THE LAST LINE OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS (POSSIBLE SPOILER).

THE LAST LINE OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS (POSSIBLE SPOILER). Jon Barnes writes that “There is magic in the last line of THE LORD OF THE RINGS.” The line is spoken by Sam Gamgee as he returns to his wife and family: “‘Well, I’m back’ he said.” This last line recalls the simplicity of the last sentence in Harry Potter, “All was well.” Barnes praises the return to the “homely simplicity of the inaugural chapters after the archaic epic made of THE RETURN OF THE KING.” Dick Weisfelder made a similar point here about the return to images and language that an eleven year old might use in the epilogue to Harry Potter. (Barnes is reviewing THE COMPANY THEY KEEP, a book about C. S. Lewis and Tolkien by Diana Pavlac Glyer, in the Times Literary Supplement for September 14.)