Just Finished Reading: The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy - One Book to Rule Them All edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson (FP: 2003)

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Tolkien’s classic trilogy is a deeply philosophical text – or at least can be treated as such. Likewise it shouldn’t come as any surprise at all that such a book would interest me. As usual with such things the editors and publishers of this work – and the series of which it forms a part – have picked a wide variety of philosophers and cultural experts to tease out the themes represented in the books and films that make up the trilogy. Split into five parts this slim volume (at 218 pages) covers power and responsibility represented by the one true ring as well as the threat of emerging technologies (Part I), the quest for a happy life with a brief excursion into Existentialism (Part II), the nature of Good and Evil in Middle Earth (Part III), the idea of death as a gift, the importance of tradition and the books environmental themes (Part IV) and finally the idea of Providence, Buddhist and Taoist themes in the books, the Journey motif and the concept of the books as an extended fairy tale (Part V).

Overall this was a very interesting and thought provoking work. Often in books such as this there are stand-out contributions and those which can happily be skipped over or lightly skimmed. This volume was one of those rare examples where every section had its nuggets of gold and every article had something, and often multiple something’s, of interest. Of course you really shouldn’t pick up this book without having at least a passing knowledge of the books or movies – and preferably both. The works are heavily referenced and the uninitiated could quite easily get lost (or bored) by being bombarded by details that go over their heads. Several authors reference other Tolkien works (one of which, The Silmarillion, I have never read) but in such a way that your understanding is increased rather than clouded over. If you’ve read the books or watched the films with the excitement and wonder that I did you’ll have no problems when authors delve into the background of some scenes and go all fan-boy on the themes involved in Middle-Earth. The authors are, at least as far as I could tell, both knowledgeable and interested in the world Tolkien created. They have sometimes thought very deeply about the implications of his work (maybe too deeply on occasion!) and present their thoughts here with real enthusiasm. More than once I found myself smiling at a comment, laughing out loud at an observation or nodding sagely in agreement with a point of view. I also found myself more than once with a raised eyebrow and a ‘so that’s what that meant’ feeling as topics within the books where discussed and dissected in detail. If you are in any way a fan of this series – and I know that some of my regulars are – then this really should be on your bookshelf or downloaded to your Kindle. Impressive and recommended.