D: 9/6/02

Work Diary, 9/6/02

I've been slogging my way through Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," which
much to my surprise is not actually a trilogy but one long, long novel.
Tolkien's editors had the right idea when they made him break it up
into three separate books.

While I'm enjoying the adventures of the gang (Gandalf, Frodo, Sam,
etc.), I can't help but wonder. They go up a hill, down a hill; they
circle trees, get lost in new forests; they cross a river, realize they
want to be on the other side, and cross again. The characters just
seem?well, they're not the brightest bulbs in the pack. In fact, some
of them appear to be downright retarded (or whatever the PC term is
these days?mentally challenged?). While the hobbits' confusion is
certainly understandable - the hobbits being the story's innocents -
Gandalf's behavior is inexcusable. He's not just a wizard, but an angel
of sorts (I read "The Simarillion" first). Apparently he took his cue
from the Greek gods and is just chock full of human
fallibilities.

I'm not a fantasy reader, anyway, and it doesn't help that a little
voice in the back of my head keeps thinking that Tolkien and Dickens
had at least one thing in common: They both were paid by the word. So,
why am I reading the book? Because, much like male accountant-types who
watch football and pretend they're enjoying themselves, it gives me
something to talk about with my co-workers. It is all I can do to not
start speed-reading as I sit on my porch, turning page after page of
what is decidedly a masterpiece, but just not my cup of tea.

An end is in sight, however. I've almost finished "The Two Towers"
(good timing, I'd say, as we approach September 11), and then it's on
to "Return of the Kings" (or is it just one "King?"). I'm hoping
Tolkien doesn't abandon his magical world altogether in the last book;
I'm not sure I can manage just reading about the human condition
without a little elvish fun.

We'll see.