Why is JRR Tolkien so popular?
Difficult question. We are really talking about The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit). We have three awards given to LotR in the UK in 1998 as best book of all time, by bookshops and book clubs. He’s a good writer, people find they can take him seriously even though he writes about dwarves and elves, he has a lot of background to what he writes, people find that the story of The Lord of the Rings echoes all sorts of dilemmas that belong to the present day as well as the world of the imagination. Borrow a copy, read it and see what you think. It’s a big question. You have to start somewhere. My granny thought it was awful, but then she couldn’t stand hobbits.