William Golding

by Mark Kinkead-Weekes

This is a new and enlarged edition of the standard critical study of the novels of William Golding. In 1967 Mark Kinkead-Weekes and Ian Gregor offered critical readings of the first five novels, from Lord of the Flies to The Spire . In 1984, by which time the authority of their book was established and Golding had won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the original study was enlarged by a long essay taking account of the next three novels, including Darkness Visible and Rites of Passage , which won the Booker Prize. Ian Gregor died in 1995. Mark Kinkead-Weekes has now completed their joint undertaking, revising and expanding the second-edition essay into three separate chapters, and adding new ones on the last four novels, The Paper Men , Close Quarters , Fire Down Below and the unfinished The Double Tongue , which was published posthumously.As well as providing readings of the individual novels, two chapters reflect on Golding's writings as a whole. The authors knew him personally and discussed many of his books with him. This study stands, therefore, as an unrivalled and contemporary view of the emergence of the works one by one, their relation to one another, and their collective distinction as the astonishing imaginative achievement of a great English writer and moralist.Golding's daughter, Judy Carver, who is editing his journals, has contributed an invaluable biographical sketch of her father.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Madeeha]

I only read the LOTF part but it was so hard to read idgaf it's going on my read shelf

[Sol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually only about halfway through this, but its been amazing so far. I'm really loving the structurally oriented readings of the novles, which was especially helpful for Free Fall and The Spire. These essays pointed out and clarified many small (but important) details in each of the novels that really bring their readings together. I found some of their conclusions a bit surprising or contentious, especially their reading of Jocelin's decline as comprising real redemption and the acquisition of the true knowledge he had lacked. I'd especially love to reread Pincher Martin and Free Fall through the lens of their analyses, but that'll have to wait. I'm only halfway through Golding's books and there are so many other things to read. I can't wait to finish the latter half of this once I've made it through the rest of Golding's oeuvre.

Feb 2020: Finally finished the whole book. The final chapter on "sight" is absolutely amazing, and it cleared up a lot of questions I had about several of Golding's works. But it also filled me with despair that I could ever get even half as much out of Golding's works as the writers of this volume. I'm still decades and decades (if ever) away from being able to "see".