Hello there and welcome to The Turndog Review: the books I read, reviewed.

I aren’t a professional critic, instead all I offer is my honest opinion into everything I read. However, I do this with a difference, as I don’t only offer my personal views on the Writing, Plot, and Story, but also the Book Cover, Book Marketing, and Author Website.

We live in a modern world where being a writer is different to years gone by, and I feel the whole experience of the book matters. This covers everything from the initial find, the actual read, and everything that follows. Therefore I hope this review not only offers a great insight into the book and author, but also into my own mind and what makes me tick.

So without further ado let’s begin, and today I focus on The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

 

Published: 1954

Read: June 2012

Discovered: Part of the June Goodreads Challenge

 

Overview:

The Lord of the Flies is a book I’ve been wanting to read for sometime, and when it came up on the Goodreads list, I just had to indulge. When I saw it starring at me in the library one day, well, it was fate.

So, I sat in the sunshine with a beer and the book, and I’m afraid I never really got into it.

The story follows a group young boys stranded on a desert island. We don’t know how they got there, nor do we know why they are there. Regardless, it’s an island with a group of young lads (aged 5 – 10) so you can imagine the mischief they get into.

Who will be leader? Who will survive?

Like I say, I never got into it. It’s not to say it isn’t good, because I loved parts. However, it just never connected with me. I never got in that flow, and if a book fails to do this, you always have an issue on your hands.

 

The Good:

It takes you back to a simpler life. I remembered what it was like to be young, with lots of energy and without a care in the world. The whole issue of the fire, it’s something a grown up mind can comprehend, but when you’re young you barely see past the end of your nose.

I also felt there was some underlying tones to the story. I’m not entirely sure what they were, which is a shame (I may just be slow), but I found the premise and idea of this subtle meaning intriguing.

 

The Bad:

The biggest issue I had was the dialogue. I’ve come across this more and more recently, when reading older books, so it’s probably a generational thing. However, I couldn’t keep up with the dialogue. Who was saying what? It just seemed to randomly jump around

There was also far too much descriptions for my liking. I found myself trailing off as a simple scene was over described. Some people like this, but I’m not one of them. A little overkill if you ask me.

 

Book Cover:

I love the book cover that I have. It’s full of colour and artistic delight, and it immediately grabs your attention. The text is also easy going and large, so lets face it, it ticks all the boxes it needs to.

This is one of the rare book covers I’ve come across, recently, that works as both a paperback and Ebook cover.

Book Marketing:

Hmmm, well there isn’t any, but considering I read a paperback from 1988, I can’t expect too much. One thing I do find surprising is the lack of information about William Golding. There’s a list of his books, which is good, but nothing about him.

A small picture on the back cover, but hardly enough to draw you in.

 

Author Website & Engagement:

I really like the website of Mr Golding. It offers a whole host of pictures, news, and information; and is overall a great place for fans to go.

With him being several years passed, I wasn’t expecting too much, but the result is great.  There’s even links to Social Medial, and get this, a Smartphone App. This is very impressive and his family, who run the site, need a great deal of credit.

William Golding created his company in the 60’s, to safeguard his work, and it’s great to see his world live on years after his passing.

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Overall, this book was an average read. I liked parts and yawned at others. I suppose the writing itself doesn’t quite grab me, although I’ll happily admit the standard is very high.

Other, non writing, parts of the book is good, and I’m happy to give this book…

                   3 Turndogs out of 5

 

Thanks for reading this version of The Turndog Review. I review every book I read, not only for the writing, but the marketing, website, and general communication from the author.

Turndog Millionaire – @turndog_million