Mom read The Hobbit to us!

I have a special association and feeling for J.R.R. Tolkien's, The Hobbit. My mother read it to Craig, Evan, dad, and me incrementally almost every night before bed, I believe in the summer of 1968, our second summer at the Sun Valley Music Camp. I don't remember the exact summer, but it was probably 1968 because the revised version of the book was published in 1966 (the book was originally published in 1937) and we spent four summers in Sun Valley from 1967 to 1971. (Mom was a guest teacher and performer there. Dad was the chauffeur (mom didn't drive yet!), supportive husband and father, and used the time to compose and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. We were faculty brats and ran around the grounds of Sun Valley during the day playing and getting into mischief!)

This is one of the most enjoyable memories I have of being read to. I was nine years old and I remember being mesmerized and riveted by the story. From the opening sentence and first exchanges between Bilbo and Gandalf ("Good morning!" from Bilbo...and "What do you mean?" from Gandalf.), to the chapter "Riddles in the Dark," to the end sentence, I was captivated. It helped immensely that my mother also had a particular fondness for the book because she read it well. She brought the characters and the narrative to life. She was particularly good with the dialogue.

My favorite chapter is still "Riddles in the Dark." I find it so interesting that the horror Bilbo feels at being alone deep down in mountain, having no idea whether he'll ever see his friends again, and then encountering the erie and slithery Gollum, is offset by the almost humorous game as they exchange riddles to determine whether Bilbo gets eaten by Gollum if Bilbo loses, or whether Gollum shows Bilbo the way out of the mountain if Gollum loses. The ingeniousness of the writing juxtaposes playfulness and extreme horror splendidly. This chapter is of course also the introduction and turning point simultaneously of the entire plot of the one ring of power and how its power affects its bearer over time. As Bilbo discovers, (because Gollum has actually lost the ring and Bilbo finds it quite by accident and puts it in his pocket before he ever meets Gollum), the ring, when worn, gives the power of instant invisibility. Over time, however, the ring, also when worn, slowly decays and decimates its wearer. Gollum has become a vile wretch from wearing it, and now lives in a decrepit dwelling on a small island in the middle of a dark underground lake deep beneath the Misty Mountains. The chapter is brilliant in every way: in narrative, ambience, dialogue, and action.

I reread The Hobbit recently and was pleased to find myself remembering how I felt lying on the couch in our sweet little cottage in Ketchum, Idaho listening to my mom read it aloud. My mother later told me that though she enjoyed reading it to us as much as we enjoyed listening, she always felt a bit of frustration too. Even though we looked forward to it every night, we also almost always fell asleep while she was reading. She never knew quite where to start again the next night since Craig and Evan and I probably all fell asleep at different times! Regardless, I must not have fallen asleep too soon into her reading because I still remember the details of the book and the sound of her voice vividly!!