It is interesting the things you stumble onto while browsing book stores that you might miss when shopping online restricted by search engines and key words. The other day on my way to buy a copy of John Grisham’s novel CALICO JOE something caught my peripheral vision on the shelf near the collection of Hobbit books. As I moved toward it it looked more and more like a bible stuck in between the Hobbit books and that is what it was, sort of: It was a new issue of THE HOBBIT released in a bible like format with gilded edges and faux leather cover. It is well known that J. R. R. Tolkein, who was a devout Roman Catholic, believed that fantasy was a good way to express the foibles, and hopes and possibilities of humanity and certainly THE HOBBIT does that and more. Yet I have to wonder if whether this new suggested bible-like format is a bit too silly: Is it sacred doctrine or any kind of doctrine at all? Isn’t that treatment a bit precious? Has Gollum gone into publishing?! Poking around the store further, I again noticed what looked to be a bible stuck in with Yann Martel’s novel LIFE OF PI and there it was: A new issue of that book in a bible-like format with gilded edges and faux leather cover. I read LIFE OF PI and found it clever and entertaining but compared to THE HOBBIT it is a lightweight and to suggest it be regarded as some kind of holy writ is, well, funny - like a pie in the face. And what would Pi and Bilbo think of this new suggested sainthood? I think it would be far too adventurous for Bilbo. And poor Pi would probably have a relapse into trauma and never come out of it, spinning like a wheel stuck in mud getting deeper and going nowhere. To each their own, I guess, but one thing for sure the world doesn’t need more phony leather covers and gilded edged confusion. Certainly CALICO JOE is just as worthy of the gilded treatment but hopefully if that ever happens, Grisham, who is an attorney, will sue!
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:06:28 +0000
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