"Farmer Giles Of Ham" by J. R. R. Tolkien || Book Review

This is a book I read back in the summer, but for a reason I cannot fathom I completely forgot to write a review about it. I only just realized this and decided to write a review now, on the last day of the year, even if it's been quite some time since I read it. So here's my last post of 2023 and my last book review of the year...

This was not my first contact with Tolkien's work. I have tried reading some of his books in the past and while admittedly he's a masterful author and his works deserve credit and admiration, there's no doubt about their worth, I still couldn't quite get into them. Sometimes I thought they were boring, or weird, or I simply couldn't "dive" into the story, so his books I'd tried so far, while amazing in their own right, simply were not my cup of tea.

So, when I picked up this book I was reluctant, to say the least. When I finally started reading, I quite liked it and it sucked me in quickly. I bought myself flipping the pages and only pausing when my son - whom I was reading it with - couldn't follow, and by the end, I was so unexpectedly and pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!

"Farmer Giles of Ham" is something completely different compared to Tolkien's other works (the ones I'm familiar with, at least). It's a particularly unique and well-written novella. It's a fun little tale aimed at younger and older audiences alike, which stars knights, dragons, giants, and other magical creatures. Don't expect epic battles and endless action, but an enjoyable, entertaining, light-hearted adventure with a fairy tale atmosphere, as well as a subtle sense of humor.

Giles is far from your typical hero/protagonist and while he's brave, he's also smart and cunning. He has an interesting way of dealing with his problems. Instead of taking the predictable direction of immediate action and bloody fighting, he tries to use more careful and smart approaches that border between genius and hilarious. This in itself leaves the tale going in unexpected directions which, in my opinion, is the main clue that makes his character memorable and worth reading.

The story, while short, is still rich in content. It's fast-paced, reads very easily and the ending is satisfying, fun, and pays off. There's a unique atmosphere and worldbuilding, which I couldn't tell you if it's part of some wider Tolkien universe - I suspect it might be - because I don't know for sure but I can tell it stands very well on its own in this story.

My favorite character was Garm the dog who I found hilarious and I loved every scene he was in.

Long story short, I really enjoyed this book, and I rated it 4/5*. Out of the books I read in 2023, this was the one that positively surprised me the most and left me with unexpectedly good impressions.