The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

I was a bit more excited coming into this book than I should have been; this probably due to finally watching The Fellowship of the Ring movie and really liking it. So I was pretty engrossed in the story at that point. But then I started reading The Two Towers. And it’s no secret that I wasn’t much for Tolkien’s very descriptive way of writing. Personally, it’s a problem of idea and execution. Not to say that Tolkien did not execute the story of the ring well—certainly history speaks volumes that he did—but that I just don’t really get into orcs and wizardry when it comes to reading 300 (and eventually 1000) pages on them. I think it all sounds fascinating, especially considering the fact that Tolkien was so meticulous in his creation of Middle-earth, but I caught myself constantly losing myself in the text. So as much as I want to like these books, I cannot bring myself to; while Jon, on the other hand, stands just two feet away from me, yet on the other side of the fence, saying that though he wasn’t enthused by LOTR, he cannot bring himself to say that he didn’t like them.

But for me, I think it’s the classic breakup excuse of, “It’s not you, it’s me.” Though when most people say this they are usually lying, I think it may be true in my case. I read in an article recently that fantasy, right behind romance, is the second-best selling genre these days. And that fact is hard to ignore in this age when a love-seeking vampire (Twilight), convertible machinery (Transformers), and fledgling wizard (Harry Potter) are main characters in very popular books and box office rockers. But what book has done more for its genre than LOTR has done for fantasy? I may not be qualified to make that claim but it seems that the answer would be no other book. Naturally, LOTR is the best place to crack that genre and I have found that it is not for me. I think I have found my niche in literary fiction.

But what is there to say specifically about The Two Towers? For starters, I missed the not so polite banter between Gimli and Legolas that was in The Fellowship. In this book they are much closer and more like brothers then enemies. Also, Gandalf confirmed himself as the biggest A-hole wizard in both Middle-earth and our own earth (though no wizards I know). His quick temper actually kinda pissed me off in some parts, I’m not gonna lie.

I watched the movie a few days ago for the first time and really liked it. I think it smartly condensed the history to simply the bare necessities and was easier to follow. It omitted some parts but on the whole was a fairly faithful adaptation. One very noteworthy omission, though (and I’m curious if anybody else caught this), was the end because in the book, Frodo and Sam are lead by Gollum into the spider’s cave where stuff happens and Sam falsely thinks Frodo is dead. Frodo’s body is picked up by orcs and Sam uses the ring to escape them. This, I thought was a good cliffhanger to lure the reader into the third part but it was left out of the movie so I guess it will be shown in the next. Anyway, I thought the dialogue in the movie was absolutely brilliant. All in all, the movies so far have really pulled me in while the books have loosed me.

In conclusion, I am content to deduce my problem with this book simply as one of a lack of interest on my part, but, to be sure, the minute details Tolkien insists the reader know don’t help much. Though his imagination, I can’t help but admire.