I was talking to a friend about comedic / farcical literature the other day, and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller came up. That made me remember - I first read this book when I was about 15 years old. Or rather I read about 80% of it, didn’t quite finish it that time. I forced myself through it because I had heard it was subversive and intelligent and challenging, and I got nothing out of it. I didn’t see the humor, I didn’t get any political commentary, it was just a series of absurd things happening to absurd characters with no rhyme or reason.
I reread that book two years ago and damn near pissed myself laughing on every other page, but then the ending rolled around and it hit so hard. That sudden switch from absurdist comedy to heavy, bleak, depressing, and then he gives you just this glimmer of hope at the end anyway. I found it absolutely brilliant, and yet I kept thinking back to how none of this connected with me when I first read it.
Do you have books like that? Books that just plain went over your head, that you didn’t have the maturity to appreciate, that were too difficult in style or subject matter, and that you’ve come to appreciate years later?
Lotr trilogy. I was 12. I had just watched the first movie at the cinema with my cousin. I tought the books would be full of epic battles and crazy magic. Let’s say it wasn’t what I was expecting lol. Fortunatly I re-read the books 20 years later and I enjoyed them much more
It’s exactly the opposite for me I read Lotr as a teenager and was obsessed I knew whole paragraphs by heart I reread it after 20 years or so quite recently and man I couldn’t stand it I really hate Elf’s and Tom Bombadil but most energy took me read all Songs again and In the end the whole Good is super good, Evil is The Evilest Evil that ever do only Evil was so annoying. I blame Joe Abercrombie and all Grimdark I read over the years perfect heroes are not for me anymore.
Fuck Tom Bombadil.
Man… Tom is one of my favorite parts of the whole books. I grew up having my dad read them aloud to my brother and I. I read them aloud to my own boys, at least a couple of times too. The ents, Tom, and the elves and all of their songs… those are what makes the books so different and special.
I always imagined that it was in Tom’s woods that the ent wives had gone… If they were anywhere in middle earth still, it was there, in his forest, with him.
I’m telling you, those Grimdark books “satanic music” and years on my back filtered my positive side away, what left is shrivelled husk that LoL so hard when Glokta interrogates poor fellow and bit by bit cuts off his fingers with a meat cleaver :-P ( The First Law is a masterpiece). To be true I read The Hobbit to my 8 year old daughter now and she likes it I will read her Lotr too. She doesn’t have to know I’m dead inside just yet tho ;-) When she’s closer to adulthood I tell her about Berserk, Song of ice and fire, We are the dead, TFL and she’ll join me in being a husk ( I feel like I should add evil laugh here)
I listened to the audio books as an adult and they are so freaking good. They were my biking books. I was only allowed to listen to the audio book while road biking. Ended up riding 30 miles one day cuz I didn’t want to stop.
Same, but before the movies. I was 10. Fuck me Nazgûl are terrifying at that age.
Tolkein wasn’t a novelist and never intended to be one. He was an Oxford Don who loved mythology/folklore and linguistics and it shows. He wanted to create a body of folklore for English people. I think the pipilarity of the books shows he was pretty successful. But the man did not know how to write a “ripping yarn”. His pacing and out of control expositioning ruin the flow of the story. The filmmakers did an absolutely brilliant job of “fixing” that to make the movie enjoyable without destroying the story and characters. But seeing the movies first is sure to make the books seem even duller, especially to a younger person.
For me it’s a book you can enjoy on multiple levels. I first read at 6, and obviously missed lots of subtlety but adored it and absorbed the mythology like I did for greek and Roman mythology (and Sunday school come to that). I still get new stuff from it many rereads later, and reading it to my 7 year old who is experiencing it his own way. ATM he’s convinced Bombadil is going to solve all their problems and defeat sauron.
Pedants corner: LOTR isn’t a trilogy, it was always meant to be a single volume.
Pedant’s counterpoint: how was it published?
I think I was about 10-11 when my mum first read me LotR and I was obsessed. This was way before the movies, for I am old (and I kind of hate you for reminding me that the movies have already been out for 20 years). It was my first introduction to more “serious/adult” fantasy after having devoured The Chronicles of Narnia and The Neverending Story (boy, was I pissed when that book ended - I actually thought it would somehow magically continue on forever… ).
That being said, I can totally see how after watching the films, to a kid, the books would a bit of a slog. It also helps that my mum is a fantastic narrator and storyteller. I’m just now listening to LotR on audiobook and I definitely have a newfound respect for Peter Jackson and his crew for keeping the integrity of the main story intact, while having to cut out so much side plot and lore.
Same. I read the trilogy in middle school and have been meaning to reread it a an adult. I’m sure I missed lots of stuff!
This is exactly my story with LOTR
I read LOTR to my son, having last read it in 1990 or so. I’d completely forgotten about all the elf poetry