When -Lord of the Flies- appeared in 1954 it received unprecedented reviews for a first novel. Critics used such phrases as -beautifully writeen, tragic and provocative... vivid and enthralling... this beautiful and desperate book... completely convincing and often very frightening... its progress is magnificient... like a fragment of nightmare... a dizzy climax of terror... the terrible spell of this book...- E.M. Forster chose it as the Outstanding Novel of the Year. -Time and Tide- touched upon perhaps the most important facet of this book when it said, -It is not only a first-rate adventure but a parable of our times, - and articles on this and subsequent Golding novels have stressed these twin aspects of Golding: a consummate control of the novel form, and a superb all-encompassing vision of reality which communicates itself with a power reminiscent of Conrad.
