

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End.

But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon…

This was a nostalgia filled re-read for me. I loved sitting down and visiting middle earth again was a delight. It has been many years since I read this and I had forgotten all the little details that just make this so immersive. I really had forgotten all the songs, Bilbo’s inner monologues and his little asides. All of these really gave a feeling of the time spent on the journey and the stress, exhaustion but also the development of companionship, while also filling out the world of middle earth. There is always something from the page that gives you a little bit of action, a little bit of worldbuilding or those little moments of light relief. I was surprised how much I laughed at sassy remarks and slap stick moments. Its such a charming adventure.

Re-reading, I fell in love with Bilbo all over again. He has a fantastic journey in this story, not just in the scale of his trek across middle earth but growing in confidence and conviction, learning to look outside his Hobbit hole. I am looking forward to finally tackling the Lord of the Rings ( I have never made it past Bombadil) and spending time in middle earth with Bilbo makes me want to pick it up right now.