Dreadful Chapters

[Valandil]

And not that they’re BAD! Just difficult for me to get through.

The first three chapters of Book 6. Frodo and Sam in Mordor. Especially chapters 2 and 3. The Land of Shadow, and Mount Doom.

They just seem SO LONG! It’s like they go on forever. I mean - they take up most of Book 6, right?

Well, they’ve always seemed that way to me. But going through this time, I checked - and chapters 2 and 3 together only take up about 30 pages in my book. THIRTY PAGES! Why does it feel so much longer than that?

Does anyone else feel that way too? I wonder why it is.

Once I saw how much (little) it really was, I started to power through. Only 7 pages to go, but I accidentally left the book home today.

Anyone else have the same problem with these chapters? Or with another chunk of chapters in LOTR?

 

[Starbrow]

I very much agree with you. The journey through Emyn Muil to the Black Gate takes forever. Maybe Tolkien wanted us to feel the frustration of Sam and Frodo of not being able to get to where they really don't want to go. Their trek through Mordor is also not one of my favorite parts.

 

[Eljorahir]

The Land of Shadow, and Mount Doom.

I find there's a sort of drudgery (maybe not the perfect word though) to reading these chapters. And, this drudgery for the reader parallels what's going on in the story for Frodo and Sam.

I think it makes the coming payoff that much more impactful.

 

[Vardarianna]

I remember the first time I read Lord of the Rings, I kind of bogged down in the early chapters of Book VI. After the intensity of Book V, it almost seemed anti-climatic in a way.

 

[Valandil]

I remember the first time I read Lord of the Rings, I kind of bogged down in the early chapters of Book VI. After the intensity of Book V, it almost seemed anti-climatic in a way.

At least one friend told me they stopped reading LOTR right after the Ring was destroyed. Kind of like - the Ring was destroyed, objective achieved - what else could there be in all these 80-100 pages left?

I’m like… 😳😲🫣😖🥺😢

If only they knew.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

I had a friend that said basically the same thing, "the Ring was destroyed and the book just keeps going?"

 

[Valandil]

I had a friend that said basically the same thing, "the Ring was destroyed and the book just keeps going?"

Yes! And THEN… The Appendices!!!

Why don’t they understand?

 

[Vardarianna]

At least one friend told me they stopped reading LOTR right after the Ring was destroyed. Kind of like - the Ring was destroyed, objective achieved - what else could there be in all these 80-100 pages left?

I’m like… 😳😲🫣😖🥺😢

If only they knew.

I did manage to soldier through them after 'The Tower of Cirith Ungol' because I knew there was more overall story. I admit to 'cheating' and skipping to 'The Field of Cormallen' to read the first paragraph which helped me push through 'Land of Shadow' and 'Mount Doom'. The rest of Book VI and the Appendices were wonderful.

Oddly, on rereads, I will either read through those two chapters in one sitting, or will skip them depending on how I feel when I get there. I will occasionally skip through the Tom Bombadil chapter in Fellowship of the Ring.