A plane crashes on an uninhabited island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. In this, his first novel, William Golding gave the traditional adventure story an ironic, devastating twist. The boys' delicate sense of order fades, and their childish fears are transformed into something deeper and more primitive. Their games take on a horrible significance, and before long the well-behaved party of schoolboys has turned into a tribe of faceless, murderous savages.
First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is now recognized as a classic, one of the most celebrated of all modern novels.
Fun. Simplistic. Humorous. Light.
All thing that William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies was not.
Gruesome, confusing and, in my opinion, not very enjoyable, Lord of the Flies is not high up on my books-to-recommend list.
That said, the book wasn't all bad. It started off well but then progressively deteriorated. Another good thing in the book is Piggy.
Piggy was one of the only nice characters in the book. Throughout most of the book I felt incredibly sorry for him. It took forever for him to be taken seriously, and by the time he was, it was generally too late.
Ralph started off quite rude, obnoxious and a little full of himself. Ralph did get better through the course of the book though. He knew what was important to get them saved and by the end of the book I was feeling terrible for Ralph; all because of Jack.
As far as book characters go, Jack Merridew is one of the most evil and twisted boys there is. There was no way he was right in the head and to be perfectly honest, I don't think he even wanted saved from the island.
The island seemed like a nice enough place. Or it would be if you added a few adults, shelter, easy food and bathrooms. It was a tropical island with many exotic fruits growing on it and a few pigs running around. With it's great scenery and tranquility it seems like what every modern holiday resort aims for.
I found the ending to the book confusing. It just got a little too fast paced with far fetched ideas. It told you that one of the characters was the Lord of the Flies. What it didn't tell you? What the Lord of the Flies actually was.
Though I didn't enjoy the end of the book, I did like the beginning, and I'm going to give it two of out five stars for that.
I know - I'm very generous.
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