This novel is often characterized as an account of typical
adolescent and youthful indiscretions, turbulence and an awakening
sense of individuality. It has elements of autobiography, but
Golding's aims are more complex. The limitations of his
first-person narrator, Oliver, are used ironically to point up the
cruelties and tragedies of life, which Oliver himself remains
unable or unwilling to see - even as an adult. The novel uses
music, both thematically in the story and in the formal structure
of the novel. Comedy and pathos are present at the same time; those
who attempt to teach Oliver self-knowledge often do so at the cost
of their own self-respect or even sanity.
William Golding Limited has established a collaboration
with the Centre for South West Writing based at the Streatham and
Tremough campuses of the University of Exeter featuring original
writing by graduate students. Read 'Reflections of Small Town England in
William Golding's The Pyramid' by Ailsa Poll, MA student,
University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus
John Carey's new biography of William Golding
Drawing almost entirely on materials that have never before been
made public, John Carey, the distinguished writer and critic, sheds
new light on Golding. Through hundreds of letters, unpublished
works and Golding's intimate journals, Carey draws a revelatory and
definitive portrait of an extraordinary man. In an absorbing and
compelling narrative, he reveals a many-sided figure: a war-hero, a
reclusive depressive who considered himself a 'monster', a family
man, a victim of fears and phobias who battled against alcoholism,
and a writer who trusted the imagination above all things.
Follow the link below to hear 'audio snippets' where Carey reads
from his highly praised new biography.
William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies