Hobbit2 - Chapter 01 - An Unexpected Party

[Boromir88]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Wrong start? Oh well, you all know the first sentence - carry on!

Haha, and you know, I think The Hobbit is the only book that I could recite the first sentence from memory. Well there's that, and Moby Dick's "Call me Ismael." But that is not nearly as a captivating first sentence as "In the hole, in the ground, there lived a hobbit."

Apologies that this will just seem like a summary of the first chapter, but I'm not sure how to explain it other than "An Unexpected Party" made me feel good, and welcoming. It felt like a long-lost tale and Tolkien, removed from the story, was the story-teller reading it to me. It starts out light and funny, as Bilbo frets over having enough food for all of the unexpected visitors who keep showing. Then there is a mood switch when the dwarves tell the tale of Smaug's coming and their home being sacked. We're left with a frightened Bilbo, full of tales about dragons and uknown adventures, but still having some "Tookish" quality that makes the thrill of adventure lying dormant within Bilbo. It's really a beautiful chapter.