Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Jul 1959 · Penguin

About this ebook

Golding’s iconic 1954 novel, now with a new foreword by Lois Lowry, remains one of the greatest books ever written for young adults and an unforgettable classic for readers of any age.
 
This edition includes a new Suggestions for Further Reading by Jennifer Buehler.

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate. This far from civilization they can do anything they want. Anything. But as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hope of being rescued.

Ratings and reviews

By no means am I a book critic or in any position to be rating a book of any sort . We had to read this as our last book of the year in my 10th grade Pre-AP Lit. class. At first I wasn't really a fan, it was too political for me and as someone who could care less about that type of stuff, it was boring . However, as the... governing system began to decay, and true human nature began to peek through, it got more interesting . Not going to spoil anything but I'd be interested to see their lives post strand .

The writing is very....lucid. Dreamlike, almost. The story is told with symbolism and imagery rather than a conventional storytelling method. If you like lots of descriptions and (sometimes) unclear passages then you'll probably love it, as many others have. If your like me (who prefers dialogue and "showing"), then you'll probably be a little bored.

This book is a terrible excuse for literature in my opinion. The book is hard to follow because its bounces back and forth in the duologue. And has some gay parts in it like in one part "bring me the other boys I shall do you"... Its just terrible.

About the author

William Golding was born in Cornwall, England, in 1911 and educated at Oxford University. His first book, Poems, was published in 1935. Following a stint in the Royal Navy during World War II, Golding wrote Lord of the Flies while teaching school. It was the first of several works, including the novels Pincher Martin, Free Fall, and The Inheritors and a play, The Brass Butterfly, which led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983.
 
Lois Lowry is the two-time Newbery Award–winning author of Number the Stars,The Giver Quartet, and numerous other books for young adults.
 
Jennifer Buehler is an associate professor of educational studies at Saint Louis University and President of The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English.