One ring to rule them all. Review on Lord of the Rings, The - J.R.R. Tolkien

What can I say about a book that has been voted ''book of the century'' that hasn't already been written? The Lord of the Rings is a book of such impact for me that I have read it at least once a year since the time I was 13 (I'm coming up 36 so I will let you do the math!). As such I felt that I should try and contribute towards an explanation as to why a novel of such low ''social intensity'' beat books such as ''A Day in the Life of Ivan Desinovich'' by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

The Lord of the Rings is the natural extension of the events and their effects portrayed in its precursor ''The Hobbit''. It is a fairly weighty tome for most people to read and so I would recommend that if you are reading this story for the first time buy the component books separately so that in the remote chance that you don't like this tale (shame on you!) you haven't spent too much money.

As a professor of ancient languages Tolkien understood how to populate the book with meaning and even wrote languages for the separate races portrayed in the book. He cleverly portrayed Middle Earth as an alternative representation of what Europe may have been like millennia ago and this portrayal helps the reader sub-consciously to identify with locations throughout the book.

Webs of plot are woven throughout the trilogy each underscoring the pride that Tolkien placed in the building of an environment that would consistently appeal to both children and adults. In fact he was so concerned with this need to appeal across the widest possible spectrum of readers he even had fellow dons read the manuscript before release.

This book should not be seen as a fairy tale to read to your children at night, I say this as many people I have spoken to have described this literary masterpiece as such, many after never having read any part of the book. It is a book full of despair, the portrayal of friendship in adversity, betrayal by protectors, all of which are extremely adult themes.

I have never found this to be a difficult book to read, however I must qualify that with the fact that I am a voracious reader and always have been, sometimes going through three or four books a week! This story should be read by everybody at some point in their life, just to experience what Tolkien gave to the world when he wrote this book.