The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings #1)
by JRR Tolkien
527 pages (20.5 hours on audiobook)
Fiction

I've been wanting to read this for a while; I knew it would be great literature. But I was intimidated by the old language and length. So, I cheated... I got it on audiobook and listened in my car. Hearing the story spoken to me, I could relax and appreciate the beautiful language and images of the story. Another benefit was that I actually got to hear the songs sung aloud! It was comforting and enjoyable. I'm moving onto book #2 now. I think I could listen to this trilogy on permanent repeat.

It is easy to imagine this being written in the shadow of WWII. It deals with unprecedented disruption of life, malintent confusion, the nobility and baseness of man - over and over. Each character struggles in his own way repeatedly over physical, mental and emotional obstacles. I found wisdom and comfort in this. There were countless quotes and moments of perspicacity that stuck me:

"...we have so far been fortunate, though we do not escape the shadow of these times." This pretty much describes our life during the coronavirus outbreak.
"For nothing is evil in the beginning." This passage describing Sauron also describes many of the current political movements.

There was a solemn, almost mournful, tone to the entire story. It reinforced that these characters were living through dark times and overwhelming adversity. Death was assured, all that was left was for them to meet it honorably.

I did find solace in witnessing good and honorable characters struggle forward. In my life, sometimes the anxiety is worse than the actual thing feared, especially during this pandemic. Envisioning the worse happening and then struggling through it is oddly freeing. It puts limits and proper boundaries around fear. I found this story very helpful by providing examples to emulate of honorable struggling. This is a book for times such as these!

RECOMMENDED FOR: The entire family can enjoy listening to this story on audiobook. My preschool child even enjoyed listening! Middle school, high school and adults will be able to draw greater meaning from the story.