genre: fantasy
Bilbo Baggins. Happy in his Hobbit Hole. Torn from his comfortable chair by Gandalf the Wizard, who has convinced a group of dwarves that Bilbo is an impressive burglar and that Bilbo is the PERFECT thief to have on their quest to get back the gold that was stolen from them.
And Bilbo DOES go, though he's not happy about it, and his adventures with the dwarves, the friends and enemies they make, the scrapes he gets into and back out of, THAT is the story of "there and back again" that started it all. Yes, there are battles big and small and there is a ferocious dragon and many songs sung by the campfire. And Bilbo is there for it all, unassuming and mildly cowardly and surprisingly clever Hobbit that he is.
Okay. My twelve year old son wanted me to read this out loud to him. I wasn't as daunted as I should have been. I remembered reading it long ago (I just looked it up, it was in 2001) but I didn't remember how slow it was. It was SLOW going. Even with this illustrated version and even as interested as my son was, it was a bit of a slog. One twin gave up halfway through but the other one and I snuggled through many an hour with Bilbo and his companions. I get why it has stuck around, I can imagine why it absolutely enthralled everyone. It just took us like eight months to power through. NOT sorry I did this with my boy because HE enjoyed it and by the end, he was actually really tender about it. And that means it's still three stars for me.
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