One of my goals this year was to reread The Lord of the Rings trilogy. As noted before, I'd read all three books back in the 1970's, and had reread the first book (The Fellowship of the Ring) back in the 1990's, but had not read the other volumes in more than 40 years.
The time was right, given the political climate and a dystopian mood - though my intention was that LOTR would counter that mood and give me hope.
I started a couple of days before that January 20 event. I finished last night.
First, it was a good as I remember. A well-crated story, well-written, wonderful and memorable characters. And a positive and ultimately very Catholic message (though not of the club-you-over-the-head variety).
Second, it was interesting comparing the books to the movies (which I also enjoyed). Jackson made some changes for dramatic purposes - adding material, deleting some - but they made sense. I'd forgotten some of them, but rereading the books brought them back to me. My biggest quibble was with the whole Arwen-Aragorn-Eowyn-Faramir treatment in the movie. I was not happy with how it was handled. The book offered their stories in a much more understandable and satisfying way.
Third, it did fit the current political climate. We have our own orcs, evil wizards, weak kings, corrupt individuals, and so on. I won't name names, but the ultimate triumph of good in the book gives me hope for the future.
I highly recommend reading or rereading The Lord of the Rings.
Now I must reread The Hobbit at some point. But other books await
Pax et bonum
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