Golding, William (Vol. 1) - Golding, William 1911–

Golding, William 1911–

A British mythic novelist, Golding's novels include Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors, and Pincher Martin. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 5-8, rev. ed.)

There is little question of William Golding's originality as a novelist. He has not been afraid to experiment with form or to attempt daring themes…. In each of [his] novels, the manner is indirect, the symbols rarely clarified, and the method of narration uncondescending and stringent. Golding is obviously striving to move behind the conventional matter of the contemporary novel to a view of what man, or pre-man, is really like when his facade of civilized behavior falls away….

[There] are beliefs and values operating in Golding's fiction that must dominate despite the main thrust of each novel toward disbelief. For most of his narrative, he seems to be concerned with moral aimlessness: the stranded boys in Lord of the Flies, for...

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