Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Published by Penguin Books: New York, 2016.
First published 1954.

This famous book is a potential Year 12 text, on our English Department shelf near The Book Thief. It is also a book that I studied in high school myself, and have not revisited since - like To Kill a Mockingbird was before I re-read it last year. With that book, I remember the vague feeling of the book, and also that I enjoyed it on the whole. When I re-read it, those thoughts and feelings were validated, to the point where I ended up including To Kill a Mockingbird on my Top 5 List for 2025!

This book, on the other hand, I remember thinking of in a slightly different way. I remember the overall plot. I remember a feeling of it being well written. But I also remember thinking it was a bit too intense, a bit bleak, a bit disturbing... and once again, those thoughts and feelings were validated.

Let's begin with what Lord of the Flies has going for it, particularly if I was to choose to study it. Firstly, it is short - only 12 chapters long. Far shorter than The Book Thief's 580ish pages. Secondly, it has some great imagery, a strong sense of foreboding, and - despite some dated dialogue - reads quite 'modern.' Thirdly, the plot is well-known and thought-provoking, and even parallels some popular series of recent times, such as (I have heard) Yellowjackets. 

On the flip side, it is dark and disturbing, if not quite as disturbing as the other book I've read by the same author. A story about a group of young boys who crash-land on an island and slowly descend into savagery is not going to be a 'light' read! Even the cover of this version is intense.

To focus in on one moment: the ending really hits me, when the sole (living) adult that we encounter in the book meets the main characters, and sees how young they really are. One character in particular, who in the main part of the narrative has become a terrifying figure, is described from the point of view of the adult as (mild spoilers): "A little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist." (page 260) It's very clever, and quite disturbing, really.

I'm conflicted.

I don't 'like' this book (it will not be ending up on my "Best of 2026" list, if I do one). I do think its well-written, and would make a good study.

It may even end up being the one I do, on balance.

But for now, I'll keep looking.

Completed 15 January 2026.

Previous Book ~ Next Book

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