THE TWO TOWERS by J.R.R. Tolkien
“The gate was shut. Sam hurled himself against the bolted brazen plates and fell senseless to the ground. He was out in the darkness. Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy.”
So ends The Two Towers. It’s a great ending for the middle book of a trilogy, and the suspense is heightened by the fact that The Return of the King doesn’t pick up Frodo and Sam’s thread of the story for nearly 200 pages, dealing instead with the opening of war between Mordor and the Free Peoples of the West.
I really like the way Tolkien structured this novel (or these two sections of his novel which is usually published as three volumes - however you want to think of it). Book III deals with (basically) everyone who’s not Sam, Frodo, or Gollum; it is largely concerned with Gandalf’s ’setting the pieces’ for the coming war. Book IV follows Frodo, Sam, and Gollum from the Emyn Muil to the pass of Cirith Ungol, where Gollum finally betrays Frodo in an attempt to regain the Ring.
I had never before paid attention to Tolkien’s prose style, and I think I was a little worried that it would be a bit overblown, with excessive descriptive passages and painful similes. I have been pleasantly surprised; Tolkien’s prose is well-constructed and fluid, and a pleasure to read.
I was struck by how little violence occurs “on-screen” in this book; Boromir’s last stand, the routing of Saruman’s Orcs by the Rohirrim, the routing of the Southrons by Faramir’s band, and the destruction of Isengard all occur while our attention is elsewhere, and what we learn of them is second-hand, when characters who were present for the events recount them to others later. Even the battle at Helm’s Deep, though occuring in the narrative present, is light on descriptions of the actual fighting, and most of the great host of Orcs is destroyed by the Huorns, who arrive and depart under the cover of night. The most violent scene in the whole book is Sam’s fights with Gollum and Shelob on the pass of Cirith Ungol (the fights occur separately but consecutively, which is why I’m considering them one scene).
I don’t know why Tolkien chose to do it that way; I don’t think it’s because he lacked the skill to convincingly write a battle scene, but I suppose that’s a possibility. Maybe his experiences in WWI were a factor, but maybe not. The Return of the King covers the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, which is hugely important, as well as the desperate assualt on the Black Gate; I’m interested to see how he handles those battles.
Lastly, I’d like to say that, while Peter Jackson’s films are fun to watch, I am totally baffled by some of the changes he made in his adaptation of this book, especially the detour of Sam and Frodo to Osgiliath with Faramir. That annoys me more than the elves at Helm’s Deep.