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)

A good story

This book is best enjoyed when read without the limitations of expectations or deeper meaning

Excellent

Having read this several decades ago as a student, hearing the author narrates his own story all these years later was quite a treat.

Simply a Classic!

This book is a staple of school everywhere since it came out. Fantastic story! I highly reccomend!

Amazing story

very interesting symbolism all throughout the story. it really sucks you in. loved the intro and final note from the author.

Fantastic

I love this author, he does such a great job narrating. Highly recommend this audiobook.

Read by an author, not a voice actor

Although one may find it interesting that such an iconic story is read to you by the author, I feel this experience would be much better produced by a voice actor. there are times that the author is clearly bored with his own works and doesn't want to be performing the recording.

very good

I don't know why it took me 63 years to get around to this. It's my first time using an audio book and I am getting used to the format.
I loved the author's voice. it's a good story and a thrilling climax. one of the kind of books where I didn't fully appreciate it until I was done

One of the best books written

Have read LotF countless times but listening to Mr. Golding tell this story is a nice treat as well as his personal commentary both before and after the book.

Bad reading

The author’s pronunciation is confusing and sounds sick at times, it is very distracting and hard to listen to

Impressive, somber story

I enjoyed to listen to the author himself. Although I heard better performances it made it more authentic.
The story accomplishes what it's supposed to accomplish: It makes you ponder about human nature.