My I've Gotta Have that Klett Cotta Sauron Moment

Visiting my  girlfriend back in 1979, (now my Wife) in her home country of West Germany, I was fascinated, among other things, by her admirable bookcase.

An avid reader of hippyish paperbacks myself, I I was amazed to see these foreign versions of novels I knew and the many I didn't too. 

There was Mister God This is Anna, the Dharma Bums, Siddhartha, Solaris and Fata Morgana among the tomes.

But most alluring of all were the three books of Der Herr Der Ringe, Tolkien's incredible Lord of the Rings trilogy.

This 1977 German version comprised of three paperbacks published by the unusually - named Klett Cotta publishing house. The three books were green and nestling in a green card slipcase. Not only was the green colour striking, the cover art was to my eye, wunderbar. 

Simple and dark with an inexplicable slug-like mass writhing on two of them, all three brandishing Sauron's eye, I loved them.

Now long since gone, I've often thought about these memorable books many times since.

Coming right up to date, amazingly I recently saw a set in a German charity shop at a very reasonable price. 

Knowing that our car would already reel from everything we were taking home to Blighty I decided, sehr sehr foolishly, to pass up the chance of owning them again.

I couldn't think about anything else. Like a wasp buzzing in my head I eventually returned to the shop a week later and as is decreed by Sods Law, they were gone.

Next time I see them I shall heed the great Wizard Gandalf's words ' thou shalt not pass! '

Have you got any Lord of the Rings books?