Worse than following the misfortunes and misadventures of well-rounded characters is imagining a parent (or grandparent) watching it all with no chance of helping them, or looking away, or moving, or dying. It is a dark story and perhaps not as easy to follow as some of Tolkien's more famous books, but every bit as brilliant. I also loved learning a bit more about the history of Middle Earth. My edition had a lovely foreword by Christopher Tolkien (RIP), where he offers a bit more context and a few linguistic explanations - a real cherry on top!