I’m halfway through the The Two Towers and I still haven’t detected the “change in prose style” you cautioned me about. Could you give me a hint as to when I can expect it? I know it would be better if I could find it on my own, but I’m afraid I’ll miss it unless you give me a clue as to when and where it occurs.

Do you think this was a deliberate change in the tone of the novel introduced by Tolkien to signal a change in the character of the tale, or do you feel it is the result of a hiatus in the writing and a change in the author’s life that occurred during the pause? (You allude to the intrusion of WWII in the middle of the writing.)

This is now my third reading of the cycle, and I do recall a difference in the latter parts over the former; the narrative gradually changes from an adventure, a journey through magical country, to a dull, plodding and rather depressing slog through quicksand as we approach the end. This change seems to coincide with the joining of Gollum to Sam and Frodo as they near the end of the Journey. But it could also be related to the increasing effect the weight of the Ring exerts on everyone as it slowly approaches Mordor.

I am interested in your comments.