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Book Description
A startling recreation of the lost world of the Neanderthals, and a frightening vision of the beginnings of a new age.
Product Description
'An astonishing and original tour de force ... Golding is a genius.' Daily Telegraph
When the spring came the people - what was left of them - moved back by the old paths from the sea. But this year strange things were happening, terrifying things that had never happened before. Inexplicable sounds and smells; new, unimaginable creatures half glimpsed through the leaves. What the people didn't, and perhaps never would, know, was that the day of their people was already over.
From the author of Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors is a startling recreation of the lost world of the Neanderthals, and a frightening vision of the beginnings of a new age.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a most magical read, especially if approached with as few preconceptions as possible. It is very rarely that an author creates the illusion of being inside the head of a totally different kind of being so successfully. The pictures that come into the mind through Golding's masterly description are so clear and compelling, and yet at times so puzzling, that it is hard to set the book aside for even a short time, so immersed does one become in the drama that unfolds. I was totally unprepared for the extent to which my emotions were involved in the respective fates of the protagonists, so much so that by the end of the story my heart ached for the pity of it all as the reality of the situation was finally revealed. All those questions and uncertainties which presented themselves in the course of the tale were finally resolved, but in such a way that I was immediately compelled to start reading the book again from the very beginning in the light of my new understanding. More excitingly, I have found that the ideas incorporated in the story have the power to set up whole new trains of thought about the history and culture of Homo sapiens and the roots of our mythologies. William Golding is probably known to most readers as the author of the school set text "Lord of the Flies", but please don't let that deter you from reading this tour de force. My fifteen-year-old was as least as captivated by this book as I was.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book long before reading Lord of the Flies, at about the time when most people are reading Lord of the Flies instead. I agree wholeheartedly with a previous reviewer, that this is better than Lord of the Flies, and that's saying something.
This is a really engaging read. The book tells of the beginnings of the human race through the eyes of a primitive, neanderthal ancestor called Lok. Because Lok has few words and relies on sense perception differently the prose can be quite hard to follow at first until you allow yourself to get under his skin.
The writing is all the more powerful for being pared down and simplified. You can sense the pains Golding took to find exactly the right way to express feelings and burgeoning ideas in the slowly awakening brain of his protagonist.
Golding seems to delight in peeling back the layers of civilised man and looking at the workings underneath and nowhere is this more evident or well done than in this particular book.
This is a really engaging read. The book tells of the beginnings of the human race through the eyes of a primitive, neanderthal ancestor called Lok. Because Lok has few words and relies on sense perception differently the prose can be quite hard to follow at first until you allow yourself to get under his skin.
The writing is all the more powerful for being pared down and simplified. You can sense the pains Golding took to find exactly the right way to express feelings and burgeoning ideas in the slowly awakening brain of his protagonist.
Golding seems to delight in peeling back the layers of civilised man and looking at the workings underneath and nowhere is this more evident or well done than in this particular book.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
'The Inheritors' is not an easy book, but no book is more worth
the effort. Some of the themes of 'Lord of the Flies' are explored further, but this is altogether a more original and, in the end, more moving book. Lok, the principal Neanderthal, and his little family are innocent, kindly, unselfish, modest, artful in their way (though Lok is not clever ; he does not have many 'pictures'), and therefore, in our world, even all that time ago, doomed. The story of their slow annihilation is heart-breaking. The imaginative and intellectual tour de force worked by Golding to write this book is quite amazing. It's a virtuoso performance, but it is art concealing art - what you will remember are Lok's cries when he knows that those he loves are dead, and the poignant picture of his small figure, seen from a distance, just before the end. I cannot adequately say how wonderful this book is.
the effort. Some of the themes of 'Lord of the Flies' are explored further, but this is altogether a more original and, in the end, more moving book. Lok, the principal Neanderthal, and his little family are innocent, kindly, unselfish, modest, artful in their way (though Lok is not clever ; he does not have many 'pictures'), and therefore, in our world, even all that time ago, doomed. The story of their slow annihilation is heart-breaking. The imaginative and intellectual tour de force worked by Golding to write this book is quite amazing. It's a virtuoso performance, but it is art concealing art - what you will remember are Lok's cries when he knows that those he loves are dead, and the poignant picture of his small figure, seen from a distance, just before the end. I cannot adequately say how wonderful this book is.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Thought-provoking and strangely moving
A classic William Golding. What imagination and story-telling skill! Very intriguingly narrated from the viewpoint of neolithic people who are being displaced by modern humans. Read more
Published 2 months ago by sithemac
The Inheritors
I was disappointed with the condition of this book. It was delivered on time. I suppose it was good value for the price I paid.
Published 3 months ago by Idonotcareto
Mixed feelings
This book is a tale of the experiences of a small group of Neanderthals when they encounter humans for the first time. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Excalibur
Meet the old folks!
Written in 1955, this was Golding's second novel published one year after the success of "Lord of the Flies". Read more
Published 6 months ago by RR Waller
Welcome to the beginning of the world
I read this for a second time recently, and the second reading didn't quite live up to the first. I first read it as a sixth-form A level text and remember how vivid the imagery... Read more
Published 22 months ago by John Moseley
Not his best, but certainly not "dull".
It is obviously helpful when deciding whether or not a particular book is worth reading to have access to both positive and negative feedback, to be able to consider a balanced... Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2010 by C. Cooper-liles
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