冒険ファンタジー世界への誘い

いつかは読まなくては．．．と、とうとう手に取ったファンタジーの大御所トルキンの「ホビット」！ かの有名な『Lord of the Ring」の序章にあたる今作品も知名度が高いので今更ながらの評価は抑えたいが、やはりエッセンスはよくある冒険ファンタジーと違い、主人公のビルボが英雄臭くなくヒーローになれるのに敢えてならない所にあると思う。ホビット特有の暖かく且つ地に足の着いた性質が人情を誘いつつまた現実味を帯びさせる。この波瀾万丈な冒険ファンタジーは読み易いので子供はもちろん、笑える場面も多いので大人も楽しめます。トルキンの世界へ誘うにはもってこいのスタートです。

This is a story that grows with the reader.

In a mythical or maybe just forgotten time, many creatures lived in places like the Shire, home to Bilbo Baggins, Hobbit. Hobbits are comfort loving creatures with no real sense for adventure. A knock on the door and Bilbo’s life is about to change.

Calling this book children's book is like calling "Alice in Wonderland" [see “The Annotated Alice”] a children's book. Yes children can read this book and it is fun. How ever there is a lot more to this book than a cute story. And it has all the depth of the other Tolkien works with the exception of being shorter.

Many people look at this story as a prequel to “The Lord of the Rings”, where in reality it is a stand-alone story with a perfectly good beginning, middle, and end. When you read "The Lord of the Rings" there is enough description to forgo "The Hobbit." Personally, I find that reading The Lord of the Rings first gave me the in-depth background to better appreciate The Hobbit.
Many of the creatures and adventures will put you on the edge of your seat. You will recognize the personalities and grow along will Bilbo as he faces new challenges as he learns to deal with life.
A good book to read first would be “The Power of Myth” by Joseph Campbell. Then you get a clearer picture of why the story progresses as it does.

三部作の前にぜひ！

指輪がどういうふうにBilboのところにやってきたのか、どうしてBagginsの名が危険なのか、なぜElvesとDwarvesが仲が悪かったのか、Flodo達が旅の途中で出会った、石化したTrollsは昔Bilboとどんなことがあったのか、など、三部作では詳しく語られていなかった事実がわかるので、前知識としては十分な内容で、知っておけば三部作をより深く楽しめます。これからという人は、the Hobbitを先に読破もしくは聴破（？）しておくことをおススメします。

全体的には、より子供向けという印象が強く、寝る前に聞いたら、逆に興奮してもっと先が聞きたいがために眠れなくなりそうなくらい巧みな話術ですすんでいきます。ところどころユーモラスな記述と、Inglisの豊かな語り口で、本当に楽しくあっという間に終結を迎えるでしょう。

Bilboが、事あるごとに自分の住処のカウチのことや、おいしいご馳走のことを思い出しては旅に出たことを後悔したりする記述は、笑いをこらえられませんでした。

三部作と比べると、あまり重苦しい雰囲気がなく、純粋に冒険ものとして楽しめる作品です。

印刷されたものも十分楽しめるけど、朗読版はほんとに楽しい仕上がりで、いっそう楽しめました。英語も三部作よりは比較的簡単で、これに慣れたら三部作の朗読版も聞きやすいこと間違い無しです。

ビルボかっこいい！！

なんといってもビルボのキャラクターが素敵です！はじめはいやいや（と言うか無理やり）旅の仲間の一員にさせられてしまったビルボが、いつの間にか自分でも驚くほどの危機管理能力を発揮。さまざまな冒険を乗り越えて、みんなから頼られる存在になっていきます。

続く３部作と比べると児童文学の色が強い感じがしますが、内容はとても濃いと思います。私は先に３部作を読んでいたので返って、The Hobbitの楽しい部分、笑える部分にとても魅力を感じました。
３部作では旅の仲間達ははじめから過酷な旅とわかっていて出発しますが、The Hobbitでは「祖先の栄光とお宝をドラゴンから取り返すんだ！」と、基本的には意気揚々と旅を続けます。主人公達の気持ちのありようが全く違うので、続きの話ではあるのでしょうが、全く別の独立した話としても楽しめると思います。

渋い朗読です

The Hobbit に限らず、古典的な作品の AudioBook には複数の種類があるので、注意が
必要です。私が購入したのは、Rob Inglis さんが朗読している Unabridged 版です。
CD10枚組みで、省略は一切ない原文そのままの朗読です。

深みのあるすばらしい朗読で何度も聞いたので、今では本（普通の紙の本）のほうを
読んでいても、この人の声が頭の中に浮かんでくるほど。 The Lord of The Rings の朗読も
やっておられます。登場人物ごとに声色を変えていますし、ストーリーの部分を読むときも
状況に応じて穏やかに読んだり切羽詰った感じで読んだり、かといって、押し付けがましい
ほどの抑揚でもなく、プロの俳優さんならではの『名演』です。

The Hobbit

What can someone say about "the hobbit" that has not already been said. I remember first reading this book when I was twelve and not being able to put it down. I read it three times in a row, each time being more thrilled with the book. I wanted to change my cats name to Bilbo (my mom said no). This is the best fantasy story, ever written in my opinion. About two weeks ago I found my 15-year-old son reading the Hobbit. I went and dug up my old copy and fell in love with the book all over again. This book is a must have for anyone's home library. One of my favorite parts is the riddle game between Gollum and Bilbo (what's its got in its pocket?). There is so much to explore and discover in this book. You'll figure something else out each time you read it. So do yourself a favor pick up a copy and escape into a world of lovable characters and high adventure

Also recommeneded is The Price of Immortality, it is an awsome read.

A wonderful series

The Hobbit was a book that I honestly didn't want to read, but I decided to just get it over with so that I could do a project on it for my English class. As I read the story of an ordinary hobbit going on a great adventure I began to anticipate what would happen next. I personally am not interested in the fantasy genre but this book was captivating. The creativity of J.R.R. Tolken is amazing. I was always intrigued by all of the monsters that the Hobbit and his elf friends would come across, like the Orcs, goblins, Gollum, Mordor, etc. These monsters would do almost anything to keep the Hobbit from arriving to his destination of the Misty Mountains in order to steal treasure from the dragon’s lair. Along his way, Bilbo, the Hobbit comes across a ring that when put on can make the holder invisible. Sure this is a good thing he thought, as did I while I was reading, but I was surprised to find out that the ring was evil and could be used by the lord Saron to bring evil upon the world. How he would resist the temptation of using the ring and avoiding trouble that the ring attracted seemed impossible because everyone and everything seemed to want it. The way that Tolken described Bilbo’s encounter with the dragon on Misty Mountain was ironic. Bilbo shocked all of his friends with his bravery. It was surprising to me that the meek, timid, little hobbit in the beginning of the story ended up being the brave hero in the end.

Also like Tolkein The Price of Immortality by C.M. Whitlock is a awsome book

ビルボ叔父さんの冒険

私は指輪物語を先に読みました。そのなかで、ビルボが昔した冒険の話が何度もでてきます。ビルボの話だけでははっきりとしなかった物語の背景が、この本を読むことで、なるほどと納得できます。

指輪物語は序章の長々とした説明に疲れて読むのをやめた人でも、ホビットは面白くすぐ読めてしまいます。まず、これを読んでから指輪物語に再挑戦するのもよいでしょう。
指輪物語をまだ読んでいない人は、ホビットとセットになったものがお勧めです。

Portal to Middle Earth

The first time I read about Bilbo Baggins, Hobbit, was when I was in intermediate school. I played second violin in the pit orchestra while the drama club did a musical version of The Hobbit, very much condensed from the book. Still, the characterizations of Bilbo and the dreadful Gollum were strong enough to make me want to know more, and so I read the book. I was transported! Tolkien meticulously created a whole different world, with its own inhabitants and history, so detailed that you wonder if it really did exist. From the truly adventurous, to those who enjoy excitement vicariously from the cozy nest of their overstuffed armchair, book in hand, anyone can identify with Bilbo and be swept along on his perilous journey with Gandalf and the dwarves. I cannot begin to describe the plum pudding richness of the tale: the gorgeous landscape, the journey within as well as without. The light-hearted creatures of myth and fairytale are fleshed out and grounded. Frightening monsters and savage beasts do more than test the courage of our heroes. More complex than a mere children`s fantasy, there is potential for both good an evil in every person in the story. Every reader will come out the richer for having journeyed with Bilbo. It is clear even with this book alone, why Tolkien`s imaginative plot, rich characterizations, and attention to detail in fashioning another world, serves as inspiration for many of the good fantasy novels that have been written since.

指輪物語のファンは必ず読むべし！

　この物語は、The　Lord　of　the　Ringsのプロローグともいうべきもので、主人公は「指輪物語」の主人公フロドの叔父にあたるビルボ。彼が平和な生活を満喫しているところへ、魔法使いガンダルフが訪れ、彼はイヤイヤながらドワーフ達との冒険へとひっぱりだされる。トロル、ゴブリン達、巨大なクモ、狼、そしてドラゴンなどの敵との戦いも文句なくおもしろいが、何といってもビルボとゴラムの出会い、あの指輪の発見のエピソードがこの物語のハイライトだろう。また、ガンダルフのファンにも、彼の魅力が思う存分に現れているこの物語はお勧め。