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Herewith Follow Notes On The Fellowship Of The Ring From A First-Time Lord Of The Rings Reader Who Was Enchanted By The Peter Jackson Movies:

•I wish I had read these books when I was younger! Tolkien creates an entire world, and it would have been so cool to have been swept up in this tale of hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards, Orcs and goblins when I was a young lad. Then again, I’m sure it would have got me to play Dungeons & Dragons, which likely would have made me even more geeky than I already was.

•W´Ç·É. Frodo is in his 50s when he sets off on his journey! Who knew?

�Pippin is the youngest of the hobbits, younger than Merry, who’s in his 30s, and much younger than Frodo! That kind of explains all the mischief he gets into.

•Tolkien has many skills, but writing comedy is not one of them. A lot of the hijinks in the Shire feel forced. Bilbo’s gossiping, grasping relatives: these scenes really go on too long. So I was quite glad when Frodo & Co. finally left.

�Gandalf the Grey: total, utter coolness. Ian McKellan was great casting.

�The Old Forest: Wow. Stunning descriptions, really creepy and atmospheric.

� Tom Bombadil! Fantastic, jolly character who speaks entirely in rhyme (and who resists the eponymous ring!)! And he’s with a woman (who are pretty rare in Book One), the River Daughter! But I understand why Jackson cut him from the movies; he'd have seriously affected the momentum.

•T³ó±ð songs and poems: So many! I suppose they are there to lend a feeling of authenticity â€� Tolkien showing off his knowledge of Old English ballads and narratives. But I can’t be the only one whose eyes sort of glazed over when yet another character put down his pipe to recite something, right?

�The Council of Elrond: Such an inspiring and stirring scene in the movie! Such a baggy bit of monologues and backstory in the book!

�Saruman turning bad: nice bit of exposition! But why didn’t Jackson show us his multi-coloured robe? That would have been great on film.

•Strange that we’re not shown Strider/Aragorn reforging his broken sword in the book. The idea of heroes forging swords is a staple in myth and legend, and it was such a powerful scene in the movie. It’s merely told matter-of-factly in the book: missed opportunity for a bit of patriarchal, phallic symbolism.

�Gimli, son of Gloin. Adorable dwarf, but not nearly the jokey dispenser of one-liners he is in the films.

�Boromir comes across quite clearly in the book (impulsive, quick-to-anger, powerful), whereas I felt he seemed more generic in the film (perhaps because he and Aragorn had the same straggly-haired look?) I love that Boromir calls the Hobbits “Halflings.�

�Moria: some of Tolkien’s best descriptions. He managed to make me see all the levels of those caves, even in near darkness. And the drumbeats and sounds of Tap-tom, Tom-tap and then Doom-doom were very effective.

�Lothlorien: I loved everything about the scenes here, from the Fellowship sleeping in the trees before they arrive, to the whole business of blindfolding everyone � after Gimli refuses to be the only one blindfolded.

�Galadriel’s gifts: Just awesome. Silver belts. Three strands of hair for Gimli (a hair fetishist?). A box for Sam with the letter “G� on it. Oprah (“A new car for everyone!�) Winfrey has nothing on the Lady G.

�Gollum: I really like the way his sad story is gradually revealed through this book, from the opening prologue to the business with his relative Déagol, how he lost the ring, tried to get it back, was imprisoned, tortured for information, escaped, and then follows the fellowship, ever so creepily, in the final third. And this description late in the book, when Gollum is pursuing Frodo and friends on the Anduin River, is eerie (I love the “lamplike eyes� and “hiss of intaken breath�):

A long whitish hand could be dimly seen as it shot out and grabbed the gunwale; two pale lamplike eyes shone coldly as they peered inside, and then they lifted and gazed up at Frodo on the eyot. They were not more than a yard or two away, and Frodo heard the soft hiss of intaken breath. He stood up, drawing Sting [his sword] from its sheath, and faced the eyes. Immediately their light was shut off. There was another hiss and a splash, and the dark log-shape shot away down-stream into the night.

�Sam Gamgee: Probably my favourite character in the book. His devotion to Frodo is total and sweet. I’m not sure why he keeps calling Frodo “sir� or “master.� He’s just his gardener, right? But his forthright personality, his love of nature and animals (I didn’t know their pony had a name: Bill!), his shyness around Galadriel, his good common sense � all of this is completely endearing.

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Some final thoughts:
There’s a LOT of geography in this book, especially name-checking places the fellowship passes or is thinking of journeying to. Occasionally I’d look at the map at the back of the book, but just as often I’d keep reading, thinking, “Well, if it’s important it’ll come up later.�

I also got tired of the “Behold, I am X, son of Y� construction. And I’ve already mentioned the songs and poems. But this is justifiably a fantasy classic: exciting, (mostly) well-written, carefully plotted.

I think all great books have deeper meanings, perhaps symbolic ones, and in reading this one I sense Tolkien’s love of England’s people and countryside, with fears about encroaching industrialization.

I also think that the idea of a group of people from disparate races working together for a common goal is inspiring to read about � at any age.

Will I read Book Two, The Two Towers? What are you, high on pipe-weed? Of course!