Following is my review of the book “In the House of Tom Bombadil.” Written by C. R. Wiley and published by Canon Press (Hardback 106 pages).
Who is Bombadil really?
Well, we still don’t know and never will. See this Tolkien Gateway article.
Those who only watched The Lord of the Rings movies – without reading the books – are more than likely to have never heard of Bombadil. For whatever reason (maybe logistical) Peter Jackson did not include the segment where the Hobbits meet this jolly character.
I’ve seen opinions that emitting Bombadil from the movies was a wise choice. Some insist the character is out of place. As one who enjoyed the movies to some extent, but much preferred the books, I disagree. I still go back and read the portions of the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, where Tom Bombadil appears.
Moreover, Tolkien thought he was important.
The Book
So it was a delight to come across this little-big book, “In the House of Tom Bombadil,” by Chris Wiley. If interested, you can watch an interview with him at The Tolkien Road Podcast.
As expected, Chris Wiley explores the different propositions as to this strange character’s identity, and comments on each one. Potential readers may be disappointed to learn that the goal of the book isn’t to present Wiley’s personal theory as to who Tom really is. Wiley does better than that. He gives us more than inkling as to why Tolkien kept him.
What the book does is examine Tom, his wife Goldberry, their interactions with the Hobbits, the Barrow Wight and the land in which they choose to dwell, and more. These things are far more important than speculating about his origin.
Wiley manages to skillfully bounce off Bombadil and use him to connect to a number of TLTR characters. In so doing the reader is gently led by the hand and served a wealth of Christian insights. Although the book is only 106 pages long, it is deep. That’s why I call it a little-big book. I’ll be re-reading it as often as I go back to Bombadil in TLTR.
I’d like to thank Chris Wiley for writing this enjoyable book. I could barely put it down. The Footnote at the end of the Postscript was a delightful surprise.
One other thing
I’m almost finished writing my second fantasy novel. Both need to be edited and polished. Hopefully, one day, they will be published. For various personal reasons, Wiley’s book has encouraged me to plod along and persevere with my own writing.
Contents
Foreword by Bradley J. Birzer
An Apology
1) “Who Is Tom Bombadil?”
2) “Tom Bombadil is Master”
3) “A long string of nonsense-words (or so they seemed)”
4) “Fear nothing! For tonight you are under the roof of Tom Bombadil”
5) “Goldberry is waiting”
6) “Get out, you old Wight! Vanish in the sunlight!”
7) “I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil”
Postscript
***
Maranatha!
Further reading
Deeper Heaven Ransom Trilogy Review
Purchase
In the House of Tom Bombadil !
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In the House of Tom Bombadil – by C R Wiley
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