Corey Olsen

Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's the Hobbit
Corey Olsen
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Corey Olsen has made me aware of how very much I had underestimated The Hobbit. Bear in mind I have always loved the book but I had thought of it more as a children's fairy tale, that sat a bit apart from Tolkien's middle earth. Of particular interest for me was the attention given to the poems and songs, how they illustrate character development, the prophetic nature of many of them, and how they show the differences show more between the races of Middle-Earth.

Olsen goes through The Hobbit chapter by chapter showing how Bilbo's warring Took and Baggins nature become reconciled and balanced by the end of the book. How he goes from falling haphazardly into adventure to actively shaping the adventure instead. He also gives great insight into Beorn, Bard, the Elvenking and the overcoming of dragon-sickness.

One of my favourite chapters has always been the riddle game and Olsen's work on this chapter is wonderful. He examines each riddle in detail and what each one says about Gollum and Bilbo.
All in all highly recommended for any fan of The Hobbit. show less

This isn't a scholarly analysis of The Hobbit. It's a lively, intelligent talk about it.

Corey Olsen (like me) has loved The Hobbit from early childhood, and has reread it frequently since that first long ago adventure. He's able to make at least part of his living talking about his favorite writer -- he has his PhD in medieval English literature and teaches courses on Chaucer, Arthurian literature, and, yes, Tolkien. He points out something that makes this very different from his other show more classes: "No one had ever come up to me after class to show me the ragged and dearly loved copy of Chrétien de Troyes' Arthurian romances that her parents had first read to her when she was seven."

I have the feeling that all of Olsen's students are very lucky, indeed. And readers can now enjoy the insight and fresh ideas he's gained from enthusiastic rereading of the same loved text.

If you love The Hobbit but tend to skim the poems, Olsen will convince you that you're missing out. If you enjoy the story for its own sake, Olsen will show you the lessons it can teach about human (and hobbit) nature. And if you've read The Hobbit often enough that you think it can't hold any surprises for you -- well, you should definitely read Olsen's book. show less

I first read The Hobbit about 30 years ago as a teenager and loved it! I loved the charming way the story begins, the beautiful world it describes, and especially the humor. I soon after also read The Lord of the Rings, but The Hobbit was always my favorite. (I later gained a greater appreciation for how truly amazing LOTR is when I re-read it as an adult, but I've still never been able to get very far into The Silmarillion.) And with the movie coming out this fall, I was very excited to see show more this book.

Corey Olsen goes through The Hobbit chapter by chapter and points out the prevailing themes, such as Bilbo's differing natures (Baggins vs. Took) and how he grows through his choices. He also discusses the role luck plays in the story and explains those songs that I always thought were a little strange (now they make a lot more sense). And he takes it from the perspective of the story as it was *before* LOTR was written, before the ring became The Ring. He doesn't bring in any peripheral information from Tolkien's life or his motivations for writing the story (except that it was a children's tale), but does discuss the minor changes he made in preparation for the LOTR books. (Did you know Gollum originally waved a cheerful goodbye from the cave back in 1937? I didn't.)

Unlike some reviewers, I've only re-read The Hobbit a couple of times and it's been a few years since the last time. So I found this book to be a fun reminder of the story I love. Ideally, you could read the two together for a greater insight, but I remembered most of it well enough and I felt transported back to the first time I read the book. If you're reading The Hobbit for the first time, however, you should be aware that there are a few minor "spoilers" where Olsen anticipates some events at the end of the story. But I found Olsen's conclusions and conjectures to be very plausible, and his style to be very pleasing to read. I can enthusiastically recommend this book and I'll be looking to listen to the author's podcasts. show less

I first read The Hobbit about 30 years ago as a teenager and loved it! I loved the charming way the story begins, the beautiful world it describes, and especially the humor. I soon after also read The Lord of the Rings, but The Hobbit was always my favorite. (I later gained a greater appreciation for how truly amazing LOTR is when I re-read it as an adult, but I've still never been able to get very far into The Silmarillion.) And with the movie coming out this fall, I was very excited to see show more this book.

Corey Olsen goes through The Hobbit chapter by chapter and points out the prevailing themes, such as Bilbo's differing natures (Baggins vs. Took) and how he grows through his choices. He also discusses the role luck plays in the story and explains those songs that I always thought were a little strange (now they make a lot more sense). And he takes it from the perspective of the story as it was *before* LOTR was written, before the ring became The Ring. He doesn't bring in any peripheral information from Tolkien's life or his motivations for writing the story (except that it was a children's tale), but does discuss the minor changes he made in preparation for the LOTR books. (Did you know Gollum originally waved a cheerful goodbye from the cave back in 1937? I didn't.)

Unlike some reviewers, I've only re-read The Hobbit a couple of times and it's been a few years since the last time. So I found this book to be a fun reminder of the story I love. Ideally, you could read the two together for a greater insight, but I remembered most of it well enough and I felt transported back to the first time I read the book. If you're reading The Hobbit for the first time, however, you should be aware that there are a few minor "spoilers" where Olsen anticipates some events at the end of the story. But I found Olsen's conclusions and conjectures to be very plausible, and his style to be very pleasing to read. I can enthusiastically recommend this book and I'll be looking to listen to the author's podcasts. show less