"Lord of the Flies" from Kelli

I was the only one who hadn't read "Lord of the Flies" yet. Apparently it's a high school classic that I avoided at all costs so I wouldn't appear "mainstream" in my high school reading for pleasure class. Perhaps I should have read it in high school, because the novel is so impactful and has been for generations.

William Golding's symbolism is beautiful and timely (the book was published in 1954) and clearly reflects his own dissatisfaction with the current results of the human experiment with democracy and governing. In my estimation, Golding is like an earlier, less sardonic version of Kurt Vonnegut who comments on and critiques our society through this brief, but dense allegorical story.

In my brief research into the book, I found that it was not originally a success and went out of print shortly after its initial publication date. In the 60s though, the book rapidly gained popularity and has since been on three different "short lists" of the best novels of the 20th century. Perhaps the book was more appreciated in the 60s due to the rising anti-war sentiments in the Western world.

If you, like me, didn't find this book on your high school reading list, don't hesitate to add it to your current reading list,