Though a Lord of the Rings fan myself, I am unsurprised that Alan Hollinghurst is not one (The books of my life, 4th October). He evidently read it too young to appreciate it properly, as I suspect did many of its detractors. It is no slur to the novel to say that, with its political debates and moral ambiguities, it is not a good children’s book. Lady Chatterley’s Lover is, for somewhat different reasons, not a good children’s book either.
Had he not read Tolkien’s masterpiece so young it might have been “the book he discovered later in life”, but it could yet be “the book he came back to”.
He would have to clear his mind of why he was put off it, just as those hopelessly mishearing the name of a stranger introducing themselves must clear their minds of the wrong name, but he might find it worth the effort.
Charles Gilman
Mitcham, London
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