Lord of the Flies

By: William Golding

Narrated by: William Golding

Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Get ready for an adventure tale in its purest form, a thrilling and elegantly told account of a group of British schoolboys marooned on a tropical island. Alone in a world of uncharted possibilities, devoid of adult supervision or rules, the boys begin to forge their own society, their own rules, their own rituals. With this seemingly romantic premise, and through the seemingly innocent acts of children, Golding exposes the duality of human nature itself: the dark, eternal divide between order and chaos, intellect and instinct, structure and savagery.

©1954 William Golding (P)2002 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Lord of the Flies gives the reader a lucid and chillingly objective mirror to our modern society. William Golding's narration is as impartial as his work, yet his grumbly, grandfatherly voice, complete with mid-sentence sniffs and swallows, is intimate." (AudioFile)

"Lord of the Flies is one of my favorite books. I still read it every couple of years." (Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games trilogy)

"I finished the last half of Lord of the Flies in a single afternoon, my eyes wide, my heart pounding, not thinking, just inhaling.... My rule of thumb as a writer and reader - largely formed by Lord of the Flies - is feel it first, think about it later." (Stephen King)

"This brilliant work is a frightening parody on man's return [in a few weeks] to that state of darkness from which it took him thousands of years to emerge. Fully to succeed, a fantasy must approach very close to reality. Lord of the Flies does. It must also be superbly written. It is." (The New York Times Book Review)

So Intense!

This was a rare pleasure. When I bought this book several years back (2012) for my teenaged son I simply bought the book and paid little attention to it. Recently I decided that I would re-read/listen to some of the classics in my library. When I came upon this book I was surprised to see that it was read by the author!
Having the author and now deceased Mr. Golding read his work was Amazing! He brings such richness and possibly even hints more so at the characters’ personalities than another narrator may be able to do. It was simply wonderful!
It isn’t often that you get to hear the Author read you such a classic masterpiece 25 Years posthumously!
I suggest you revisit your “Freshman Reading List” pick this gem up and truly enjoy it as adult! It has so much more, more of everything in re-reading it as an adult and of course Mr. Golding’s narration is a giant bonus to boot!

I loved it

the spec was excellent I've been wanting to read it for a long time and I found it met all expectations.. having the author read it himself and discuss his thoughts about his own writing was extra special as well highly recommended

Pay Someone Else to Read it To You

I returned this book and I honestly didn't want to. I really tried to get past the terrible narration on the author but it is genuinely painful. The book is boring because he seems bored reading it. I bought this book in spite of the reviews saying I shouldn't but now I'm just echoing what others have said. Go buy the book yourself and have someone read it to you. You're better off.

Great book! But maybe...

I first read this book in high school when it was assigned by a teacher. I ripped thru it in a couple of days and it became one of my favorite books. I don't re-read books often tho so it was 25 years (wow) before I decided to download this audiobook and give it a listen.

The story is just as gripping and as I remembered but maybe it shouldn't have been read by the author. I'm not an overly critical judge of the readers, in most cases, but William Golding's voice made it hard to focus on the story sometimes. His monotone style also allowed my mind to wander quite a few times resulting in a rewind to catch back up.

I love this book but maybe it's time to make a new audio version with a professional narrator.

Cruel nature

Antiromantic utopia where beloved nature turns society into a bunch of savages, struggling to survive with their instincts. No reasoning, no Democratic institutions are capable to function in front of basic human needs such as shelter and meal.

Better than I remember

Very cool that it was read by author with some background before and after! I recalled parts of the story but not with all the depth.

I loved it

very good book I loved it thank you
for the amazing experience that you gave to me

Savage Boys

This is a story about the importance of community development, structure and civilized rules for humans to obey for basic safety and sustainability of natural resources. A
crude story of what can go wrong without them and how people can turn into savages killing one
another.
The narrator is terrible but bearable. Don't let it stop you from listening to this book, you seem to get over it pretty quick.

Terrible performance and recording

Great book; now if only the author could read and perform his own writing and it could all be digitally remastered.

Without law and order, we are lost

Absolutely horrifying and truthful account t of what people think will be Paradise, but is not. Human nature is not pretty and thos book captures the very essence of truth.