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The Double Tongue: A Draft of a Novel
 
 
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The Double Tongue: A Draft of a Novel (Hardcover)

by William Golding (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 165 pages
  • Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T) (Sep 1995)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0374143293
  • ISBN-13: 978-0374143299
  • Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.2 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,652,905 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #78 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Golding, William

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The Double Tongue: A Draft of a Novel
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Golding's Last Book - 'The Double Tongue' is Oracular!, 14 April 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Double Tongue (Paperback)
'The Double Tongue' was the last book William Golding worked on, and the text in print is his 3rd draft, though incomplete in one part this hardly detracts from what is a brilliant, thought- provoking piece of literature.

'The Double Tongue' is a history (set in the 1st century BC) narrated by Arieka, who as a girl displays strange powers and for the last sixty years has been the Oracle of Apollo (the priestess through whom the god speaks). Arieka retells her unusual story from the very beginning to the ultimate decline of what has become her life. She describes her experiences, both as an oracle - the instrument of the gods - and as an observer of the religious, political, social and ethnical dilemmas that abound at that time. She also recounts her relationship with the high priest of Apollo, 'Ion', who becomes her guardian and friend; a man who is a truth Athenian but whose hatred of the Romans is ultimately fatal. It is through Arieka's eyes that we uncover the complexities of the Oracle and begin to understand more and more that we are dealing with not only the mystics of religion but also the political intrigues of men, and the role of human nature and actions throughout.

Golding delivers his characters with subtle brilliance. Ion is a character for whom I have a great sympathy; he is intelligent, kind, and a man who values the freedom of his country above all things; but he is, because of this, guilty of treason against Greece's master, Rome, and brings about his own demise. It is a portrait of a fallible man, and one who is deeply human. Arieka is Golding's masterpiece; there is a genuineness and reality about her and she one of the reasons why I am so drawn to the book. I feel, on a personal level, that I have a very clear understanding of her emotions - perhaps one of the most intense moments of the book is her descent into the Oracle and her possession by the god; Golding makes her fear horribly tangible.

The relationship between Arieka and Ion is one of a deep understanding of minds, even to the point of manipulation, and it is this which Golding uses to display profound insight into human interaction.

For me, Golding can do no wrong, and is here, at his best. His narrative voice is compellingly believable as a woman. He explains so clearly the complexities of human nature, of which he has such a great understanding. Like Golding's pervious books, this is one where he interweaves fascinating subject matter with his usual perceptiveness of human nature, and as his last book it's a triumph.

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