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The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction of the year (1938). Also, The Hobbit has been recognized as “Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)” in the Children’s Books of the Century poll in Books for Keeps.

I should probably have read this book before reading Lord of the Rings since quite a few characters in the epic tale have been introduced in The Hobbit: most notably the titular protagonist Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the wizard, Gollum aka Smeagol. Also noteworthy is a side character Gloin, who is said to be the father of Gimli- Elf Friend (Fellowship of the Rings). Two other noteworthy characters are the dwarves Balin and Ori. Recall that the Fellowship of the Rings discovers Balin’s tomb in Mazarbul in the Mines of Moria and the Book of Mazarbul written by Ori. The story also accounts how Bilbo Baggins gains the possession of the One Ring. The ring, along with the character of Gollum, sets the tone for the much known sequel.

The tale is based around a typical comfort loving, homely hobbit Bilbo Baggins who finds himself on an adventure with thirteen dwarves also accompanied by Gandalf, an itinerant wizard who disappears in the middle of the story later to reappear at key moments (typical Gandalf). Gandalf is out on his own business but incidentally assisting the dwarves on their quest. The team of the thirteen dwarves and the “burglar” Bilbo have set out to reclaim an ancient treasure of Thror the Dwarf King under the mountain which is now guarded by a ferrocious dragon Smaug. Their journey takes them over strange and dangerous lands which lands them into mortal peril more than once. The story is in the form of an episodic quest and the prose is interspersed with poetry and songs that are typical to Tolkien’s works.

The publishers of the Hobbit requested for a sequel which eventally resulted in the epic Lord of the Rings. Tolkien rewrote some of the parts of the Hobbit in order to facilitate a smooth transition into the darker themes of the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a story for children, and The Lord of the Rings for the same audience who had subsequently grown up since its publication. The Lord of the Rings was written in less humorous tones deals with more philosophical and darker themes: while the Hobbit has its share of death and danger, it is about the quest for a lost treasure. Even though many of the encounters are dangerous or threatening, the general tone is light-hearted. On the other hand, LOTR is about the war between good and evil: it is the war for middle earth. One can scarcely underestimate the gravity of that situation.

All said, I am quite amazed at the detailed work of Tolkien who has gone to extraordinary lengths to bring his fictional world to life. Middle Earth has a very well documented history: wars and legends, legacies left by kings, generations and genealogies, maps, ancient lands, wild characters, magical objects, runes, languages, lores, music, poetry; and all this changing through the times as characters change and their places are taken up by new generations. The chronology almost reads like a history textbook.

A live-action film version was announced on 18 December 2007, to be co-produced by MGM and New Line Cinema, and produced by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. A date of 2011 has been proposed for its release.

 Far over misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold.

I was told to be wary before picking up a Rushdie book because Rushdie’s works are normally considered very heavy, with challenging prose and long sentences. My friends told me to read one only if I was okay with spending a lot of time with the book. I remembered seeing Rushdie’s interview on television several weeks ago when he spoke of his latest novel. He was talking about Jodha being an imaginary character in Mughal history. At that time I did understand the relevance of his statements. I thought it was probably because of the ongoing controversy about Jodhaa-Akbar: the movie.

Half of the story is based in the time of “Akbar the Greatest”, in the city of victory – Sikri, while the other half is based in Renaissance Florence – the time of Niccolo Machiavelli. The story is about a lost Mughal princess: an enchantress who is the common thread between these different worlds. Magic and enchantments have a special place in this story and they have been treated very differently from other books based on magic. This is not fantasy fiction. It is historical fiction; in spite of the heavy concentration of enchantments throughout the story. The characters we meet include the Navratnas in akbar’s court: Abul Fazl, Birbal, Tansen and the others. Then there is Salim, Badauni and the like.

The character of Queen Jodha is particularly enigmatic because of the magical character ascribed to her. Rushdie does not explain Jodha’s character; he leaves it to the reader’s imagination. She could either be a product of collective schizophrenia at the insistence of the Emperor’s will; or as a product of the amazing creative powers of the Emperor: The Shelter of the World, the Invincible.

Truly, the character of Akbar is grand. I always admired Akbar as a great king; the grand unifier of Hindoostan, but never before had I imagined his character as he has been shown in this book. From Rushdie’s descriptions, you can truly feel the awesome power vested in this man. He is the omnipotent emperor: the man who has the power to do absolutely anything in the world. He can conquer the world; He can bring the perfect woman of his dreams to life from a mere fantasy.

In the other part of the world we have Nicollo Machiavelli and his two friends growing up as young boys in Florence. There are glimpses of Girolamo Savonarola’s weepers, whose doctrines are put to end in a blazing fire quite like the “bonfire of vanities”, practised by him and his followers. Only in this case it was Savonarola and his followers who were roasted in the fire. The story traces the fall of the Medici, the creation of the republic, the return of the Medici, the troubled times of Europe, Popes indulging in warmongering etc.

Rushdie’s command over the English language is staggering. The prose is convoluted at times, which is quite a characteristic of his writing, but this is certainly not at the expense of readability. Although I took a little more time on this book than others of the same length, I did not quite realize it till I finished the book and sat down to write a review.

A celebration of creative writing. Recommended reading.

The Scarlet Pimpernel: Baroness Emmuska Orczy

This is an adventure novel set in the reign of terror that followed the French Revolution. The novel is based in the year 1792: the year of grace when French aristocrats are being slaughtered at the gullotine in the name of liberté égalité fraternité.

A league of brave englishmen led by an elusive and heroic leader – The Scarlet Pimpernel, travel in disguise to France, plot a series of daring rescues to save their condemned fellow Frenchmen from daily executions. The identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel is a closely guarded secret and is unknown even to those people whom he rescues. The league, and especially their leader gain legendary status in the elite English society and equal amount of notoriety amongst the French revolutionists.

The book is based around one such rescue plot and is cleverly woven as a cat and mouse chase between the plotters and the French authorities. There is a nice love story which has been interwoven into the fabric of the story without making it seem too obtrusive or distracting. The love story adds to the plot without making it maudlin. The novel is very typically British in terms of the characters and the environs: beautiful women, gallant men, curtsies, bows, formal parties, fashion, high society et. al.

An enjoyable suspense novel although quite predictable at times. Recommended reading.

Black Friday – Hussain Zaidi

A meticulously researched book based on the Bombay serial blasts of 1992. I had not watched the movie, so was not well versed with the plot. The first few pages that described the actual blasts really scared me. Real good work done by the author who collated all the information from thousands of pages of CBI dossiers, courtroom accounts, interviews with real people etc. Since the blasts were a contemporary event during our lifetime, I found this to be an important book with respect to the history of the city. A chilling account of how a set of gangsters (and not terrorists) could mastermind and execute the sinister plot that killed and maimed scores of innocent people.

This is probably the most controversial case in the history of Indian law enforcement, and hence I don’t think we can take every plot in the book at face value; but the book does give a pretty decent picture of the overall framework of the planning for the blast, the execution, the investigation, the court verdicts, and some related events like the Sanjay Dutt case, a couple of gang-wars etc. worth a one time read.

Here are a few words about a couple of books I read in the past several weeks:

Interpreter of Maladies: Jhumpa Lahiri

This a collection of 9 short stories. If there is one connecting emotion between all the stories, then it is nostalgia. Most stories are about Indian Americans who are caught between their native culture that is their own, and the new world they live in. These stories reminded me of the quaint short stores book I studied for my ICSE. All stories have an emotional appeal, and I never thought I would like stories such as these where there is no conceivable end to most, but the quality of story-telling is of the highest order. And oh boy, the descriptions of food in the stories are so good that you are moved to the point of hunger.

Animal Farm: George Orwell

Another one of those overhyped acclaimed literary classics.Was ranked 31 in the TIME magazine’s list of 100 best novels since 1923. Was okay…….one time read maybe for the sake of it…….or maybe I was not able to truly appreciate the depth of satire in the book. Said to resemble the Russian revolution and thereafter the rise of Stalin……this book is based on how the animals in a farm overthrow their owner and take over the farm.

The Namesake: Jhumpa Lahiri

I was really put of by Indian authors till I came across Lahiri. I really love the style of her writing. This is her first complete novel which is based on the life of an Indian born and brought up in the US. The story is based on events in Calcutta, Boston and New York, revolving around the lives of people caught between two different cultures.

Even though there is no proper ending to the story (which is somewhat a characteristic of most of her work till now), the book is an entertaining read till the very last page. Her narrative style is pure brilliance, and once again, her knowledge of the culinary arts is astounding. The descriptions of food are so amazing that I do not recommend you to read this on an empty stomach

All in all, a good work of fiction. Recommended reading, if only for the sake of a stellar demonstration of creative writing.

I thought I might mention some of the books I have read that I could recommend to others who read fiction. Maybe you, the reader could recommend me some of the good books you’ve read? So feel free to post comments. Today I write about two of the greatest books I have read.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Harper Lee

Pulitzer Prize winner published in 1960. One of those very few books I’ve read whom I could actually call “English Literature” and “novel” at the same time. Written in the first person, this book shows the world from the perspective of a small girl – Jean Lousie “Scout” Finch, and as a grown woman reflecting on her childhood. The author has acknowledged that this character is loosely based on her own childhood. After I read this book, I learned that this novel is widely taught in schools in english speaking countries; and I was surprised at the same time because I never thought I would like a book that was actually taught as literary text. This entertaining and extremely well written novel is tied to the themes of tolerance and prejudice. The character of Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father is one of the most enduring fictional images of integrity. Atticus is certainly one of my heroes in the literary world.

Catch 22: Joseph Heller

Resulting from its specific use in the book, the phrase “Catch-22″ became a term of common usage in the English language meaning a “no win situation”. When I picked up this book, all I knew about the book was that it was based on humor. As I finished the book, I realized that it is also a general critique of bureaucracy and human reasoning.

The writing style of the book was unlike anything I had read before. The prose is circular and paradoxical, something you get used to soon. Normally one would think that such a kind of writing won’t be funny, but the author’s majestic control over the language and the words he chooses makes it a real winner. A lot of the events in the book have been repeatedly described from different points of view at different times; and the description is as if the reader already knows about them. So, with each iteration, we learn a little more about the story.

The way the characters have been developed (and a lot of them), is simply majestic. I think each character represents one facet of human nature. Yossarian, the protagonist of the story is one of my favourites in the literary world.