The QPB Companion to The Lord of the Rings

The QPB Companion to the Lord of the Rings edited by Brandon Geist.

Paperback: 104 pages
Publisher: Quality Paperback Book Club;(2001)
ISBN-10: 0965307883

 

This handy volume is more than just a footrest to the snug club chair that is THE LORD OF THE RINGS; it is a friend who drops by to share choice gossip about one of your favorite subjects. The storied reality behind the classic fantasy - curious creator, the sword-crossing critics, the "deplorable cultus" ... will not capative Tolkien enthusiasts but amuse those who "just don't get it". The book first introduces us to the author, whom The New York Times described as "the tweedist and most persnickety of Oxford philologists; a man who said of himself, 'I am in fact a Hobbit (in all but size).' We then hear from a host of other critics.....

So, once again I find this little gem in a thrift store for .50 cents.   Not 100% sure of the contents I took it home anyway and read it yesterday. (very small book  104 pages)   I am not sure why it's called a "companion".  What this book is, is... Other authors of "high caliber" (such as Tolkien was : an Oxford Professor/a Don) .   All of which wrote a few pages on what they thought of Tolkien and mostly what they thought of his writing of The Lord of The Rings.

I was surprised at how many of the few that wrote for this book thought that his writing / his story, was of a high grade.  A number of them thought it nothing more than childish trash and could not understand why it stood the test of time and has done so well. 

My thoughts after reading both the good and the bad was that I wondered why they were trying to figure out what was going through Tolkien's mind as he wrote it.  ?  They all seemed to either think it trash and not give it a second thought OR they all thought they had to figure out all the "hidden messages" in the story.

Most all of the writings were of LOtR and few mentioned the Hobbit.  If it is true then the one thing I learned was it is a falsehood that Tolkien wrote the Hobbit for his son.  He just plain wrote a "child's story".

Anyway...I did find their opinions interesting.  ... and to be honest those who tore down Tolkien's writing sounded more like their own ego then anything else lol... but still.. for .50 cents, it was interesting!