Rating: 
Summary: Still an excellent book!
Review: I read this book last year (grade ten), because I was forced to read it for school. But, unlike all the other books they made us read, I ended up loving this one.The story is essentially a parody of Ballantyne's The Coral Island, which I read when I was much younger, and hated for exactly the same reasons Golding seems to have hated it when he decided to write Lord of the Flies. After reading books like The Coral Island, it's easy to understand the statement the author is making about British society, which is very amusing from a young Canadian perspective (weren't the British silly?). The book is very clever, amusing and moving. And it's not even very long, so it doesn't get boring before getting to the point.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who isn't overly squeamish. (It does involve certain acts of violence and cruelty, which tend to be the most important parts.)
However, though it isn't necessary, I would recommend reading The Coral Island before Lord of the Flies, in order to understand and enjoy this book to it's fullest.
Rating: 
Summary: how can you like this?
Review: this book had good morals but it was so confusing, that to even understand one of the main points in the book i needed cliffs notes. some of it was exciting inside the chapter but i cant remember one cliffhanger chapter ending. trust me, if you are a teen, take it from another, unless FORCED to read this for school (like i was) dont read this book. it isnt worth your effort to read such a terrible book. whoever called it a classic is crazy
Rating:
Summary: More than just a book
Review: William Golding wrote this book as a response to "Coral Island," in which a group of boys shipwrecked on an island make Christians out of cannibals, hunt pigs but do not spill blood, and are cheerfully rescued. Obviously, Lord of the Flies is much more than an adventure story about good little boys. It is an exploration into the darker side of man and the true source of the 'beast,' or Devil. Meet Ralph, who represents sanity, common sense, and the 'conscience' of man; Jack, who loves nothing more than hunting, blood, and power, and who Freudians might say embodies the Id; Piggy, who personifies intelligence, logic, and reason; and Simon, who discovers the true nature of the beast and represents a ray of hope for mankind. I love this book because contained in less than 200 pages is an insight into human nature and the failings of society. When you read this, be prepared not only to examine the book and all its symbolism but yourself and your civilization.
Rating:
Summary: Terrifying
Review: Well written and visually descriptive novel about the savagery of mankind. A group of young boys are stranded on an island. Leaders step forward from some of the older boys and two quickly vie for overall leadership.The boys quickly evolve from children to savages. There are so many underlying questions that the reader asks himself as the novel unfolds. The central question being whether the outcome would have been the same if these had been adults rather than children.
Rating: 
Summary: A True Classic
Review: Lord of The Flies may look like a simple, plainly written adventure story'but don't let it fool you'for all its uncomplicated wording and minimalist dialogue it is a extremely deep novel, full of symbolism. It is the story about a group of boys stranded on a desert island after their plane crashes, and how they struggle for order among themselves and survival. Golding brilliantly chose this simple plot so that he could examine the basics of human nature without all the confusions and complications of society. Once on the island, the group quickly splits into two factions which frequently disagree'the group symbolized by the conch shell, which wants to establish rules and a social order, and the group symbolized by the spear, which is more interested in hunting, having fun, and basically doing whatever they please without anyone telling them what to do. It is amazing how on such a small level we can already see the main difference in politics today'Democrats wanting more government and programs to help the country, Republicans more interested in trusting individuals. While on this island, boys' minds are permeated by the Lord of the Flies, the human condition, (this name is supposedly a translation of Beelzebub, a Greek biblical name for the devil), which causes them to fear, become greedy, and eventually attempt to kill each other. Therefore, the entire novel is an allegory for the degeneration of society. I have given you just a brief look at the novel'read it yourself and discover the marvelous intricacies of this, Golding's true masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Thumbs down
Review: God this was terrible.
A group of children are marooned on a deserted island and must survive on their own. We see the rise and fall of their society as order is achieved; power corrupts the strongest of the group and the weakest members are dismissed or destroyed and finally chaos rules.
Despite my dislike of this book, I'll admit it is a very true commentary on society. The powerful abuse those weaker than them; how quickly rules become obsolete when they become inconvenient; the set roles of people in society (the chubby guy with glasses can never be as powerful as the cool, good-looking guy).
If you are not being forced to read this for school, please don't do it! The Simpsons parody of it is also a good thing to watch. At least in a cartoon it is entertaining, with just as much commentary on society as the original.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible, but true?
Review: The Lord of the Flies is an excellent character study. Shows the well meaning, the wise, the hateful, and the barbaric in different chacters. How civility can disappear when faced with survival and an unruled society. How some of the boys use clay to mask their faces, and in turn mask themselevs and their humanity was well illustrated by William Golding. Not a light book, but an easy read. Not an enjoyable read, but a good reminder of how people could be.
Rating:
Summary: Lord Of the Flies
Review: This novel is a novel that is in the same category as Animal Farm by George Orwell and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. They are all short, easy reads that have so much more meaning that most of the novels the common reader finds. This is the type of literature that is so full of meaning that once you finish it you will wish you hadnt read it, so that you could read it once again and experience it for the first time. They are classics, and if you havent read any of them than I suggest you start ASAP!
Rating:
Summary: Literature at work
Review: Golding had in view the bible's fall of man story, Euripides Bacchae, and the boys adventure novel Coral Island when writing this book. This is a great introduction to serious literature for high schoolers, although Golding's use of symbol may seem heavy handed and the story trite at times to older readers. Much literature is a beautiful depiction of an aspect or a slice of life. This novel is doing something else. Golding here is telling a fable that seeks to make the reader aware of the dark side of our human nature. If awareness of something brings more control of what you are aware of then maybe atrocity will decrease on the planet a little. Literature at work.
Rating:
Summary: 16 year-old schoolboy
Review: "Lord of the Llies", like "Animal Farm" shows the rite of communism, gone sour. This book is like most revolutions that took place this century - at first, all is happy with the new liberal government, but eventually greed takes over the hearts of the leaders of the goverment, and promises turn to propoganda, and the new government is worse than the old one. In "Lord of the Flies", Jack and Ralph emerge as the two leaders, and both of them take advantage of their intellegance and use it upon themselves to take responsibility of creating order and prevent jubior schoolboys' anarchy. Jack is the leader of the hunters, who gather meat for the tribe to eat. Ralph is responsible for the part of the tribe that is to build shelter, and to keep the fire alight. As their faith in being rescued is abandoned, they become the inhabitants of the island that they are plane wrecked on. At first, there is food for everyone, all the boys are equal and happy, enjoying the tropical climate, swimming in the lagoons, and mainly their freedom from adults. But conflict between jack and Ralph is soon aroused, and the tribe splits into two. The two tribes become rivals untill all that is left of Ralphs tribe has gone to jacks side, and what is left is Ralph and Piggy. Soon, the schoolboys are haunted by the vision of a huge beast living in the caves of the island, and this fear provokes the schoolboys to become like savage-like animals, killing and toruring the boys who disobey their leader, Jack. Piggy tries to persuade the boys to come back to reality, and to depart from their aim to destroy the "beast" which they have invisioned, but the boys are too anarchiac to listen. Many surprises and deaths come in this book, and I higly recomend it.
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