Review: J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien famously penned The Hobbit and the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings. Known as "the father of modern fantasy literature," his writings have inspired many other works of fantasy and have had a lasting effect on the entire genre. In this Christian Encounters biography, learn how Tolkien's faith was an intrinsic element of his creative imagination, one that played out in the pages of his writings and his life. (Description from Amazon.com)

While this book is titled "J. R. R. Tolkien", I think it could have been called, "J. R. R. Tolkien's Life & Faith, & How It Impacted His Writing".  Much of the emphasis is not on his life—although the book certainly reviews Tolkien's whole life—but on how his life and his faith found its way into his writing.

I must hand it to the author; he could write a fairly engrossing biography, enough to pull me out of a fantasy novel and dive into this nonfiction.  Thinking I would read this after I finished a novel I was reading, I flipped through it, read the back, and read the introduction.  And from that introduction, I couldn't resist picking up the book.  The biography is small; only 160 pages.  But though it was small, it was certainly a good read.

Perhaps it's because I'm a writer that I liked it so much.  Much of the material touched upon—writing, Lord of the Rings, the Inklings, Tolkien's beliefs about fantasy and myth—was relevant to me, as a writer.  The goal of the TPBS (a group consisting of Tolkien's closest friends) was especially relevant.

As to the actual writing, the biography style of it was fine.  There were several sections where the author—probably on purpose—began with a bit of prose.  "It was the biggest snake Tolkien had seen" or something like that.  I found them to be out of place with the rest of the book, and a little annoying.

Even without this, the book would have made 4.5, maybe even 5 stars.  However, the "Legacy" chapter—the last one in the book—lowered my opinion of the book.  Without going into detail, I will say that I disagreed with some of the author's opinions, especially regarding Harry Potter.  Besides this, I felt that much of the chapter was out of place with the rest of the book.  While it is appropriate, when reviewing Tolkien's life, to also take a look at his legacy, I felt that some of this section could have been cut.

Overall, this was a good read that gave a lot of insight into Tolkien's life and the beliefs behind his tales.  Several sections—especially the sections about the TBPS—were just beautiful and poetic.  I literally stopped reading in several places to contemplate quotes that the author gave from various sources.  This excellent biography was only diminished by a few things that I disliked.

Rated 7.5 out of 10.  (Four stars)

Read it, you won't regret it.  Unless you don't like Tolkien and/or fantasy, that is.  Recommended.

(I received this book for free from Booksneeze, in exchange for a review.  I was not required to write a positive review.)