'Lord of the Flies' with Middle East in mind

For some, the book was and is considered: profane, cruel, 'not representing' normal values and dangerous. Many have hated its brutal tone. Many say it is atheistic. For others, William Golding's first novel: Lord of the Flies, is one of the most creative and greatest novels of all time.

First published in 1954, fiction, provocative, intense and very absorbing - no doubt, the book is. But, whoever likes reading books that makes one intensely think, ponder and wonder, then Golding's masterpiece is a must read. Not because it was the main reason for the writer being awarded the Nobel Price for Literature in 1983; Lord of the Flies is beautifully written and is as relevant today as it was, then, just after World War II and during the Cold War. Just as it will always be reflective of human nature as long as we humans exist.

• Quote from the novel, Chapter: - 5 Beast from Water: "Life...is scientific....I know there isn't no beast...but I know there isn't no fear, either....Unless we get frightened of people." ......there isn't no beast:.......there isn't no fear:  We humans are the worst beasts here on Earth; and what else is as terrifying as how evil we people can be.
  

You don't have to read it with the Christian or Western sense of evil, Beelzebub or Id in mind. Read it to provoke and jolt your mind. Read it to remind yourself of how evil and destructive, we, Mankind, can be. Read it, and reflect on all the wars that we, civilized as we may want to think we are - have had. Read it, and the savagery that happened in: Hitler's notorious camps, South Africa's apartheid, Pol Pot's Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda; and what is still happening in Iraq and Gaza - come to mind. Read it, and though the book's main characters are children and the plot mainly weaves and revolves around them - you will understand why William Golding had to be awarded the Noble Price and be so highly regarded by those who read novels.

Photo: Amazon Books