We discussed "The Lord of the Flies" by William Golding.
In the introduction to the book Stephen King states that the book is "‘exciting, relevant and thought-provoking’". What did we think?
Although the book did not make for comfortable bedtime reading we basically all agreed with Stephen King's statement. We thought that this was such an important book for all to read in order to reflect on what is civilisation and how fragile it is.
Recent events in England, with riots where some people acted very savagely towards police officers and anyone with a different opinion, race or religion made the book very relevant.
A lot of discussion was raised on the topics of good and evil, law and order (the need for rules), mob mentality, human nature and the power of fear. It was definitely thought provoking.
Despite the fact that the stoyline was disturbing to most, the pace of the book and the events that occurred did keep you wanting to read more and find out what happened next. As the mother of a 12 year old boy, I wouldn't particularly say that I found it "exciting". Younger readers might have a different opinion.
**WARNING - SPOILER ALERT**
As a group we found it interesting that Golding 'killed off' two of the more perceptive and intelligent characters - Piggy and Simon - and some of us felt that the ending left many questions unanswered, but believe that this was deliberate on the part of the author.
This book is definitey a modern classic and one that we recommend you read.
The next book to be read will be "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig.
This will be dicussed on Friday 13th September.
