I first laid my eyes on the title "The Lord of the Flies" while browsing popular Hollywood movie lists. Seeing that it was based out of a novel and adapted into a movie not once but twice, I was extremely curious to discover what the novel had to offer. But to my disappointment, the book turned out to be a little underwhelming.
A plane crash leaves a number of students aged 12 or below stranded on an isolated and uninhabited island, with all the adults killed. Struggling and left to their own devices, they initially split into two different groups with conflicting interests and leadership styles. While Ralph's group had its basis in pragmatism, with long term survival the priority, Jack's group the "hunters" found more joy in following their natural instincts and living a life something akin to "savages". This fragile arrangement quickly breaks down as the power struggle between the two group leaders intensifies, made worse by the looming dark shadow of a mythical monster in the forest. This ultimately leads to a complete breakdown of civilization: the powerful holding the strings, the weak bullied and stamped out and in general people doing what they please. A brutal world of insanity, murder and chaos takes shape, up to the moment they are finally rescued at the end.
It is a disturbing novel and to some extent a horrifying one as well. There is some grotesque savagery at play here and some experiences like Simon's encounter with the mysterious beast or his hallucinatory illusions, are downright terrifying.
Yet, there is no doubt that this is a thought-provoking book. Part of high school reading curriculum in America/UK, it is generally considered a book with important societal lessons. I think it can be viewed as a parable depicting how in the absence of a controlling force, morals and civilization can quickly get torn to shreds, leading to man's degeneration to their base instincts of savagery and barbarism. It raises compelling ideas about the human species and poses some pertinent questions about our society. It made me reflect for a moment whether the primal instincts we all have are like a dormant volcano, waiting to be unleashed.
The central theme hits the reader like a tour de force with Golding showing little or no pretense of keeping it hidden behind layers of stories and characters. Yet, I think the failure to build what could have been a compelling storyline is what ultimately left me with a dissatisfied feeling about the book. The author chose a plot setting that was a like a blank canvas; he could have done a lot with it but he didn't. From a story point of view, it is just haphazard. There is no discernible plot, the children are just assigned random nicknames and are an embodiment of certain stereotypes with no character depth. The ideas conveyed by the novel are compelling, but the way they were blended into a story left much to be desired. The focus is narrow, too narrow. It felt as if the author was in a hurry to get his point across and couldn't be bothered with much else. Also, I don't agree to the extent to which the degradation of morality of humans is shown in the story, which felt a bit too excessive.
Overall, it is a book with a nice idea, a read showing to young adults and the society at large how moral degradation can set in if we do not guard against it. But readers looking for a grasping storyline with a plot that keeps them hooked might be left disappointed
My rating: 2.5/5 stars
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