Hehe, okej, WOW nu var det ett tag sedan det kom en liten uppdatering här… WHOOPSI! Aja, det finns flera anledningar, men den största av dem är att Rebecca och jag har läst böcker som redan recenserats av Emma i flera månader nu, så vi har inte kunnat klämma fram några fräscha recensioner. Tills NU!

Om rubriken på inlägget inte avslöjade det så förtydligar jag här och nu att denna recension kommer att vara på engelska. Varför? Jo, eftersom vi har läst boken på motsvarande lektion i skolan och därmed är det rätt passande. Är ni redo? Då kör vi! Language switch!

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

 

 

Summary (without too many spoilers):

A group of boys of varying ages, between perhaps six to twelve years old, become stranded on an island after a plane crash. At first, excitement concerning the sparkling, blue sea and the deeply green jungle enchants them, before reality creeps in and a fight between being rescued and embracing the life of savages erupts. As well as a fear of a mysterious beast settles like a veil over the island.

Genre:

Young adult, Allegory, Fantastique

The language:

If only one word was to be chosen to describe William Golding’s language, then it’s without doubt the following: poetic. So darn poetic! Every single portrayal is painted for the reader to interpret, every word a stroke of a brush. Okay, now I’m getting poetic here! What can I say! It’s contagious. Personally, I find this type of writing to be beautiful in books, but it can also be quite exhausting to read from time to time, since your brain never gets to rest in trying to figure out what everything means. But it’s a matter of taste.

Descriptions of the characters:

Purely physical these are pretty straight forward, although still following the theme from the last paragraph. “...he was a skinny, vivid little boy, with a glance coming from under a hut of straight hair that hung, black and coarse.” However, personalitywise the author’s characterization are more buried within the course of the story, meaning that we, the readers, are allowed glimpses of the boys behaviour to ourselves create an idea of what kind of person they are.

Descriptions of the setting:

Oh, there’s A LOT of them! Some might say too many (i.e. Emma and Rebecca…) but I quite like it. They provide a feel of the island whilst also painting an extremely vivid image. Of course the depiction here is also poetic as heck, for example instead of simply writing the plane left a mark of flattened trees after the crash it is called a “long scar”. Still, even with the pages being packed with similar descriptions of green and trees the author manages to keep the writing varied and interesting (for someone with the taste for it).

 

 

Favorite character:

Without a doubt Simon. When all the other boys are annoying and mean he is kind, quiet and rather invisible. Also, he is extremely appreciated by literally everyone! Even Ralph, the only one who seems to talk and notice him, is a bit of a jerk towards the boy from time to time. Simon is the smartest one on the island, and also the only one who figures out the truth about the beast. In the end, he deserved so much more than the fate he met! Stupid book.

Dissed character:

Jack. Ugh, how I hate the guy. ‘Let’s keep the fire going so we can be rescued!’ No, because Jack is going frickin hunting! IDIOT! He constantly runs around like a maniac, desperately chasing after a pig whilst ignoring everything and everyone else or what needs to be done. Building huts they can sleep in? Nope. Keeping the smoke signal burning so they can be rescued? Nej. Staying united to have a greater chance at surviving? NO! Uuuuuuuuuuugh!

Three good things about the book:

• The fact that it was stock full of hidden symbols and sneaky messages (which I never would have noticed hadn’t it been for my English teacher, heh). SO MUCH thought has been put into this book, a secret behind every word. It’s exhausting to think about, but really impressive.

• It felt real. Every character, every event, every conversation (even the stupid ones) truly felt authentic. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if something like this was to happen in reality.

• The psychological aspect of the story made it even more intriguing to read, to follow this scenario play out.

Three bad things about the book:

• That my baes didn’t get together in the end. (Okay, they were never canon. But a girl can dream, can’t she?) Overall, this book lacked romance. Even if only boys were stuck on the island something could have happened (that didn’t involve a sow, that is… Read the book and you’ll, probably, know what I mean.)

• The SUUUUPER LOOOOOONG chapters! You know, Golding, you can actually have ten pages instead of thirty for one chapter. No, really! I promise!

• The ending. I was SO disappointed! Either I would have wanted to know more after the abrupt closing, or it could have had a more finality to it. I thought the actual one to be a bit lame, actually,

 

 

Quotes:

(Okay, so these quotes aren’t really beautiful or meaningful or whatever, but rather chosen because they might fit into the assignments we’ve had about this book in class. Just so you know.)

“...the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. The face of red and white and black swung through the air…”

“A silver moon rose over the horizon, hardly large enough to make a path of light even when it sat right down on the water; but there were other lights in the sky, that moved, winked, or went out, though not even a faint popping came down from the battle fought at ten miles’ height. But a sign came down from the world of grown-ups.”

“This was the divider, the barrier. On the other side of the island, swathed at midday with mirage, defended by the shield of the quiet lagoon, one might dream of rescue; but here, faced by the brute obtuseness of the ocean, the miles of division, one was clamped down, one was helpless, one was condemned, one was-”

 

 

Recommend?:

This one is rather hard to get through, but I assure that you won't regret reading it. It’s truly worth the time and effort.

Read again?:

I just might! I feel the complexity of the plot requires that you read it at least twice, but I will need some time to process everything first.

Rating: 5/7 horcruxes

(The long chapters and ending really ruined the overall rating for me.)

 

// Sofia ❤