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'RINGS' - IT'S A TOLKIEN EFFORT

Debbie is trying to enjoy it, she is really trying. She gave it a go when she was back at school, but, to the dismay of her friends, she found it "incredibly dry and boring".

But she is older now, more experienced and maybe this time round J.R.R Tolkien and his fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings might do it for her.

So Debbie Ridpath Ohi, a Toronto writer and musician, has invited Tolkien fans and foes alike to join her as she wades her way through the yarn that has won the odd accolade as the greatest book of the 20th century.

She is spending an hour or two every day in the company of Gandalf, Frodo and the dark Rider, then posting her thoughts in an online diary, Reading Lord of the Rings: The Final Attempt. Her plan is to have read the book by the time the film is released in December.

Day 1 of the project did not bode well. It was the dreaded prologue:

'For it was in the year 1901 of the third age that the Fallohide brothers, Marcho and Blanco, set out from Bree; and having obtained permission from the high king Fornost, the crossed the brown river Baranduin with the great following of hobbits.'

Inevitably, 'Fornost' has a footnote: As the records of Gondor relate this was Argeleb II, the twentieth of the Northern line, which came to an end with Arvedui three hundred years later. "Why should we care at this point, before the story has even begun?" Ohi sighs. "I see the purpose of setting the background, but was it really necessary to do so in such grisly historical detail?"

"The one bit I did enjoy was ŒOf The Finding of the Ring¹Š I found myself completely absorbed. At last, I thought, some actual plot."

"But then, just as things get truly interesting, Tolkien ends the Prologue with 'Note On Shire Records'. Why should I care that the Red Book was kept at Great Smials (wherever that is) and written in Gondor (wherever that is) at the great-grandson of Peregrin (whoever that is) and complete in S.R 1592(F.A 172)? Perhaps the prologue was a sort of sadistic screening test. Any reader who managed to drag their was through the entire thing without running away screaming would deserve to read the rest of the story."

By May 3, Debbie was to "Fellowship: Book 1, Chapter 1." And Tolkien fans had rallied to his defence.

"Several people have told me I should have just skipped the prologue," she says. "If that¹s the case, then why don¹t the publishers just put a big warning - 'JUST SKIP THE PROLOGUE'. I have to wonder how many curious reader are turned off Tolkien forever because of the prologue, not being fortunate enough to have friends to warn them not to read the beginning of the book."

So how¹s she doing second time round? "I am reluctant to confess this so early in the project, but I am surprised by how much I¹m enjoying it this time around," Debbie told the Sunday Herald Sun this week.

And are there any other books on her ŒMust read¹ list? Yes, she says:

- Sam's Teach Yourself PERL in 21 Days ("I¹ve had this for about 3 years.")

- A Year in Provence ("I want to find out what all the fuss was about")

- War and Peace ("the obvious challenge of getting through it, and so I can use it casually in conversation, eg 'wow, that wedding speech was longer War and peace! Which I read last week by the way.'")

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Many thanks to Samurai Consulting. Copyright © 2001 Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
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