Ratings6
Average rating3.3
Golding’s follow-up to Lord of the Flies, this is an unusual novel about the last tribe of Neanderthals in Europe and their fatal encounter with a tribe of more advanced and infinitely more ruthless Humans.
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This might sound silly, but this small book of simple language confounded me. The story is told, not just by a Neanderthal, but by the dumbest Neanderthal in the book. His struggle to comprehend the changing world around him and to pin down the advanced technology of modern humans with concepts he could understand made parts of this story completely baffling. He sees boats as logs and paddles as leaves and representations of things as the real things they represent. It's a testament to Golding's brilliance that he could stage a whole book this way. This is definitely something I'm going to have to read a second time and maybe then I can give it a better rating.
A little strange, but beautiful and emotional. Very interesting setting with neanderthals vs. modern human.