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Lord of the Flies

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Lord of the Flies

Written by: William Golding
Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
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About this listen

Newly remastered with additional sound design to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Lord of the Flies.

A plane crashes on a desert island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. As the boys' delicate sense of order fades, so their childish dreams are transformed into something more primitive, and their behaviour starts to take on a murderous, savage significance.

First Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is one of the most celebrated and widely read of modern classics

©1954 William Golding (P)2012 Faber Audio
Classics Coming of Age
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What listeners say about Lord of the Flies

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Brilliant Speculative Fiction

What would happen if a bunch of boys were stranded on a Tropical Island and had to develop a Society? William Golding endeavors to answer this question. He explores psychological resilience, ethical/moral decision-making, and personal responsibility vs leadership. Golding uses vivid imagery and unparallelled character development to dive deep into these issues. His hypothetical nascent society spirals into chaos.
This book is quite rightly discussed in classrooms and English Lit classes for it's brilliance. The metaphorical symbolism is astounding - the conch, the fire, the beast, etc.. The imagery is compelling - the Fire, the Dance, etc..

Martin Jarvis does a good job bringing the story to listeners - using generally well-chosen cadences and accents for the characters - but the voice choices for Piggy and Jack get grating after awhile.
The performance is nothing special.

This recording of a classic tale is worth 9.5 stars out of 10.

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Take a walk on the dark side

I read Lord of the Flies long ago, so I was ready for a new take on the classic. Fortunately, it was long enough ago that I didn't remember the plot details. Oh my, what dark sides we humans have.... and so interesting to see how they come out. Good vs evil. Dark vs light. Excellent narration, which really added to my experience ~ I felt I 'got' the characters.

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3 people found this helpful

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Enjoyed listening to this classic

Loved the book, my only complaint was when they bleeped out “Indians”. Can we not except literature understanding that it was written in a day that’s different than our own?

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simply beautiful

now i understand why this story is a classic masterpiece. the meaning behind the story really reflects on society. overall amazing. must read for sure!

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Classic book on life & psychology

Classic book on life & psychology. Makes you ponder what it is to be a human being.

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Great read

It was a very pleasant book to read especially in the winter when there’s nothing to do

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Classic

it is well written and we'll narrated book. I came to think this is how humans might have behaved before civilization and how Gods and ghost where created.

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Excellent narration by Martin Jarvis!

I loved Martin Jarvis's narration, and I especially liked when he did Piggy. Superb production.

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Disturbing

When I was in high school, this was required reading every other year. Unfortunately, it was not to be my year.
40 years later, I finally got around to it and I'm glad I did.
Amazingly harsh description of how society can disintegrate and how easily people can fall to violence and brutality, when there are no reprocutions or consequences.
Excellent book!

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Excellent

A story for the times.

A more than worthwhile read, with flawless narration. I cannot recommend this book, enough.

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