This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected…
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep to whisk him away on a journey "there and back again". They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon…
— Open Library
I finished this book on my train journey back from Dwarka, and I don't think I would be forgetting Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End anytime soon. The character is so beautifully written that it feels very much like we could have been in his place. Nowhere was he over-the-top heroic. There were many instances of him feeling home-sick (though he seldom mentions it out loud, just like a normal person trying to be brave would not), sometimes he straight up wishes that there were someone else (generally Gandalf) to be the hero and save them. But not once did he give up on his friends (the Dwarves) that are relying on him.
Even when presented with a share from the treasure, his main concern is not the actual money, but to avoid the battle that seems inevitable. He is content with what his life was before the adventure, before the treasure. And we all have a lesson to learn there.
For the most part of the book Mr Baggins does not rely at all on fighting to get out of enemy hands. He is either saved by his friends or uses his wits to side-step the conflict. He even saves his friends from imprisonment without lifting a single blade. It is only during the spider encounters does he find that he has the guts in him to use a sword and fight. All these coming together make Mr Baggins an unforgettable character.
As I knew before starting this book that it was originally intended as a story for Mr Tolkien's children and thus has a very child-friendly writing style (which was most evident to me in the names of the Dwarves). That is not to say it won't keep an adult engaged. This is definitely a good read for anyone interested in fantasy-fiction settings, and it is also a nice ramp to start kids on their reading journey. I would definitely recommend this book.