Lord of the Flies

I heard the audiobook, read by the author. William Golding did a pretty good job, but I think it would have been better had a professional narrator or actor read it. Although I never saw the TV series Lost, the theme of the Lord of the Flies seems to parallel it, plane crash survivors on an island with a mysterious malevolent entity. The story occurs during wartime, apparently, inexplicably, an atomic war, although there is only brief reference to it near the beginning. Aside from its being fictional, I have no idea why this book is categorized as fantasy.

This is a tale of British schoolboys devolving in the absence of civilization. It is certainly disturbingly plausible. I think I would have taken it just the one step further, not ended it where Golding did. Civilization arrives too late for Piggy, but just in the nick of time for Ralph. How much more disturbing if the rescuing naval officer had appeared on the beach just in time to witness the murder of Ralph by the savages.