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Book Review | Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about the disintegration of civilisation
My Book Review Rating: 3 stars – an intriguing but shocking novel about a tribe of boys stranded on a desert island.
This was another book that I picked up for the Classics Challenge, and I can’t actually believe I’ve reached the wise old age of 32 without reading it! I always thought Lord of the Flies was just a book about a group of young boys stuck on a desert island — but as is usually the case with esteemed classics it is so much more than that!
Golding uses the premise to explore the rules of civilisation and savagery. When the boys first crash on the island their instinct is to create rules; a leader, a designated place to wash and sleep, assigning roles to different groups so that the camp runs smoothly. When conflict arises between the two main characters Ralph, the appointed leader and Jack, the wannabe leader, the rules begin to break down and the camp divides into two.
The novel also explores the loss of innocence; I was quite shocked at times at the savagery and violence displayed by the boys, and death is quite key to the novel’s themes.
Overall I enjoyed reading Lord of the Flies and only wish that it had been a set text at school so that I could have spent some time really exploring the themes and the symbols throughout the novel (although if I had done I probably would have hated every minute!).
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See, I’m the opposite, I read it and hated it, despite the serious themes and beautiful writing. I’m disgusted that anyone would require it in school! I thought it was easy enough to get without a class setting. *Shudder.*
I had a great English teacher in high school that had us read LOTF and it was one of those books that haunted me for years afterward. I am actually thinking about suggesting it for my book group this year since there was a desire to go back to the classics.
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It probably was best to read Lord of the Flies in school, but I know I certainly didn’t appreciate it at the ripe old age of 15. I really hated that book!
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I’ve never read this one either, and feel that I should. I did consider reading it for the decades challenge, but choose something else instead.
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