The Art of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

If you're an extreme Tolkien fan, like myself, probably already own several versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings both in paperback and hardcover, illustrated and not. Each edition has its strengths and weaknesses, but none is perfect on its own. Over the past three years, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has released two books of original Tolkien illustrations. Allow me to briefly tell you about each of them.

When reading through various editions of The Hobbit, which I own, I find myself puzzled by the lack of illustrations in a book of this nature. There's a scant few and a map or two, but not nearly enough to capture the beauty of Tolkien's words. When going through the hundreds of documents in Tolkien's estate, scores of illustrations were found and scanned to create the book The Art of the Hobbit. The book itself is 150 pages and hardcover, measuring in at 10" x 10". It's an odd-size for a shelf, but you'll probably not have it on the shelf much and find yourself flipping through it or displaying on the coffee table. The book contains over 100 original Tolkien sketches, illustrations, and maps.

Tolkien was not a trained artist by any means, but his artwork would make you think otherwise. Like, the words in his books, which went through numerous changes, his maps and illustrations did as well. The book does a nice job of capturing the evolution of his artwork, going from very crude sketches to beautiful masterpieces of pen and ink, sometimes even full color. Accompanying each illustration is text excerpts from The Hobbit and explanations of the illustration, the changes in the illustration (if there were multiple illustrations of the same scene), and commentary on why Tolkien chose to illustrate something a particular way. This is truly a beautiful book, but if I had to change one thing about it, it would be that some of the pages fold out. I'd rather there be no fold-out pages, but that is a minor gripe for such a treasure of a book.

The Art of The Lord of the Rings is the long-awaited companion volume to The Art of the Hobbit. The publisher kept the size of the hardcover the same (10" x 10"), which I always appreciate. There is nothing worse than having a book that belongs with another and them being different sizes! The length of this book is almost 250 pages, which is 100 pages more than The Art of the Hobbit. 250 pages is a generous plenty, but greedy Tolkien fan that I am I was hoping for close to 500 pages, since this is a trilogy after all! Also unlike its companion book, there are no fold-out pages, which I greatly appreciate, as I always felt like I was going to end up getting those pages even more folded up or worse ripping them.

Upon picking up this book, I was expecting many illustrations of Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn. Instead, I would say this book is more maps and runes/inscriptions than anything. That is not a complaint, merely an observation. There are images of castles and keeps and towers. But one notices that there are numerous illustrations of the inscription on the One Ring and so many maps and revisions of maps. At times, it feels like looking through a time lapsed atlas where you see the changes and evolutions of a specific area. Other times, it feels like you are flipping through a travel log and tracing the journey of the Fellowship. Pair all of these illustration with the masterful commentary by editors Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, and you have a book that makes the perfect gift for any serious Tolkien fan. Be sure to check out other books edited by them including J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator.

These books were provided to me for free by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for honest reviews. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

Tolkien's Sacramental Vision and The Hobbit Party (Angelico Press and Ignatius Press)

Despite the insistence of many atheist/agnostic Middle Earth fans, Tolkien's works are bursting at the seams with religious, more precisely, Catholic themes and values. To try and ignore or dismiss the Catholicism that is found in his works is an insult to Tolkien and a sign of ignorance on the reader's part. In Craig Bernthal's work Tolkien's Sacramental Vision, he examines different scenes, objects, and characters in Tolkien's works (mainly The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) under the light of Catholic Sacramentality.

The book begins by explaining what exactly a Catholic novelist is, and then defends Tolkien's place as one. Other topics discussed include the creation story in The Silmarillion; Baptism and the character of Frodo; Penance and Reconciliation; and Galadriel and her gifts, to name a few topics. I learned a lot of interesting things, which I missed in my readings of The Lord of the Rings. For example, I learned that Boromir took Faramir's place at the Council of Elrond. Perhaps, if Faramir had gone like he was supposed to things would have turned out differently. My favorite section of the book discussed Leaf by Niggle. I could definitely relate to Niggle in many ways including time-wasting and the need for perfection to a fault. This brief section in the book led me to reading this work, and hopefully becoming less of a "niggler."

Overall, this was a very fascinating book and one I would highly recommend to any Catholic or Christian who loves Tolkien. It opened my eyes to many nuances in Tolkien's works and made me appreciate The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings on a whole new level. If I had more time, I would break out my copies of the two works and read through them again with this book by my side. Unfortunately, that is not feasible for me at this time, but it is something I plan/hope to do in the future. Five stars and cannot recommend this book more highly.

When you hear the title for The Hobbit Party, you might think the word party is referring to a gala of sorts, like I did. In actuality the title is a play on politics, like the Republican or Democratic Party. While most authors/commentators on Tolkien's work tend to focus on the religious themes in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the authors, Jonathan Witt and Jay Richards, chose to focus on how the political environment of his day shaped his writings and the political and economic themes we find in his writings if we look closely.

Some of the interesting topics discussed include just war, free market/capitalism, and big government. The most interesting chapter to me however was the last one which touched on the topics of love and death. The authors begins this chapter by stating that "Death and the desire for deathlessness was Tolkien's central theme of The Lord of the Rings. We are then given a litany of examples, including the obvious One Ring and Gandalf's death and resurrection; as well as less obvious example of the White Tree of Gondor. Despite all the mention of death, Tolkien however had the right perspective on death. He saw it as a gift, and not a curse. This may sound confusing at first, because death is a consequence of the Fall, but without death we would continue to live on and sin and never reach the ultimate reward of Heaven.

Overall, this book was an interesting read. While it is hard to argue that these political and economical messages/themes are in Tolkien's work, I question whether it is worth reading this much into the works of Tolkien. Sometimes you can over-analyze a work that you risk killing it. Just my two cents. If you are a fan of Tolkien and politics, then this is the perfect book for you. If politics aren't your cup of tea, then you're probably better off avoiding this book. I will end by saying that the book is worth checking out for the End Notes section alone. It contains a great deal of interesting/edifying works that I plan to read in the future.

These books were provided to me for free by Angelico Press and Carmel Communications, respectively, in exchange for honest reviews. If you find these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

Catholic Courses: The Hobbit: Discovering Grace and Providence in Bilbo's Adventure

Today, I am reviewing the Catholic Courses' product The Hobbit - Discovering Grace and Providence in Bilbo's Adventure. If you recall, last month I reviewed The Hidden Meaning of The Lord of the Rings - The Theological Vision in Tolkien's Fiction. If you're wondering why I started with the one on "The Lord of the Rings" first, it's because it has two introductory lessons covering J.R.R. Tolkien's biography and his writing style. These are covered again in the course on "The Hobbit," but not to the same level of detail.

If you're like me and read "The Lord of the Rings" before you read "The Hobbit," you were probably a bit disappointed by "The Hobbit."  Alongside the action-packed trilogy, "The Hobbit" might seem rather lackluster by comparison. However, this tale serves as more than a precursor to the grand epic of "The Lord of the Rings." It is in-fact a coming of age story of the young Bilbo Baggins. Joseph Pearce also points out that Biblo's journey has many parallels with a person's journey throughout life. He further illustrates these points by addressing the ideas that every life is a pilgrimage and that the impossibility of growth without grace.

One topic that caught my interest in this Catholic Course was the juxtapositions Mr. Pearce made between Thorin Oakenshield and Aragorn. Both of them are kings. However, as kings they are vastly different. Aragorn is seen as a true and just king who can be seen as a Christ-figure. Thorin, on the other hand, is an easily corrupted king who values gold and treasures over people throughout his life. Another part of this course I found fascinating was the discussion on the dragon symbology, Smaug, and dragon sickness. It is no surprise that dragons represent evil, demons, and devils. This was true in early Christian iconography and can be seen clearly in the icon of St. George to your left. Mr. Pearce makes the astute observation that we all must either fight our dragons or become one.

Perhaps, the biggest lesson I took away from the course had to do with materialism. We can see this most clearly through the dragon Smaug, who had no use for gold but could tell you the exact amount in his possession, down to the ounce, and Thorin Oakenshield, who had such a great love of gold that he didn't want to share the gold with the people in Laketown whom he rightfully owed. Both Smaug and Thorin allowed their love of gold to consume them.  This underscores the message of "where your treasure is, there your heart is." While my heart doesn't value gold, I can see how some of my other possessions (my books) can be a stumbling block for me if I let them.  It is important for us as Catholics to keep our heart as close to God as possible.

If you're looking to gain a better appreciation for "The Hobbit" and the Catholic messages within it, this Catholic Course will be a good starting point. You can then follow it up with The Hidden Meaning of The Lord of the Rings - The Theological Vision in Tolkien's Fiction if you haven't studied it already. If you don't have time for an eight lecture course, Mr. Pearce also wrote a book on the subject called, Bilbo's Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning in The Hobbit. There are also other great courses that cover Dante's Divine Comedy or William Shakespeare if you are interested in literature, so be sure to check them out as well. For a brief introduction of the course, see the video below.

Catholic Courses: The Hidden Meaning of "The Lord of the Rings"

The world is once again buzzing with thoughts of Tolkien and hobbits thanks to Peter Jackson's "trilogy" on "The Hobbit." I am conflicted with the movies. I am glad that they exist as they will hopefully encourage people to actually read the books associated with Middle Earth. However, I am disappointed with the gross inaccuracies in the films. Also, don't get me started on the money-grab attempt of turning "The Hobbit" into three movies.

What a lot of people don't realize is that Tolkien's works are distinctly Catholic. Joseph Pearce, a Tolkien expert (though I imagine my aunt could give him a run for his money), has two Catholic Courses on Tolkien. The one I am reviewing today is called The Hidden Meaning of the Lord of the Rings - The Theological Vision in Tolkien's Fiction. I will review The Hobbit - Discovering Grace and Providence in Bilbo's Adventure in August.

The first two lectures (Disc One) don't immediately dive into "The Lord of the Rings," but instead discuss the who, what, when, where, and why of Tolkien. I was slightly disappointed at first, because I knew there was a limited number of lectures, and I wanted to dive right into the book discussion. Looking back on it though, it makes sense to discuss the author first. It's hard to completely understand an author's works if you don't understand both the author's point of view and the context within which he was writing. It was also interesting to learn about his involvement in C.S. Lewis' conversion to Christianity; unfortunately, Mr .Lewis didn't choose Catholicism.

Lecture Three was by far my favorite lecture, as Mr. Pearce discusses the meaning of the One Ring. Spoiler Alert: The One Ring symbolizes sin. He also talks about how the One Ring was destroyed on March 25th. This is significant, because this is the Feast of the Annunciation. The day Jesus became human was not the day He was born, but it was the day He was conceived. March 25th is also traditionally given for the day that Jesus died, and that is why Mr. Tolkien chose this date to have the ring destroyed.

Another topic addressed was the Everyman figures of the Hobbits, Gollum, Boromir, and Faramir. In this lecture he shows ways we can see ourselves in these characters. He also criticizes Peter Jackson for completely getting the character of Faramir wrong in the movies. Lecture Six discusses who the Christ-figure is in The Lord of the Rings. My wife and I disagree. She says Gandalf. I say Aragorn. However, we can both be right, because The Lord of the Rings isn't a strict allegory like The Chronicles of Narnia, which only has Aslan as the Christ-figure. I would disagree with Mr. Pearce that Frodo is a type of Christ-figure, though, as he is too flawed. I am especially pleased that Mr. Pearce took the time to address some of the overlooked characters, i.e., Tom Bombadil. He got excluded from the movies, and that was a shame!

This was a well thought out course, and I can't wait to begin The Hobbit - Discovering Grace and Providence in Bilbo's Adventure. Mr. Pearce did a fantastic job of showing just how Catholic The Lord of the Rings actually is. Whether you're a homeschooling parent looking for a way to help your kids understand Tolkien better or a nerd like me who just loves Tolkien and his many works, this is a study for you!