Suddenly, pacing by the water, he was overcome with astonishment. He found himself understanding the wearisomeness of this life, where every path was an improvisation and a considerable part of one’s waking life was spent watching one’s feet. He stopped, facing the strip, and remembering that first enthusiastic exploration as though it were part of a brighter childhood, he smiled jeeringly.
(from Lord of the Flies, page 76)
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, published in 1954, is another book added to my “better late than never” list. The Girl (age 12) read this book in her reading class just before school ended and loved it, so she insisted I needed to read it, too. (She was thoughtful to gush about it with no spoilers, but that meant she was saying “Hurry up and finish it already” to me about every five minutes! I wish I could’ve included more of her thoughts in this review, but with rugby, summer camp, and summer reading, she’s been extremely busy. She did tell me that she’d rate it a 4.5/5 though.)
The novel is about a group of British schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island after their plane is shot down during a war. The plane crash and the immediate aftermath are not described; the book opens with two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discovering a lagoon, fishing a conch shell out of the water, and using it to call a gathering of the other survivors.
Once joined by the charismatic Jack and his fellow choirboys/followers, Ralph is elected chief and attempts to create some sort of order to ensure their survival and rescue. Ralph and Jack butt heads about what needs to be done; Ralph thinks a fire and smoke signal are most important so they can be rescued, while Jack is focused on hunting wild pigs for meat.
Without adults, the boys adopt a carefree attitude, swimming, playing, eating fruit, and much to Ralph’s dismay, ignoring the fire and refusing to help build shelters. It’s not long before fear of an unseen “beast” and a thirst for power threaten the order Ralph has tried so hard to maintain.
Lord of the Flies is well written, although I admit I was bored by the endless descriptions of the island’s topography and quite glad each time the narrative shifted back to the interactions between the boys. While several of the boys are named (and many more are not), the novel focuses mainly on Ralph, the voice of reason; Piggy, a symbol of wisdom and humanity, despite his outcast status and weaknesses; Jack, strong and charismatic but also the most primal; and Simon, the protector of the youngest boys on the island. Golding did a great job making the characters interesting and unique and showing how the different, strong personalities clashed.
From what I’d heard about this book over the years, I expected it to be dark, but I had no idea how sinister and even shocking it would be! I also didn’t expect it to be so thought-provoking, so full of symbolism, and so eerily believable. I especially love how a book this deep is geared toward young adults; The Girl enjoyed telling me what they’d talked about in class, and I can’t remember her ever dissecting a book so thoroughly before.
Lord of the Flies is not for the faint of heart. There are gruesome, brutal scenes that cause you to think long and hard about human nature. It’s a novel about the loss of innocence and humanity, how easy it could be for people to revert to a wild, savage state without an authority figure and the confines of society. Golding also shows how power can be misused and how order can easily turn into chaos. It’s not the kind of adventure novel I was expecting, and I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, but it’s a novel that will haunt me for a very long time.
Disclosure: I borrowed Lord of the Flies is from my daughter.
© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I read the book back in high school and then again a few years ago and I can tell you, its not my favourite book. And yes my opinion of the book didn’t change with reading the book again.
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I’m sorry you didn’t have a good re-reading experience!
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It has been so long since I read this one, but I do remember enjoying it.
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I wish I’d been introduced to it as a kid; I wonder what I would’ve thought about it.
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I kind of do not want to read it cos I would get angry….but still
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It did make me angry, but there was so much to ponder with this one.
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Excellent review, Anna. This was one of my favorite novels to teach when I was teaching. I just loved all of the symbolism and how complex this book is. It is kind of scary how little it takes of humans to resort to savagery.
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I never expected the book to be that deep. I’m glad I was wrong!
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Did she read the Maze Runner series by Dashner? Because I’m wondering how that compares.
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No, I’ll have to tell her about those books.
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I’ve never read this book but have always wondered about it because of what I heard about it. I know if I read it, it would haunt me for a long time too.
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I knew so little about the book going into it; I think that made it more shocking.
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Somehow I missed reading this in school but I did know the basic premise. I love that the Girl is pushing books on you – Vance used to do that to me as well.
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Isn’t it amazing to see them get so excited about books?!
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Despite its disturbing nature, this has always been one of my favorite books. I just find the characterization of the boys so vivid. When I first read it as a teen a lot of the symbolism and violent implications were kind of over my head- but re-reads make it sink in more .
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I definitely can see myself re-reading it down the road. Golding does make the characters come to life, at least the main ones. The others who are named but don’t have a major role just faded into the background for me.
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I read this a long time ago, and though I’ve long forgotten the details, what stuck with me was how upset (even a bit frightened) I felt while reading it.
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I ran the gamut of emotions, but mostly I was just shocked.
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I bought a copy of Lord some time back intending to reread it, but I never did reread it and totally forgot I owned it. I first read it ages ago but I remember the brutality that you mentioned. The movie, and I think there have been several versions made since the book, the movie I saw was just as horrific as the book. And yet, I want to revisit it 🙂
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The Girl made me watch the black & white movie version right after I finished it. They watched both movies in class, but she didn’t like the newer one because it was different from the book.
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I read this one in a sophomore English class and I absolutely adored it. It was one of those formative books when I was growing up.
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I really wish I’d read it ages ago…but better late than never.
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I can’t tell you how long this has been on my list to read someday and I should really just get to it. I’m glad both you and The Girl liked it – makes me want to read it even more.
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I think it’s worth carving out some time to read…it’s actually pretty short.
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Anna I need some help and you are of course the expert..well to me 🙂 A friend wants to read book set in Paris during WWII. That shows the life of those in Paris, French and German. Any suggestions? Fiction and non.fiction
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I hope the suggestions I sent were helpful!
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Excellent review, Anna. I read this in middle school, and it still haunts me. I really need to reread it soon. We have a copy of the book around, and I am determined to pick it up and read it again, as an adult.
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Thanks, Suko! I’d love to hear your thoughts after you re-read it.
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I was thinking of this book the other day. i read it ages ago and enjoyed it very much. Probably started me on my fascination with dystopian stories. What would i do?
love that the Girl read and dissected this in class. I don’t hear too much of that anymore.
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It really does get you thinking about how you’d act in that situation. Such a scary thought.
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I’ve had this on my shelved for awhile but finally put it on my shortstack 🙂
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I can’t wait to see what you think of it!
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I need to read this one yet, perhaps for banned book week.
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Oooh, that’s a good idea!
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I reread this one just a few years ago and remembered why I loved it as a teen. Yes, it is visceral and dark and just such a great study of human nature. I can’t wait for my son to have to read it, so we can discuss it together!
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It does make for a great discussion about human nature.
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This is another of those favorite books of mine, and I’m so glad that she read it. And that you did too!
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I don’t consider it a favorite, but I’m glad I read it.
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I read this one so long ago, that I think I need a refresher! Loving that you and The Girl are reading books and talking about them!! She’s a smart girl!
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Too smart for her britches, as my gram would have said. 😉
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I haven’t read this since high school but sometimes I think I need to revisit it and see it from an adult’s perspective. Great review!
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Thanks, Marie! I’m curious to see whether you think it stands up to a re-read as an adult.
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I’ve been meaning to read that book for ages, but somehow never seem to get to it. This summer, I was thinking about “assigning” it to my teenage DD to read. She’s supposed to read 3 books of our choosing, but I’m having such a hard time narrowing it down to just 3 books.
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My daughter only had to read 2 summer reading books, her choice so long as they have a Lexile number of 750 or higher.
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