Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed reading the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy! It's one of those classics where you can just keep on reading on and on and you don't want to finish. Yes, this book just captivated me with the adventure, suspense, excitement, and humor.<P>"The Fellowship of the Rings" is the first book of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Hobbit Frodo Baggins, the nephew of the famous Bilbo Baggins (read J.R.R. Tolkiens prelude to the trilogy, "The Hobbit") is visited by the wizard Gandalf. When Bilbo had left years ago he had left his magical and mystical Ring which he had taken from Gollum in his earlier adventures to Frodo. From Gandalf Frodo learns that this Ring is actually the Ring of Power from the Elven lore:<P>One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,<BR>One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them<P>Lost for centures, if this ring should fall back into the hands of the evil Sauron, he would be enabled to destory everything which is good in Middle-earth, bringing the land into darkness. Frodo and his hobbit friends Sam, Pippin, and Merry travel to the Rivendell to seek counsel from the Elf Elrond on what to do with the ring. There he finds out that he must destroy the Ring and to do that, must cast it into Mount Doom, located at the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom. Thus the Fellowship is created to help Frodo in his journey. The Fellowship consists of Frodo, Gandalf, Sam, Pippin, Merry, Aragorn the Ranger who is not what he seems, Legolas of the Elves of Mirkwood, Boromir a man of Gondor, and Gimli the dwarf from the Lonely Mountains. Together the nine set out for Mount Doom. But the way is treacherous and the dark, evil Ringwraiths are searching for them.<P>But the story doesn't end here. If you have never read the books and you want to try it out, I suggest that you get all three books, not just the first one because this. If you like it, I assure you that you will be in agony at the end to find out what happens. The books are very addictive and it's very hard to stop at just "The Fellowship of the Rings". Have "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" on hand.<P>My favorite character has got to be the Elf, Legolas. Elves have always fascinated me, for their mysterious, quiet, and almost immortal ways. I love it also how Legolas and Gimli the Dwarf in this book are sort of unfriendly towards each other since Elves and Dwarves usually do not get along. But towards the end of this book and the rest of the trilogy, they're the greatest of friends and inseparable.<P>Another good character is Pippin the hobbit with his bright and cheerful ways. One of the youngest of the group of hobbits, he is always in a positive mood but somehow manages to get in trouble often.<P>All of the books in the trilogy are must reads. Also the prelude to the trilogy, "The Hobbit", should also be read to understand the events which had happened before the "Lord of the Rings". Though it is written mostly for adults, I'm sure teenagers wil also love it, though younger kids might not be able to understand it. Enjoy, this book will have you fascinated and keep you in total suspense!

　言わずと知れたファンタジ－の原点『The LORD of the RINGS』の第1部です。上巻はハードカバー、下巻は文庫本で読みましたが、文庫本は軽い点が魅力です。ただし、ハードカバー版には「訳者あとがき」が収録されており、トールキンと訳者・瀬田氏の面談やトールキンの経歴の一端を窺い知ることができます（これが第1巻の上だから収録されたのか、ハードカバー版の全巻に収録されているのかは未確認）これが存外に興味深い内容なので、訳者コメントの有無を調べてからハードか文庫かの決定をされた方がいいのではないでしょうか。<P>　さて、あとがきによれば「トールキンはこの作品に比喩の影をさぐることを許していません。したがってこれが第二次大戦下に書かれ、その体験が投影されていようとも、直接の反戦を訴えたものではないのです。ですから意図的に指輪は原爆を指示してはいないと思われます。（P. 402 -403）」とあります。確か、『新版　指輪物語　第3部　王の帰還』には指輪は「機械」の比喩との指摘があったと記憶しています。この「指輪→機械」の比喩が著者と訳者のいずれかの言かは定かではありませんが、著作が著者の体験や知識、世界観に何らかのかたちで影響を受けている以上、本作品にはトールキンの経験した第二次大戦や原爆や精密機械の影響も読み取れるかもしれません。しかし、それはトールキンの手を離れた事柄で、本人の名言がない以上、読み手の解釈の域を出ないと言わざるを得ません。<P>　訳者の瀬田氏と田中女史の苦労は随所に見られます。アラゴルンの通名「ストライダー」を「馳夫」としたところは大受けでした。原典も古風な英語で書かれているのでしょう、美しい日本語訳です。ガンダルフの言葉に「滄海桑田」が登場するなど雰囲気を損なわない出来栄えと感動しました。映画では省略された場面も多いので、第1部で約800ページあるものの一読をお勧めします。