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Lord of the Flies cover art

Lord of the Flies

Written by: William Golding
Narrated by: William Golding
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Publisher's Summary

Get ready for an adventure tale in its purest form, a thrilling and elegantly told account of a group of British schoolboys marooned on a tropical island. Alone in a world of uncharted possibilities, devoid of adult supervision or rules, the boys begin to forge their own society, their own rules, their own rituals. With this seemingly romantic premise, and through the seemingly innocent acts of children, Golding exposes the duality of human nature itself: the dark, eternal divide between order and chaos, intellect and instinct, structure and savagery.
©1954 William Golding (P)2002 Random House, Inc.

What the critics say

"Lord of the Flies gives the reader a lucid and chillingly objective mirror to our modern society. William Golding's narration is as impartial as his work, yet his grumbly, grandfatherly voice, complete with mid-sentence sniffs and swallows, is intimate." (AudioFile)

"Lord of the Flies is one of my favorite books. I still read it every couple of years." (Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games trilogy)

"I finished the last half of Lord of the Flies in a single afternoon, my eyes wide, my heart pounding, not thinking, just inhaling.... My rule of thumb as a writer and reader - largely formed by Lord of the Flies - is feel it first, think about it later." (Stephen King)

"This brilliant work is a frightening parody on man's return [in a few weeks] to that state of darkness from which it took him thousands of years to emerge. Fully to succeed, a fantasy must approach very close to reality. Lord of the Flies does. It must also be superbly written. It is." (The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Lord of the Flies

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Not for me

I had seen this book on the top of many great reads lists. I decided to try the audible version. I liked the fact that it came directly from the author. That gave a very personal touch to it. However, maybe because I didn't have a physical book in front of me, like I prefer, I just could not get into this story. I struggled really hard to connect to the characters, and kept feeling like the story was going no where. It seemed for me to end where it began, and I just couldn't connect.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I hoped

I studied this in school and didn’t much care for it. I thought I’d give it another try now as an adult who loves reading. I had a lot of trouble getting through this though. The narration was pretty boring (and I had really hoped to enjoy hearing the author read his own book). The plot also dragged. I did like the depth of thought—the literacy elements—but, overall, it was not the enjoyable experience I had hoped for.

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2 people found this helpful