The story centres around Dildo (how poignant a name) and his nephew, Frito, who are sent on a mission by the illustrious wizard, Goodgulf. With that, I entered the world of Lower Middle-Earth. Beard and Kenney open with the admission that they are not trying to fill the shoes that Tolkien left, but prefer to write something satirical for their own amusement. So, in choosing this parody, I hoped to open my eyes up and be able to laugh at some of the silliness of the highly-successful three box set that it seems everyone has read and enjoyed. I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy with gritted teeth when asked to do so by someone and found myself celebrating the end. Please, gasp now and shun me as you go to fetch all the rotten eggs and tomatoes you can carry. I will be the first to admit, Tolkien is not for me. Turning to this piece by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney, I felt that I might be in good hands. Not one to turn to the classics, I wanted to select a novel that may accentuate a book I read and did not entirely enjoy, while also not choose a parody that had been flogged to death. In selecting a literary parody for a recent book challenge, I found myself struggling a great deal.
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