The Reading Bud

This book is one of those rare classics that a person like me, can read and understand. I'm not a fan of the genre but Lord Of The Flies stand out! I read it once when I was in school, but I never quite understood it with the clarity that I do now. This book serves as a meditation on two extreme sides of human nature, one that is controlled and civilised and the other one that is savage or animal-like.
Though the biguns in the book are no more that 11-12 year old kids, they try to stay civilised but it does not take long for the survival-driven animal-like streak to kick in. Golding has very beautifully described the steady rise of the darker side of humans and how our mind, in crises, is a dark and twisted thing.

In this book, one's henchman behaviour is very delicately shown, how everyone wants to be on the stronger side and then how they start hunting the weaker ones. The only choice left with the smaller or the weaker group of Ralph, Piggy, Sam and Eric and a few littluns, is either to join the stronger side or die! The main protagonist, Ralph, the fair boy, who liked Jack, the antagonist, suffers just because of Jack's greater ego. He innocently failed to understand what turned their friendship around. He tries to ask Jack but as an answer is awarded with wounds, both internal and external.

The ending couldn't have been better. The intensity with which Ralph starts crying was so touching. He cried for everything right from the first adventure of exploring the island with Jack and Simon to the deaths of Simon and Piggy, his friendship with Jack and Roger and Bill, for being left alone, being hunted, failing to understand where things went wrong, not being bale to keep the smoke up and most of all for being away from the civilised life where the blood-thirsty hunters were choir members!

This book is worth all the praise, time and money!

I'd recommend it to anyone who reads, breaths and eats.

You can read this review (and a lot more) at The Reading Bud