Lord of the Flies

When `Lord of the Flies` appeared in 1954 it received unprecedented reviews for a first novel. Critics used such phrases as `beautifully writeen, tragic and provocative… vivid and enthralling… this beautiful and desperate book… completely convincing and often very frightening… its progress is magnificient… like a fragment of nightmare… a dizzy climax of terror… the terrible spell of this book…` E.M. Forster chose it as the Outstanding Novel of the Year. `Time and Tide` touched upon perhaps the most important facet of this book when it said, `It is not only a first-rate adventure but a parable of our times, ` and articles on this and subsequent Golding novels have stressed these twin aspects of Golding: a consummate control of the novel form, and a superb all-encompassing vision of reality which communicates itself with a power reminiscent of Conrad.