Switching gears a little today, from science fiction to more mainstream literature, to mark the 72nd anniversary of The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, published on this day in 1954. It was his first novel, and initially sold modestly, but eventually became one of the defining English-language novels of the 20th century. I read it in high school and I'll wager a lot of you did too. Either that, or watched the movie in class. Maybe both. Golding's entire body work was recognized by the Nobel committee when it awarded him the 1983 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Like all the best literature, Lord of the Flies is both timeless and extremely timely as it explicitly deals with civilization, political order, tribalism, violence, and what happens when the institutions that restrain human beings break down. Golding deliberately constructed it as a dark counterpoint to R. M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island, whose stranded British boys have a much more fun and reassuring adventure.
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