William Golding's classic novel of primitive savagery and survival is one of the most vividly realized and reviting works in modern fiction. At once a tale of adventure and a merciless allegory on the darker side of human nature, LORD OF THE FLIES uses the full range of man's innocence and man's cruelty to expose the underpinnings of civilized society.
The novel begins after a plane wreck deposits a group of boys, aged six to twelve on an isolated tropical island. The struggle to survive and impose order on their existence quickly evolves from a battle against nature into a battle against their own primitive instincts.
Best All Time 100 Novels (Time Magazine)
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A plane crashes on an uninhabited tropical island during wartime. A group of schoolboys--the sole survivors--form their own society, an experiment that quickly descends into chaos and death in Golding's classic allegory. Listening Library recently rereleased this historic 1976 recording, and the timing could not be more apt. As CNN keeps viewers on edge with the latest military overtures in the real world and the reality TV show "Survivor" offers escape in the form of backstabbing, bug-eating "tribal" rituals, 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. Included on the tapes is background on how he came to conceive the book and a brief rebuttal to critics about its meaning. M.M.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
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