Reading for the first time, I can say I enjoyed The Hobbit, could see its importance but despaired at having to plough through turgid chunks (riddle-contests and a multitude of similarly named dwarfs) to get to the good bits, (the quest, Smaug the Dragon, Gollum and a big battle at the end!). I tried reading it to the children, who fell asleep; so my feeling is that it's a children's book best read by adults.
(Clive Yelf - bwl 23 April 2004 ) |
