The hobbit. J.R.R. Tolkien (George Allen & Unwin, 1937). Translation: Xabier Olarra (Igela, 2008).

J.R.R. Tolkien began writing as a story for his children that was the seed of one of the most well-known literary works of the 20th century. This year marks the 75th anniversary of Hobbit's publication for the first time, perhaps it is the children's novel with the largest number of adult readers. This is due, needless to say, to the succession written by Tolkien at the request of the editors. As the Lord of the Rings matured, the story became deeper in Tolkien, and his work finally crossed the borders of literature and became an independent universe, today thousands or millions, which I have not told, which is the alternative residence of furious fans. Or maybe the one I live is the alternative for them.

I had just reread Hobbit (the first time it was at an earlier age) remembering the background of all this mythology, and, of course, I got a little disappointment, although I had already warned me beforehand. In short, Tolkien explains things as children are explained. And here we lack most of the elements that make the Lord of the Rings a great work, in my opinion. I am not going to start now making a list of these elements. To sum up, it is better to repeat what Tolkien himself once said, when he was asked what the main theme of his literary work was: “Death, inevitably.”