Book of the Century?

[Aiwendil]

If you are talking about form or style, there are many books that have gone on to affect our language and culture beyond LoTR.

You equate form and style with cultural and linguistic impact? That doesn't make much sense to me.

Quite frankly, I don't see why cultural impact should have any bearing on the greatness of a work of art. Judge the work for itself, not for what other people do with it or how they respond to it.

The Lord of the Rings is, quite simply, hated by modern critics because it isn't the kind of book they like. It is also dangerously popular. These critics have forgotten the concept of art for art's sake, and insist on judging literature not as literature but as allegory and social commentary. But I don't feel particularly inclined to enter into yet another literary criticism debate, so I'll cut off my rant at that.