A plane crashes on a desert island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. As the boys' delicate sense of order fades, so their childish dreams are transformed into something more primitive, and their behaviour starts to take on a murderous, savage significance.
Genre: Fiction, Modern Classic, Allegorical Novel
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Year: 1954
Rating: 3.5/5
Lord of the Flies has been on my TBR list for years. It's one of those modern classics that everyone has heard of due to the fact it has won many awards and has been made into two films.
I pretty much knew the story before I picked up this novel. I vaguely remember seeing the 1963 version of the film on TV. My mum made me watch it because this is one of her favourite books. Despite knowing what was going to happen, I did not feel let down or like anything was detracted from the story.
This novel follows a group of boys who have landed on an island when their plane crashed. Most seem not to know each other but it is never really explained why they were on the plane.. except there seems to be some kind of war.
The boys quickly elect a leader, Ralph, and set about building shelters, hunting for food and lighting a signal fire in the hope of rescue. At first, everything seems to be working out ok, until the self-appointed hunters let the signal fire go out. This creates tension and a faction soon develops, resulting in some pretty shocking scenes before the final dramatic ending.
This novel deals with the loss of innocence, the raw truth about human nature, the nature of fear and the good of the majority opposed to individual welfare. It can also be view as an allegorical novel as each character represents a different aspect of human nature, from the good to the bad.
This is a must read for those of you that love modern classics. I admit I found the prose a little dry and hard to get through at times, but the shocking actions of the boys and the themes it contains make it well worth the read.
