The Holidays: Fiction

Perhaps the reason why I was inactive during the holidays was because of the fiction that I'd engaged in, leaving me no or few reason to leave the comfort of my bedroom.

In time for The Hobbit, I decided to take on Tolkien's legendarium and reignite my childhood love for Lord of the Rings by reading all three books and watching the epic trilogy in all of its four hour per extended edition glory. It had been years since I last sat down to watch the trilogy... and even so, I got chased off midway through for asking too many questions. Knowing the scale of this world that I was going to try and understand, I tore down whatever misconceptions I had as a child and took the journey, armed with a pencil and a paper to design a character map.

The most fascinating thing about Tolkien is that he crafted Middle-Earth based on myths and legends that he had studied closely, and built up this crazy legendarium. It felt like I was reading a history book from the amount of facts, or fiction, I had to take in. If you're planning to give the books a shot then you ought to take notes about important history, and names and aliases, but only for the most part of book one (that being fellowship of the ring, part one) because by then you'd be too absorbed to bother. Don't be afraid to google anything either because's it's a quick and easy way to find your way around.

Another good thing about watching the movies as a wee lil kid was that I could recall the story I fell in love with, but not enough to ruin my appetite to read. The result was that I had pit stops along the plot to guide me through or to look forward to, like the meeting of the hobbits, or the forming of the fellowship. It made length of the book so much more bearable.

I've been asked about the length because it can seem intimidating, and yes, there is plenty of description of the various sights in Middle-Earth. Even if it turns you off, it didn't dull the sparkle of the action for me. Though sometimes tedious to read, the descriptions definitely made the experience more vivid as they served plenty for setting and mood.

For a more complete experience, reading the Appendix is a must. Perhaps that was way it made me feel like I was reading non-fiction, because at the end of book six, you have the history of all the Kings and Stewards, timeline of the three ages, family maps of the dwarves and the three companion hobbits, guide to ancient Elvish and an index of people, things, places and verses in the book. All are extremely interesting to read about and you can count on wanting a pass into Tolkien's mind.

As for feels, I can assure buckets full of tears. I don't have enough time in the world to cry about the Ents, Faramir and Sam and Frodo's friendship. The relationships between the fellowship made my heart ache and leap as if I were stabbed by a Nazgul and then healed by singing elves. I would warn against my spoilers below, but I don't think there's anything that can be spoilt given the books were first published sixty years ago (if I may reference Aidan Turner). If you're skipping the spoilers anyway then scroll until you see the next "***" after the one immediately below.

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I have no idea how I (or Eowyn, for that matter) was able to go from spirited warrior to blushing teenage girl in a matter of seconds, even as the dark lord Sauron threatened to dominate all kinds in Middle Earth. My favourite relationship ever would be a close tie between Sam and Frodo, and Eowyn and Faramir. The latter was definitely an unexpected treat for me, and in less than five pages I sailed this ship to the undying lands and lived in my tears forever. MY TWO FAVOURITE CHARACTERS GOT TOGETHER MY SHIP IS CANON. I love them both to bits, especially for all that they had gone through...

...Which explains why I was disappointed with one aspect of the movie. The movies pinned the entire hope of mankind on to Aragorn (I get it. Estel.), which, as much as I adore him, was just a bit unfair to the other "hopes" as portrayed in the book. Of course, for drama's sake, Movie!King Theoden had to give Aragorn a hard time. I can forgive that because the damage done was not as bad. But Faramir was way more honourable than was shown. He didn't bring Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath as hostage from Henneth Annun and he didn't take the ring when it was freely given to him, much less wished to bring the ring to his excuse of a father. As human as his desire was to please his father, that was just not part of his character. It was precisely because he did what he thought was right instead of what was expected of him that he incurred his father's wrath.

Though in the movie he repented when confronted by Sam, I still felt it was insufficient to show that there was at least one character still worthy enough to stand on his own two feet alongside Aragorn. Long story short, I got upset because my favourite warriors like Eomer and Faramir didn't get as much credit as I would have liked. Cue bitter fangirl tears.

That said, it was made up for when Peter Jackson gave Arwen more screen time. The only reason why Arwen/Aragorn was not as outstanding as the Eowyn/Faramir was because on paper, there was way too little on Arwen/Aragorn's relationship and Elrond's feelings towards it. That part was largely disappointing because I expected to learn so much more about Arwen, but my impression of her was just as how Elrond wanted her to be, sacred, untouchable by human emotion. In the book, their relationship is better explained in Aragorn and Arwen's Tale in Appendix A. I loved how the elves were brought forth by Haldir and Elrond in the movie though. Well, I just love the flawless elves.

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And on that note, I have to profess my love for Legolas again, not just because Orlando Bloom looks perfect with his flowing blond hair and Galadhrim Bow, but because he is so funny in the book, despite always being painfully obvious on screen. Gimli and Legolas' friendship was downplayed in the movies but it made me love Aragorn and Legolas' relationship as well. I have to admit that Legolas' role was mesmerising in that "let's have him not active enough with lines, but very active with his tricks and fighting such that all the fangirls can drop dead but wait don't give him too much screen time, just enough to whet their appetites and make them cry" way. They completely nailed that image for me. I can't wait to see him again in The Hobbit.

As a whole, I'm really glad that I read all three books, but it did cause me to be critical of the movies as I watched it, so I would definitely recommend the movies before the books for a little foundation and more pleasure. The trilogy has to be devoured on screen and on paper because they make each other soooo good. After that, you can reward yourself like I did, by spending about twenty hours playing Lego Lord of the Rings, and watching interviews and the-making-of-s to love everyone even more! Yay!

I can't wait to feel ready to read The Hobbit, and for the movies to come out!! I heard some friends came out of the cinema completely clueless and whining about it but I laughed because I am a dwarf. Or elf. Or hobbit. I just laughed because I didn't know what to expect either.

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Anyway, I also caught Rise of the Guardians with Meaghan! There was no way I was going to miss out on having yet another crush on a fictional character with a story aka Jack Frost so it was a must-watch for me :D

Les Miserables ugh. That was such an experience. It was a little odd to be watching something so theatrical and depressing on the big screen while sipping on coke in a cinema of laughing people. Well, for the most part, they were sobbing pretty badly until Valjean read Marius' letter and then they laughed. I always get stuck with a laughing audience! I don't even know what's so funny! Don't bother holding back tears. You will cry. Eventually. The last straw that broke my back was Marius singing Empty Chairs and Empty Tables. I don't mean to say I was staring at Eddie Redmayne's cute freckled face when I say the look of pain on his face was torturously upsetting as the lyrics of the song.

To throw the icing on the cake, I met up with Lidiya and we watched An Education and The Vow together in school. The latter was much needed chick flick pain because, you know, my holiday was not altogether filled with tears.

The word movie sounds really weird now.