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)

Great story, bad reader.

The story was very good but unfortunately the author reading book was not, I remember reading book in school and loved it, I have went back and listened too a lot of books ive already read and found a new love for them due to the reader making it exciting or changing their voice for different characters, pausing at comas and full stops etc. unfortunately didnt get any of that from reader in this book.

narration uninteresting

as a story, I thought the book was wonderful, a beautiful yet tragic take that comments on the savagery of making, however, I found it very hard to finish and even listen at times to the audiobook. it's narration is terrible, uninteresting, and generally ruined the experience of the entire book for me. if interested in the book, I'd recommend a different narration or to just pick up a hard copy and read it yourself

So amazing

This book is beautifully deep and I feel like I will be thinking on the underlining tones it represents for a long time.

Catching His Breath

I absolutely love this book! my only complaint would be that William Golding sounded board at times which was emphasized by the very noticeable sound of him inhaling. Overall great read and a amazing story.

An amazing read from Golding himself!

Where does Lord of the Flies rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This audiobook provides amazing commentary at the start and end from William Golding (the author) himself.

While Golding's thick British accent can be a bit tough to decipher at times, the book is quick, wonderful and very much an I-have-to-keep-listening sort of tale. Highly recommend.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lord of the Flies?

When Ralph and Piggy find the Conch for the first time is a pretty fun scene. Additionally, when Simon finally confronts "The Lord of the Flies" is something I'll never forget.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I definitely gasped a few times throughout the reading.

Any additional comments?

Lord of the Flies is a brilliant story of what happens when boys are left to their own devices and laws cease to exist.

Read by Author who seems bored!??

The author is reading the book and he sighs a lot like he doesn't want to be reading it. LOL. That seemed a little strange to me since he wrote it and it is a good book....just not the best from the reader.

recommend

I loved listening to the author before, during and after the book. I would listen to it again.

Not for everyone

I wouldn’t say I liked this book but I couldn’t stop listening.

Not the best reader.

a classic. well read.

this is a classic story, well read. I hadn't read this since I was in middle schooler and I just finished listening to it with my middle school student. it is both horrifying and engrossing.

William Golding

William golding's narration of his own book really caused this book to be an excellent listen. I truly enjoyed this version of this book and highly recommend this is a good listening book.