All he needs is the love of a good woman

[altariel]

I rang my mother yesterday to let her know I was OK; mother is in her mid-seventies and vaguer even than me. Anyway, she hadn't been in the least bit worried (I suspect she has no idea where I live in relation to London) so we talked about The Fellowship of the Ring, which someone had got for her on DVD. Mother has made various attempts to read Tolkien (which my dad adored) over the years, and not really got much past the bit about the mushrooms.

So did she enjoy it? It was "very violent". Well, yes, it is - I suppose that's because it's about World War 1. "Is it about WW1?" I think you could make a case for that... "Oh. Does Gandalf live?" Sort of... (Didn't much want to get into an involved explanation.) "I did like that young man." Which young man? "Frodo. He has very expressive eyes."

Yes, my friends, my seventy-five-year-old ma appears to have a crush on Elijah Wood. I moved on quickly. A little time was then spent explaining that there are two more films to sit through.

Comments

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

I made several attempts at reading LotR that never got beyond Bilbo giving his stuff away, so I think your mum's doing well. Glad she's enjoying the films.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

You shouldn't let that first chapter put you off. The tone is very different from that of the rest of the novel. (In fact it's much akin to the tone of The Hobbit, which Tolien had written for children rather than adults.)

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was when I was a kid - I have read the whole novel since. I still find the first chapter the most accessible, though :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I've tried a number of sneaky ways over the years: the radio play, three book editions to lessen the pain, artwork. Didn't think the films would be her thing at all.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

I persuaded my mum to see Fellowship with me as an act of bonding, although she normally has an aversion to anything fantasy or sci-fi. She called it 'stunning' when we came out of the cinema. Eventually she forgot, and went back to not liking fantasy again.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm like that with westerns. I don't like them - except for the ones that I've seen.