By J. R. R. Tolkien
I read this on the 28th of Jan, 2025. Others will have fully analysed and reviewed this far better than I could, but suffice it to say: wonderful. It’s a very classic folk story, as if you took a Grimm tale and told it in a framing device in The Hobbit.
It’s set in ancient Britain, and it’s about a farmer who, through a combination of luck, obstinacy, and a very clever mare, manages to drive off a giant and tame a dragon, and who becomes rich and famous through it.
It’s really dense with allusions and references, and weirdly you actually need to understand Latin to get some of the jokes? but by and large a very fun adventure with deftly sketched and interesting characters, a familiar-seeming and yet unexpected plot, and plenty of charm and humour.