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)

Iconic work with uninspired delivery - options?

This is an iconic work - often imitated, but rarely matched. It is a window into a past "civilization" and its fragile under-pinnings. I found myself arguing with the characters ("Now why would you do that?!") and struggled to remember they were only 12 years of age. Everyone should read this book every ten years or so, if for no reason that to remember that we are only a few weeks (days?) from anarchy and chaos ourselves - under the right circumstances.
Everyone is beating up on the narration/narrator, and this is grossly unfair. Mr. Golding is NOT a good reader - he is monotone and often sounds bored with the reading. But it is his work and I cannot help but think that he brings something extra to it for that reason alone. Having said that, it would be nice to have the option of listening to a professional read it. Being a good author does not make one a good reader - and a talented narrator just brings a whole new dimension to the quality of a story.
I do like the comments at the end of the story in which Mr. Golding pops all pretentiousness of those who would instruct others on the hidden messages within his story.: Sometimes a story is just a story.

my new favorite book

i had to read this book for my english class. i didn’t think i’d like it very much at first, but the story grabs you and pulls you in from the very start. the author (also the reader of the audiobook) gives a great performance. the book itself is beautifully written, and the audiobook builds on that beauty by bringing the story to life. 11/10. fantastic.

Read by the author

Read for a class. But really appreciated hearing the author read it because it’s interesting to hear what he stresses as he reads. This book has been so hyper analyzed that it was nice to hear the author’s foreword and afterword, especially the afterword.

A surprising delight

I don’t normal read all too much but this book really interesting me. For once I actually wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to the boys on the island. The extra information the author gives about the book is great and I wish all audio books did that. Definitely listen to this even if you don’t normally read.

Enjoyable version

This version read by the author gave insight as to why he wrote the book and he gives good advice at the end to keep in mind when reading any book.

great story!

This is a favorite of mine from my childhood. it was a bit hard to listen to as the author is better at writting than reading aloud.

Classic story of boys stranded on a desert island

Interesting look at how human relationships need rules to thrive. Without them trust and civility break down. I still wonder if the dead parashootist had anything to do with their rescue.

Nice

It was nice but a little to much detail for my taste though it was good.

A little hard to listen to.

Interesting story. A lot of writing about the scenery that became a little redundant to me. The author read the book which I appreciate but he was very monotone. I found myself having to rewind several times bc I would drift off.

Outstanding Tale, Mediocre Performance

While not as dismal as most of the reviews I read before downloading this copy, I listened to this wonderful piece of literature for the first time in many years as my daughter has to read it for school and I wanted to be fresh to discuss it with her. Still just as timeless. The performance is not. He is quite droll, but I wouldn’t call it “the worst performance I’ve heard on audible” as others have commented. He is an author. Not a narrator; and rightfully so. Still worth it.