BookTalk.org

Here is my latest video. Lord of the flies by William Golding.
https://youtu.be/lvTAriiV8C8
I reviewed the novel and highlighted its plot, themes, and message.
I hope you do enjoy the video.

Another classic I can scratch off my list.

I am going to sound like a whiner but... Really? Golding's writing is absolutely mind numbing. I had to struggle through the book... And his pacing leaves a ton to be desired. Not striking me as a "classic", aside from it being old.

Some decent symbolism in there I guess...but nothing very deep.

It's considered a classic due it's moral message which I take to be, "Don't burn up your world to win," or to quote Friedrich Nietzsche, “Be careful, lest in casting out your demon you exorcise the best thing in you.”

I have a hard time criticizing writers for how they chose to write a story. Just writing one is a huge accomplishment, yet I feel what bugs me about the story is probably what causes others to cringe as well. It's written in a telling manner instead of showing. The Internet is awash with articles about "show vs tell" writing style. I know, because I read many due to my own struggles with writing.

I wish I had my aging copy to consult. I saved it from a recycling program when a library displayed it in a stack of books so poorly treated the binding failed it and it was on the verge of falling apart no matter how well someone held it. I either placed it in storage or loaned it to someone.

My keeping up with books is a struggle.

It's funny though, that in the end Jack burning the world actually saved them all, including Ralph, whom he intended to kill.

Yes. The message and the symbolism of authoritarian vs democratic governing was interesting but was it original at the time?

Perhaps it is the telling vs the showing aspect. Golding's lengthy descriptions of the island's geography was not necessary in this story and kinda detracted from the atmosphere rather than building it up. I assume that his intent was to use that as a device, but I felt a bit like... Ok I get it, the creepers are dense and constricting... The rock is red...

I wanted the conch...

This novel could have easily been a short story instead.

I agree. There's irony in that once the island burns a ship spots them. It's almost as if had they not set fire to the island, they'd be forever stuck there. My guess is Golding went for a gut punch with the question asked at the end. You know, make those readers think about what they're probably not!

Brave New World came out in 1932.
Animal Farm (1945)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
Lord of the Flies (1954)

My guess is Lord of the Flies is seen as more reader friendly or at least appealing to a larger audience because when you compare it to the other well known stories of the period, especially Brave New World, you get a similar message with a big difference being in tone. At least, that's how I interpret it.

And funny, but I was thinking that I much preferred the three you just listed, finding them much more mature and developed...and readable.

I didn't hate the Flies...just wasn't in awe as I expect from a classic and a Nobel winner.

Of those listed, I prefer Brave New World due to the writing style.

I also like that John's an ethical freethinker who doesn't simply accept the commands of Mustapha Mond. At the same time, the book is not a shouting match echo chamber. Mond allows John to speak, and John returns the favor.

I read on Wikipedia that Brave New World was a parody to utopian novels. It made me think of John Waters and how he often talks in documentaries about his cynicism toward the 1950s.

Lord of the Flies is his most famous work but I think if you want to see Golding at his best check out The Inheritors. It's a tragic story told from the perspective of very primitive, apelike proto-humans and it's an immersing, bizarre experience to read. The writing style is very different from anything else I've ever seen.