This Past Monday, Extreme Writing Now gave away held a contest and the winner is getting a copy of the William Golding biography, William Golding: The Author of Lord of the Flies, a book  that was penned by the esteemed critic, John Carey.

I am reluctantly sending the only copy of the book I have along to the winner, Rachel. I say reluctantly because after thumbing through the volume, I now wish I had advertised the prize as slightly used.

Lord of the Flies, as many of you know, is a story, not of human triumph, but of failure. A dark look at what animals we really are, the story begins with the high hopes of survival through kinship and teamwork, and then crashes into a complete breakdown of the fragile framework that supported a pseudo-civilized society.

If one reads any number of the one page, or less, treatments concerning William Golding, they may acquire a certain comfort in understanding why Golding wrote Lord of the Flies. Golding’s parents were free thinkers and educators and raised William to be a scientist, a notion he rejected once he reached college, where he took up the mantle of the literary arts.

During World War II, Golding was present at three of the most significant naval actions to take place in the conflict; the sinking of the Bismark, D-Day, and the action at Walcheren.

Golding’s masterpiece was published in 1954; the Cold War was in full swing and many had feared that human civilization was in a complete meltdown.

So, to make the assumption of understanding where Golding was coming from for his concept of Lord of the Flies , based on these details, would not be far from the truth. On the other hand, the man was way more complex than the details we can read in a few paragraphs would make us believe.

William Golding was vehemently opposed to biographies, especially those written while the subject was still alive. And his opposition was respected, where his life story was concerned, well after his death in 1993. That is until John Carey, a British literary critic, had befriended the Golding family and was allowed to publish the only, and highly praised, biography of Nobel Prize winning Golding.

Carey had access to all of Golding’s largely untouched documents, including a personal journal that spanned 22 years. What Carey gives us is a detailed look at an artist who was tortured at his soul; a brilliant mind that was pained by self-doubt and other flaws.

Out of the gate we are given a peek into Golding’s torture as we are given this from his journal:

…the bloody cold daylight I’ve spent my life in, except when drunk.

The author was referring to the most powerful experiences he had, one from his early youth, and how memories of that experience provided him refuge from life.

Golding was a man touched by many of the flaws that great artists are typically touched with, including harsh self criticism. He was very critical of Lord of the Flies, as can be witnessed in a correspondence between him and his agent. This statement came after he re-read the book in 1972:

I found it boring and crude. The language is O level stuff…

What Golding really detested about the book was the enormous success it had gained. So much success, that it had overshadowed all of his other work. Work that he felt was superior, perhaps because it was most recent.

The passages I did get to read were very comfortable and flowed like a lazy brook on a late spring day. Not only does John Carey’s voice fall easy on the eyes, but it is unassuming and factual.

I actually sat in the parking lot of the post office and considered keeping the book long enough to read it.

I will discover the man that wrote Lord of the Flies, and I am thankful that my guide will be an author as adept as John Carey.

© 2010, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

Years ago I started writing Flash Fiction for just the sheer enjoyment of writing, and now it has turned into a full blown addiction. I can't quit the horse, man! Another dirty little secret about me is my ability to write all kinds of web content. SEO content, articles, blog posts, manifests; you name it, I'll write it. Looking for some help? My gun hangs at r.alex.crabtree@gmail.com

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Tags: book review, john carey, lord of the flies, william golding

This entry was posted on July 1, 2010 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Books, Featured, Writing Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.