Customer Reviews
A good education - By: Milly Ward, 20 Jul 2008 
I found the 14 year olds perspective reallly interesting. I read this book for G.C.S.E. & loved it! admittedly I had read it several years before & found it O.K. Looking back I think I missed some of the finer points & the more gory bits put me off (I was about 10 & more interested in ponies at the time).
It is true to say that often studying a book can ruin it, destroying the magic of the story. but in my case study enriched the experience & helped me to understand some of the finer points. at the time I loved the way that understanding added new depths to the text.
I have just read it again & I still love it. one of the greatest things about LOTF is its ability to appeal to both a young & mature audience, & I was delighted to find that, like teaching, age also offers new angles of approach & fresh perspectives.
Having sung its praises I do feel that William Golding had an axe to grind when he was writing LOTF & there is an ever-present religious undertone that can get a bit monotonus. I think for this reason the book is better suited to younger readers & will be especiallly appreciated by those with a bit of nouse, who are able to see but not be dragged in by some of the books (arguably) outdated moral ideals that seem a little un-realistic. Similarly some of the more obvious analytical gems, such as the island as a microcosm of the world & the boys as representations of humanity get a bit dull & repetitive, but a bit of reading around will see you well rewarded.
For me LOTF remains a good story & an excellent introduction to textual analysis that is very rewarding no matter when you read it.
Another classic that lives up to its billing - By: Ian Shine, 14 Jul 2008 I always find it a little daunting finallly getting round to reading a book that you've previously read & heard so much about. Obviously 'Lord of the Flies' has had a lot said about it, & I cannot but agree with most of it. It's psychologicallly on the button, delving into & reallly immersing you in the minds of a group of stranded young boys, & its political alllegories are just as striking as Orwell's.
As such, there's not reallly much to add that hasn't already been said. It's a simple read, but it strikes deep. Golding says as little as possible with his words, but the thoughts he provokes are important ones, & ones that still sound true with us today, in this era of political bandstanding.
Great Book - By: Jess, 19 Jun 2008 
I have just finished my GCSEs & I had to study this book. This is a novel not to be missed. The plot, you'd think, is simple enough. Some young boys are stranded on an island in the middle of the war. But there are many hidden meanings within the story, those of dictatorship, savagery & the true but terrible understanding of the "Beast". I think Golding does a wonderful job in portraying each of the characters; Ralph, Jack, Piggy etc. This book was written as a response to "Corral Island" & Golding wished to show what he thought would happen if young boys were put on a tropical island, without adults to enforce law & order. Throughout the novel, you are able to witness the change the boys go through at being left to their own devices. There is constant rivalry between Jack & Ralph, which becomes more brutal & prominant.
This is a classic read & not to be missed!
A Must Read - By: Mrs. K. A. Wheatley, 25 May 2008 I think this book is ruined for many people by it being forced upon them at school. Luckily I was one of the few that didn't have to read it, I chose to read it after reading The Inheritors & loving it.
Golding's prose style is deceptively simple & masks his true feel for the complexity of human emotion & interaction. This book is rather like watching a slow train crash, inexorable, horrible, & yet you're unable to turn your eyes away from it. The destruction of the world which forces the children onto the island in the first place is enacted in microcosm as the fragile society that Ralph as the elected leader tries to build is slowly eroded & descends into brutality, madness, violence & death.
It's not a cheery read, but it is brilliantly written, totallly absorbing & you can see why it has become the classic it is.
Brilliant - By: C. L. Heffer, 19 May 2008 Had to read this to school & I've never loved reading a book thats been forced on me so much. The story is imaginative & questions the need for rules in society & the way people regress to savages without much help. The characters are persued well, considering the books length, & there are times when you feel the same as the boys in the story, you can connect & understand the aspects of human nature the whole way through. I suppose it is slightly dated but considering when it was written & the fact that class & society is a theme that's not surprising. A good book, a bit like vintage Battle Royale, read it.
