BOOK REVIEW: Lord Of The Flies – by William Golding

Title: Lord Of The Flies
Author: William Golding
Genre: Classics, YA, Horror, Dystopia
First published: 1954
Finished reading: August 6th 2014
Pages: 272

“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.”

Oh my, those are a bunch of seriously messed up kids William Golding described in Lord Of The Flies! I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this classic for the Dusting Off The Shelf Read-A-Thon, and I seriously didn’t expect the pack of savages slash maniacs that include about half of the main characters of this book. I had quite a few eyebrow raising moments while I was reading about the actions of Jack and his crew… And what is even more screwed up is that somehow I couldn’t really feel sympathy for Ralph, Piggy and the little ones. And those were suppost to be the good guys… Or should I say kids? Anyway, it is an entertaining read if you not mind some pretty creepy moments and enjoy the horror genre. Definitely not the typical YA dystopian read!

In Lord Of The Flies we read about a bunch of schoolboys who have to survive on a deserted island after a plane crash. Am I the only one who’s having enormous Lost flashbacks with this description? They seem to be doing ok at first, working together to make both shelters, a fire and look for food. Ralph and a fat boy called Piggy (I have to admit I was really annoyed by that name) are sort of in charge, and use a conch to gather the boys every time they want a meeting. Ralph has the looks and Piggy the brains AND the glasses to start a fire… But there is another boy who wants to be the leader: Jack the hunter. And while Ralph tries to maintain order and keep the fire going as a SOS signal for passing ships, Jack preaches in favor of his hunting expeditions.

Jack turns more and more savage, and when he kills his first island pig with his own hands, he becomes unstoppable. He manages to convince just about every boy of joining his band of savages, and now has all the power. They ban Ralph, Piggy and the twins from their ‘castle’, and care more about hunting pigs and feasting on its meat than keeping the fire going so they are able to get rescued. And when Ralph comes to their hideout to challenge Jack, both Ralph and Piggy have become the hunted… And things truly escalate.

If you decide to read Lord Of The Flies, brace yourself for the ending! It is what you would call an anti-climax, and I’m not sure if it was suitable for this book. All in all it’s an enjoyable classic in a creepy way… Although it should have a horror warning for the younger readers as Lord Of The Flies might cause nightmares to the weak hearted.