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Audio-book Review: Farmer Giles of Ham, read by Sir Derek Jacobi
Many may be forgiven for thinking that JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, then after taking a breath The Lord of the Rings, and then called it a day. These two works are known in every corner of the world and overshadowed everything that Tolkien penned both before and after. It is easy to forget that the great Professor also wrote other delightful stories, not least Leaf by Niggle and the book that we are reviewing here, Farmer Giles of Ham.
Our book review of The Hobbit
Our book review of The Lord of the Rings
This was not my first experience of Farmer Giles of Ham in the audio format as, many moons ago, I had a copy on tape with the unmistakable voice of Brian Blessed voicing the lead. Sadly, both tape and the means of playing it are no longer open to me so I downloaded another version, this time narrated by Fantasy Book Review favourite, Derek Jacobi.
Farmer Giles of Ham is full of wit and humour, set in the days when giants and dragons walked the earth. He did not look like a hero. He was fat and red-bearded and enjoyed a slow, comfortable life. Then one day a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blundered on to his land. More by luck than skill, Farmer Giles managed to scare him away. The people of the village cheered: Farmer Giles was a hero. His reputation spread far and wide across the kingdom. So it was natural that when the dragon Chrysophylax visited the area it was Farmer Giles who was expected to do battle with it!
This is a simple medieval fable of unexpected heroism told with great aplomb by Derek Jacobi. The farmer and the dragon may be those around whom the story unfolds but it is Giles’s cowardly dog Garm that steals the show with his wheedling ways and the touching devotion and pride he shows for his master.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.
Sir Derek George Jacobi CBE is an English actor and film director, knighted in 1994 for his services to theatre. Like Laurence Olivier, he bears the distinction of holding two knighthoods, Danish and British. He is regarded to have one of the most outstanding speaking voices ever, with studied tonality and an exceptional elocution in drama.
Posted: January 18th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Audio-books, JRR Tolkien
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