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Lord of the Flies

By: William Golding
Narrated by: William Golding
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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)

Featured Article: The top 100 classics of all time


Before we whipped out our old high school syllabi and dug deep into our libraries to start selecting contenders for this list, we first had to answer the question, "How do we define a classic?" The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might guess, though there’s a lot to be said for the old adage, "You know it when you see it" (or, in this case, hear it). Of course, most critically, each of our picks had to be fabulous in audio. So dust off your aspirational listening list—we have some amazing additions you don’t want to miss.

What listeners say about Lord of the Flies

Average customer ratings
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not impressed with story or narration

I like the idea of this story, but was disappointed by the end product. I have heard many things about the book and the movie, over the years, which is why I endeavored to read it. I’m not sure if it was the narrator or the story that made this book lackluster. Having the author read his own book is generally appealing; however, with this author, this was not the case.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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So awesome to hear from author

Hearing story with tone and attitude from author himself was amazing.
Golding shares his thoughts about writing this classic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Solid Read

What a fantastic book. I can’t believe I didn’t read it sooner. The story is magnificent and heartbreaking. And tells a story about why rules are important.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Never gets old

It’s been years since I read this book and I was glad I decided to listen. Great novel that is always interesting.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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should have read this 30 years ago...

I'm glad I was able to hear it in the author's own voice and with commentary

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The narration 😪

I really wanted to love this audio book but couldn’t get passed the narration . I do love the book - but sheeesh . This is why professional narrators exist .

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good

I think I would have enjoyed much more with a different narrator. I had a hard time with that.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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There’s a reason it’s a classic

I picked up this book to be able to discuss with my teenager as she reads it for her English class. What was supposed to be a read-along together turned into “I finished the book WAY ahead of you.” I really enjoyed the buildup and was left jaw open at the end. I’ve never read this book, but I can now understand why it’s a classic and must read in school. I also LOVED the author’s commentary at the start and finish of the book. It allowed my daughter to enjoy the book for what it is, not what she’s told it should be.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Author Read

Nice to hear a classic book read by the author. I read this as a teenager and just recently read it again because my son was reading it for school. Reading it the second time, I get a different story than before. Mostly due to the fact that adults look at life differently because of their experience. Nice to read it again and it gives my son and I an interesting topic of conversation.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I love when authors narrate their own work

Good story, picked it up late in life because my daughter has to read it for school. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did

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