Author: William Golding
Title: Lord of the Flies
Rating: 4
Reviewer: Sam D. Grade: 8
Review:
Have you ever wondered what the life would be like without adults? Have you ever thought about crashing on a deserted island? These are the items this book explores.
Picture a group of boys ranging in ages 6-12, stuck on an island without any adults. As the story moves on, they become more and more degenerate. At the beginning they all selected the most appropriate leader; his name was Ralph. Ralph handled everything in the best manner. He treated the signal fire more important than anything else, since it was the only way to have a chance getting of off the island. Other than the signal fire, Ralph treated everything with equal importance (food, shelter and water). Jack Merridew was Ralph’s age and thought hunting was most important. During the middle of the story, Jack runs away and forms his own tribe, which consisted of most of the boys. As the story unfolds to the end of the book, many dramatic events take place, including two deaths.
This book was a very thrilling, exciting and distressful book at the same time. I never read anything like it. The author keeps you wondering what happens next, which I find to be a very important quality in a book. This is definitely not one of those “Giligans Island” survival stories. Between each page an event takes place that you never thought would occur. Some events are shocking, some are exciting and some are even bloody and violent.
My rating, four out of five stars were for this reason; This story had a great beginning, a well-done climax however I think the ending could have been a little bit more detailed by just a page or two. In my opinion, it leaves you thinking, “Did the author get lazy?” The end was off to a great start with the main character being hunted, and it sort off just ends with out a logical reason for what happened. In fact, it seemed like a very realistic book at first with the “typical human nature” idea and seemed like this was what would really happen, if young boys were stranded alone, until the very end. In conclusion, it was a good idea for an ending it just could have been longer.
Overall this book was a great story. I think the author is very talented and I hope to read more of his books in the near future. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a little “thrill” in a book, and don’t mind a little violence and gore. If you choose to read this book you won’t be disappointed.
8/26/04
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