Reviews

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

fungusfather's review against another edition

3.0

yeah a bunch of little boys would absolutely devolve into chaos, you're damn right about that

sams84's review against another edition

5.0

As this is such a well known book and story I'm not going to trouble you with a summary of what its about and what those lost boys get up to. Instead I'm going to focus on what I thought about it and I must say I enjoyed somewhat more than I expected to. It reminded me of all those childhood adventure books I read as a young sprat (despite them being 'boys' books) and as such it brought to mind the innocence and naivete of youth. In doing so the ultimate breakdown of the group and the finale are all the more gripping as a result. I can see how many found this shocking and surprising but I seem to have an innately low opinion of people and the lengths they will go to for power and survival, even when they are children (which let's face it is a wholly modern concept and has no real bearing on the actual nature of Homo sapiens, the animal, which we all still have inside us whether we like to admit or not). I think it is because of this and the fact that Golding does not shy away from it at all that I am really rather taken with this book and I can really see me reading again in future. And I highly suggest that you all do the same.

elsieking06's review against another edition

3.0

The essays about the book in the last 100 pages of the edition I had bumped this up from 2 stars to 3 stars by helping me understand some of the literary complexity of this novel.

pamelaw07's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

whydoihaveto's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.0

jess_ramone's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

oliviaparsons32's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jminaprisc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Genuinely haunting - I couldn’t stop reading and finished the whole thing in one day. Intensely vivid descriptions of the island and the boys’ half-articulated thoughts as their grasp on civilisation breaks down. I will be searching for a deeper analysis of this book to find some sense of peace after reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Murder

debicates's review against another edition

4.0

Yes, I'm 54 years old and haven't until now read Lord of the Flies. There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said in a million different ways, all over the world in a million classrooms.

I'll just say that I can now use the phrase, "They've gone Lord of the Flies."

P.S. If I'm ever in a plane crash on an deserted island, I hope I'm not the only survivor still wearing my glasses.

carleyc's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0