“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding

Living in paradise?

I first read this book when I was in high school.

It's interesting how some books stay in your mind for years  - and this one certainly did for me.

Written in 1951, “Lord of the Flies” is considered a classic - and part of the high school curriculum for many of us. The story is about a group of boys who are stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. They find themselves in a remote paradise - with beaches, the sea, fresh fruit, and… no grownups.

Soon after the accident, the boys get organized, choose a leader, establish some rules, and assign tasks - some of them as important as keeping a fire burning at all times so a ship passing by could come rescue them. Days go by and things start to change; there's parties and fun at the beach, but along with these, there's conflict, divisiveness, and lack of commitment to the assigned responsibilities.

Although there is friendship and loyalty among some of the characters, there's also quite the opposite - bullying, violence, fear, and the loss of innocence.

I assume that the author tried to illustrate human nature  by using children as the characters who go through those extreme circumstances. The story is fiction, however, I sure hope  that the cruelty shown by the characters wouldn't happen in real life.

Thinking back to when I read this book as a teenager, I would say that what made it so memorable was that the events in the story were totally unexpected to me. Reading it again as an adult was a quicker read than before, but to be honest, I think I was more shocked than the first time.

It is a thought-provoking book for sure. If you're looking for a classic that has had its readers talking about it for decades, this is a good read for you.