Book 25: Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

 Finished 7/17/2022

I inherited 8 or so copies of this book when I took over teaching British Literature at our homeschool co-op. I had never read it, and it being on a list of 40 or so books that my students can choose from for a year-end paper, I thought I'd better read it. 

I had tried to read it as an adult, but the bullying and violence were pretty hard to take. I had put it down because it was depressing to see a micro-society where human society completely breaks down into crime and violence. 

But this time I stuck it out, taking a more academic view of the book. And I'm glad I did. Golding has completely mastered the novel form with this book, which combines vivid descriptions, poignant scenes, and blooming character development. Witness this text from the beginning of Chapter Four, as the boys begin to settle in to their island life.

"The first rhythm that they became used to was the slow swing from dawn to quick dusk. They accepted the pleasures of morning, the bright sun, the whelming sea and sweet air, as a time when play was good and life so full that hope was not necessary, and therefore forgotten. Toward noon, as the floods of light fell more nearly to the perpendicular, the stark colors of the morning were smoothed in pearl and opalescence, and the heat -- as though the impending sun's height gave it momentum -- became a blow that they ducked, running to the shade and lying there, perhaps even sleeping.

"Strange things happened at midday. The glittering sea rose up, moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility; the coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the more elevated parts would float up into the sky, would quiver, be plucked apart, run like raindrops on a wire or be repeated in an odd succession of mirrors. Sometimes, land loomed where there was no land and flicked out like a bubble as the children watched ... "

The rich descriptions of atmosphere, motivations, and action are unmatched by anything I've ever read. By taking the time to really explore and contemplate these descriptions, I was transported to the island. I could feel the suffocating heat, see the glorious sunsets, experience to low-grade fear in a conversation, celebrate their successes and achievements with the boys.

It's clear why this book is a classic, and once you get over the grief and anxiousness of reading the story as it plays out, it is a fine tale, told with gorgeous beauty and masterful tension. 

This book will stay with me all my days.