To the Ends of the Earth: A Sea Trilogy |
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Author:
William Golding
By Faber and Faber
Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780571166985
ISBN: 0571166989
Label: Faber and Faber
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
Number Of Pages: 768
Publication Date: 1992-04-27
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Studio: Faber and Faber |
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lengthy nautical tome, 2001-01-22
Having ploughed through this large trilogy I would comment 1) lots and lots of detail about sailing ships, napoleonic sea warfare, the british navy in the early C19 and so on. Different names for front & back of ship, what different sails are called etc. Fine if you are interested, very dull if like me you have no interest in sailing matters. 2) Golding continues his exploration of confined societies, which mutate to form their own rules, how hardship affects people, how an early society, which has no words for difficult concepts like male rape, copes with the limitations of language and class. 3) As usual with Golding there is something missing - he seems completely out of touch with the feminine side of his own character, his characters often seem more like insects under a microscope rather than living beings.
The "Good Read", 2000-12-17
William Golding himself wrote an introduction for this new combined edition of his trilogy. In it he basically justified the revisions he made etc. He realised in editing the book again that he had failed to name the ship upon which the majority of the trilogy takes place. He left this uncorrected, but his hope was that the ship's name would be surmised as being nothing more than "The Good Read."He is not disappointed in his hope, as I found his trilogy absolutely absorbing and engaging. Honestly I place it as some of the most enjoyable prose I've ever read. I'm actually considering doing a research project on him for my degree, is the extent to which this book has impressed me. It's just refreshing hearing Golding write through such a thoroughly happy and upbeat narrator. It infuses the book with a cheerfulness despite Golding's perrenial themes of social class and human nature. Certainly this trilogy must be seen as central in Golding's work, not just for its sheer size, but also since it most clearly manifests Golding's frequent allusions to existence as a sea journey. In this case we see these existences being played out literally on a journey to the ends of the earth, from England to the Antipodes. The journey presented is undeniably fraught, and for a work of serious fiction, remarkably exciting at a vary basic level. Alongside it's obvious literary credentials, it stands on its own as simply and enjoyable book. What's the essence of this journey that's presented? In my opinion, nothing more or less than the journey through a "Good Read."
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