Into You Like a Train
By my rough count, I've read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings at least once a year every year since 1976 when Kevin Garrison loaned me his copy of Fellowship. That means at least 30 times from beginning to end. So why is it that this weekend was the first time I noticed the following in the description of the dragon-shaped finale to the fireworks at Bilbo's birthday party?
The dragon passed like an express train, turned a somersault, and burst over Bywater with a deafening explosion.
An express train? Say what? Probably a good thing that I didn't notice it ten or fiften years ago as there would have only been a handful of people that I could have discussed the oddity of that phrase with. Thank goodness for the Internets!
2 Comments:
Huh. Yes, now that you mention it, a wee bit anachronistic--or maybe anaglobal? The word for referring to something that doesn't exist in a created world?
I read the “Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy every winter and every time I find something I did not notice the time before. To me a little discriptive licence is ok. They are good books. Another good group of book is the “Shannara” series by Terry Brooks.
Post a Comment
<< Home