Smaug parecía profundamente dormido cuando Bilbo espió una vez más desde la entrada. ¡Pero fingía estar dormido! ¡Estaba vigilando la entrada del túnel!... Sacado de su cómodo agujero-hobbit por Gandalf y una banda de enanos, Bilbo se encuentra de pronto en medio de una conspiración que pretende apoderarse del tesoro de Smaug el Magnífico, un enorme y muy peligroso dragón... «Todos los que aman esos libros para niños que pueden ser leídos y releídos por adultos han de tomar buena nota de que una nueva estrella ha aparecido en esa constelación.» C.S. LEWIS
I read this to my son (4) over the course of several months and I'm not sure which was more delightful: the voice of Tolkien telling an excellent children's story in perfectly paced sections or my son's reaction to each chapter and the way he liked to go over the book when we weren't reading (his favorite part was section in Mirkwood Forest, particularly the spiders - truly my son, the kid loves horror).
Bilbo es un personaje entrañable. No es difícil darse cuenta por qué es tan menospreciado de primera instancia, siempre. Sin embargo, tal como el Mago lo hace notar, su valor se muestra en aumento. Siendo Tolkien católico y considerando el conocimiento de la tradición cristiana y de la Biblia, viene a la mente ese proverbio "la senda del justo es como la luz del sol, que va en aumento". Así es Bilbo. Me sorprendió la sencillez con que se narra y los pasos esenciales que están resumidos, pero esto puede significar que lo profundo viene con El señor de los anillos. Confieso que mi forma de llegar a esta saga fue porque adquirí Shadows of Mordor... El mérito de los videojuegos.
How on earth can you make three films out of this short book? I don't think that I've ever watched one film of the Hobbit trilogy in its full length but I can't wait to sit down and have a Hobbit marathon soon.
Review of 'The hobbit, or, There and back again' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I don't think anyone is really looking for a strong recommendation for the Hobbit -- by now its reputation should be enough to sway you one way or the other -- I really just wanted to say a couple things.
A) This edition of the book was nice: easy to hold while reading it to my son in bed and with some extra illustrations and pre/post text.
B) Reading this aloud gave me a new appreciation for the craftsmanship that Mr Tolkien employed. I've read this through three or four times in the past, but really only considered it a fun lead-in to the 'real story' in Lord of the Rings. Something in hearing the words, in letting the alliterations and flowering landscapes and song poems and riddle sharing come off your own tongue, you really get a true taste of the author's intentions.
I should also add that my …
I don't think anyone is really looking for a strong recommendation for the Hobbit -- by now its reputation should be enough to sway you one way or the other -- I really just wanted to say a couple things.
A) This edition of the book was nice: easy to hold while reading it to my son in bed and with some extra illustrations and pre/post text.
B) Reading this aloud gave me a new appreciation for the craftsmanship that Mr Tolkien employed. I've read this through three or four times in the past, but really only considered it a fun lead-in to the 'real story' in Lord of the Rings. Something in hearing the words, in letting the alliterations and flowering landscapes and song poems and riddle sharing come off your own tongue, you really get a true taste of the author's intentions.
I should also add that my seven year old seemed to enjoy it, though a few of the less action-centric, backstory sections probably went over his head. All the same, when we had finished he was curious to hear what comes next, though I'm not sure I'm up to reading all of the LotR series just yet.
It must be at least fifteen years since I read the book last. Possibly closer to twenty than fifteen. Inspired by watching the newly made Hobbit film earlier this year and becoming aware of how little of the book I actually remembered, I decided it was time to revisit it.
I've been listening to an audiobook, and I greatly enjoyed it. The story was great and the reader was excellent.
Now I've been even more inspired and will have to procure the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy on audiobook as well. I've checked, it's the same reader. I'm now very much looking forward to receiving my next Audible credit.
Review of 'The Hobbit: Deluxe Pocket Edition' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A great edition of a classic book.
Admittedly, this probably gets a star for nostalgia's sake, as one of the first books I ever read. Still, it holds up as a good juvenile adventure. If anything, I appreciate the brevity more as an adult when I compare it to its sequel in the Lord of the Rings. It's certainly the most easily readable book in the Middle Earth canon.
1) ''Very slowly he got up and groped about on all fours, till he touched the wall of the tunnel; but neither up nor down it could he find anything: nothing at all, no sign of goblins, no sign of dwarves. His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment.''
2) '''Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it …
1) ''Very slowly he got up and groped about on all fours, till he touched the wall of the tunnel; but neither up nor down it could he find anything: nothing at all, no sign of goblins, no sign of dwarves. His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment.''
2) '''Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it for ever!'''
3) ''It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait. At any rate after a short halt go on he did; and you can picture him coming to the end of the tunnel, an opening of much the same size and shape as the door above. Through it peeps the hobbit's little head. Before him lies the great bottom-most cellar or dungeon-hall of the ancient dwarves right at the Mountain's root. It is almost dark so that its vastness can only be dimly guessed, but rising from the near side of the rocky floor there is a great glow. The glow of Smaug!''
