The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Why is LOTR the best fantasy novel of our time?

davem · 06-20-2003, 02:43 AM

For me, its the spirit of Englishness that suffuses it. So much, especially of the early part of the story, reflects the landscapes I grew up in. When I walk in the woods & lanes (too few of them now) I always feel I'm just a tiny step from the Shire, as if just round a corner there is that 'new road or secret gate' & I'll step through & be there.

For me its not the battles, or the epic history, its the peace & quiet of the Shire that draws me. Tolkien makes the ordinary (or not so 'ordinary', because so rare nowadays) countryside mysterious, & full of possibilities. LotR made me see the natural world in a new way, & I'll always be grateful to Tolkien for that.

I was thinking last year, when I stood by Tolkien's grave, suurounded by other members of the Tolkien Society, who had come from all over the world, how amazing it was that the world created by this one man could have such a powerful effect on us all. To stand so close to his last resting place, & realise what this one man had given us was so incredibly moving.

06-20-2003, 02:43 AM	#5
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	For me, its the spirit of Englishness that suffuses it. So much, especially of the early part of the story, reflects the landscapes I grew up in. When I walk in the woods & lanes (too few of them now) I always feel I'm just a tiny step from the Shire, as if just round a corner there is that 'new road or secret gate' & I'll step through & be there. For me its not the battles, or the epic history, its the peace & quiet of the Shire that draws me. Tolkien makes the ordinary (or not so 'ordinary', because so rare nowadays) countryside mysterious, & full of possibilities. LotR made me see the natural world in a new way, & I'll always be grateful to Tolkien for that. I was thinking last year, when I stood by Tolkien's grave, suurounded by other members of the Tolkien Society, who had come from all over the world, how amazing it was that the world created by this one man could have such a powerful effect on us all. To stand so close to his last resting place, & realise what this one man had given us was so incredibly moving. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."