Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Normally I don’t give in to peer pressure but when it comes to books, I love to hear the must-reads on my friends’ lists. One of the books that took me a while to get to was The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Determined to read The Lord of the Rings series before the movie came out, I sat down and had to suffer through the detailed descriptions of middle earth before I finally came to appreciate the depth of the story being shared. I was amazed by this world that Tolkien created. It was evident that the story was his genius brainchild. When the movies came out, my husband and I saw every one with my brother- and sister-in-law. It’s a fun memory and I’m glad that I got to experience the books before watching the movies.

When I had the opportunity to review The Spiritual World of the Hobbit by James Stuart Bell I was taken aback. Being so focused on the descriptive nature of the book, I had completely missed the Christian themes in this novel.
I knew that Tolkien had influenced C. S. Lewis back in the day, but really never thought about the way he might have incorporated Biblical meaning into his book. It’s easy to pick out the good-versus-evil theme but what other spiritual elements are in those words? Bell’s book really serves as a good guide to the details one might miss. It’s not really a devotional at all. Instead, it’s kind of a “betcha didn’t catch this” version of a book study. This would be an excellent book to use as a Wednesday night series at church, or maybe even a Sunday School series.  The writing is somewhat academic and can get a bit dreary, so don’t expect to read this all in one sitting.  The enthusiasm that Bell has for Tolkien is not really contagious, but it is very evident in his writing.  I really did enjoy reading this book in bits and pieces.  It was more of the “Huh, I didn’t realize that” or “Yeah, that makes sense” kind of enjoyment.   The book reaches beyond the Gandalf-fighting-Orcs kind of world and reads between the lines.  It’s a cool concept and I’m glad I got to experience it.

If you’ve got a Tolkien fan in your home, you’ll want to provide this book with a copy of The Hobbit. It’s an important companion to the Christian elf fan.