GOLDING, WILLIAM 'Lord of the Flies' rating: readability:

This is a dark, richly poetic book, underlain by atavistic evil and unsettling symbolism. 'Lord of the Flies' charts the descent into bestiality of a group of small boys who have crashed on a remote, uninhabited island - 'The Swiss Family Robinson' rewritten as a horror story (and as a good book). Just after they crash, the boys are very British and civilized; thereafter, increasing numbers are overtaken by tribalism and terrified superstition. The book veers deliberately into the fantastic: the Lord of the Flies himself - a shadowy, Satanic evil which lurks on the island and within many of the boys - appears at one stage, threatening the murderous hedonism which eventually comes to pass. I would be interested to know what inspired the book: psychological theories, Golding's own observations, or what? I am intrigued by the suggestion that boys become savages when the shackles of civilization are stripped away, and I think there is a certain amount of truth in it; children are certainly not intrinsically kind or rational. 'Lord of the Flies' packs great emotional punch, and is beautifully written. Click here to buy it in paperback ($5.56), or to read more reviews. Click here to buy it in hardback ($20.95). NEXT BOOK REVIEW