William Golding

1954-ben jelent meg először A Legyek Ura, amelyet ma már nyugodtan nevezhetünk a XX. század egyik legjelentősebb és legnagyobb hatású irodalmi alkotásának, s ma éppoly időszerű, mint volt a megírása idején. Golding a második világháborúban szerzett tapasztalatait felhasználva a tudata, a lelke, a zsigerei mélyén megbújó ősi, vad ösztönökre ráébredő és az atomháború árnyékában élő ember félelmeit jeleníti meg példázatában vagy "mítoszregényében": egy hátborzongatóan izgalmas és kegyetlen történetben, melynek hősei tíz-tizenkét éves angol fiúk. A világban háború dúl, s a fiúk repülőgép-szerencsétlenség következtében egy lakatlan szigetre kerülnek, távol a civilizációtól - amely talán éppen elpusztul -, s megpróbálnak értelmes rendet, társadalmat kialakítani. És őrzik a tüzet, mert ez az egyetlen útja a menekülésnek... Sokáig kellemes, szinte idilli játéknak tetszik az egész: a jól nevelt angol fiúk ragyogóan megbirkóznak a nehézségekkel, s követik Ralphot, a született vezetőt, aki tüzet gyújt, és expedíciót vezet a sziget felderítésére. Ám az idillben - eleinte szinte észrevétlenül - sokasodnak a bajok: a vezérszerepre pályázó Jack nem hajlandó engedelmeskedni Ralphnak, és a fiúk közül egyre többen állnak mellé, s imádják vele együtt a Legyek Urát... Golding, aki sokáig általános iskolai tanárként dolgozott, a gyermeki lélek nagyszerű ismerőjeként rajzolja meg hőseit, akik az egyre inkább elfajuló "játékban" mintegy felgyorsítva élik át az emberi civilizáció történetét az első ésszerű közösségi szabályok megteremtésétől kezdve egészen odáig, amikor a rend összeomlik, s újból a bálványimádás, a gyilkos ösztön kerekedik felül...

William Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. "A stunning piece of writing as exciting as any thriller." - Frank Muir. Sunday Times. (from front cover)

A dazzlingly dark novel by the Nobel Laureate. At the height of the London blitz, a naked child steps out of an all-consuming fire. Miraculously saved yet hideously scarred, tormented at school and at work, Matty becomes a wanderer, a seeker after some unknown redemption. Two more lost children await him: twins as exquisite as they are loveless. Toni dabbles in political violence, Sophy in sexual tyranny. As Golding weaves their destinies together, as he draws them toward a final conflagration, his book lights up both the inner and outer darknesses of our time.

Fábula moral acerca de la condición humana, EL SEÑOR DE LAS MOSCAS es además un prodigioso relato literario susceptible de lecturas diversas y aun opuestas. Si para unos la parábola que WILLIAM GOLDING estructura en torno a la situación límite de una treintena de muchachos solos en una isla desierta representa una ilustración de las tesis que sitúan la agresividad criminal entre los instintos básicos del hombre, para otros constituye una requisitoria moral contra una educación represiva que no hace sino preparar futuras explosiones de barbarie cuando los controles se relajan.

The third volume of william goldings acclaimed sea trilogya decrepit warship sails on the last stretch of its voyage to sydney cove it has been blown off course and battered by wind, storm and ice nothing but rope holds the disintegrating hull together and after a risky operation to reset its foremast with red-hot metal, an unseen fire begins to smoulder below decks

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies is perhaps our most memorable tale about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”

Efter en voldsom flyulykke og i en verden hvor atomkrigen hærger, lander en flok på 16 britiske skoledrenge helt alene på en øde ø. Uden nogle voksne til at hjælpe, må de oprette deres eget lille samfund på øen, og få et samarbejde mellem alle parter til at fungere – det er lettere sagt end gjort. “Fluernes Herre” er en unik roman, som har opnået høj status siden sin første udgivelse. Det er en historie om menneskets mørke sider, magtkamp og ideologi. En ganske tankevækkende og foruroligende læseroplevelse.

Somehow, somewhere, Sammy Mountjoy lost his freedom, the faculty of freewill 'that cannot be debated but only experienced, like a colour or the taste of potatoes'. As he retraces his life in an effort to discover why he no longer has the power to choose & decide for himself, the narrative moves between England & a POW camp in Germany.

Weltliteratur des Nobelpreisträgers William Golding – die hochgelobte Neuübersetzung des Romans »Herr der Fliegen« jetzt endlich im Taschenbuch Ein Flugzeugabsturz über einer unbewohnten Insel im Pazifischen Ozean: Nur ein paar englische Schüler überleben. Zunächst scheint der Verlust der Zivilisation leicht zu überwinden, aber bald greifen Aggression und Gewalt um sich. Die Jungs verlieren alle Hemmungen, und es beginnt ein Kampf um Leben und Tod. Ein Jahrhundertroman, einfach und spannend erzählt, jetzt endlich in frischer Übersetzung von Peter Torberg.

Un aereo cade su un'isola deserta mentre è in corso un conflitto planetario. Sopravvivono solo alcuni ragazzi che si mettono subito all'opera per riorganizzarsi senza l'aiuto ed il controllo degli adulti. Sembra il prologo ideale per un romanzo d'avventura che celebri il pragmatismo e il senso della democrazia britannici. Qualcosa invece comincia a non funzionare come dovrebbe, emergono paure irrazionali e comportamenti asociali, da cui si sviluppa una vicenda che metterà a nudo gli aspetti più selvaggi e repressi della natura umana.

Un grup de copii scapă cu viață din catastrofa prăbușirii unui avion și încearcă să supraviețuiască pe o insulă pustie din mijlocul Pacificului. Însă ceea ce ar putea fi aventura vieții lor, o nouă robinsoniadă departe de adulți și de regulile acestora, se transformă într-un coșmar ucigător de vise: ura ia locul inocenței și crima se înstăpânește peste o lume care-și rătăcește busola. O parabolă de o forță incredibilă care ne oferă un răspuns deopotrivă crud și realist la întrebarea: este libertatea absolută calea spre paradis?

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies is perhaps our most memorable novel about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”

„Musių valdovas" – filosofinis-alegorinis romanas, išgarsinęs rašytoją Williamą Goldingą visame pasaulyje. 1983 m. autorius apdovanotas prestižine Nobelio literatūros premija. Lėktuvui sudužus negyvenamoje saloje, vieninteliai išsigelbėję – grupelė berniukų. Dienomis vaikai aikčioja iš susižavėjimo pakerėti slėpiningo salos grožio, juos vilioja romantiška perspektyva gyventi robinzoniškai, laisvai, be suaugusiųjų , tačiau naktimis baimę kelia paslaptingas žvėris. Kai berniukai sulaukėja ir vaikiškos jų svajos virsta kraujo troškuliu, išsiruošiama į medžioklę. Drebančia ranka pralietas kraujo lašas pamažu tirpdo ribą tarp žvėries ir žmogaus, pyktis ir kerštas nukrypsta į buvusius draugus.

Publicado originalmente em 1954, O Deus das Moscas de William Golding é um dos mais perturbadores e aclamados romances da actualidade. Um avião despenha-se numa ilha deserta, e os únicos sobreviventes são um grupo de rapazes. Inicialmente, desfrutando da liberdade total e festejando a ausência de adultos, unem forças, cooperando na procura de alimentos, na construção de abrigos e na manutenção de sinais de fogo. A supervisioná-los está Ralph, um jovem ponderado, e o seu amigo gorducho e esperto, Piggy. Apesar de Ralph tentar impor a ordem e delegar responsabilidades, muitos dos rapazes preferem celebrar a ausência de adultos nadando, brincando ou caçando a grande população de porcos selvagens que habita a ilha. O mais feroz adversário de Ralph é Jack, o líder dos caçadores, que consegue arrastar consigo a maioria dos rapazes. No entanto, à medida que o tempo passa, o frágil sentido de ordem desmorona-se. Os seus medos alcançam um significado sinistro e primitivo, até Ralph descobrir que ele e Piggy se tornaram nos alvos de caça dos restantes rapazes, embriagados pela sensação aparente de poder.

Um grupo de jovens é retirado de uma cidade atingida por um bombardeio atômico. Eles passam a viver numa ilha deserta do Pacífico e lá reconstituem os valores da sociedade em que viveram. Este romance é considerado a obra-prima do prêmio Nobel de 1983.

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 beginning of a new age.

The sole survivor of a torpedoed destroyer is miraculously cast up on a huge, barren rock in mid-Atlantic. Pitted against him are the sea, the sun, the night cold, and the terror of his isolation. At the core of this raging tale of physical and psychological violence lies Christopher Martin’s will to live as the sum total of his life.

The first volume of William Golding's Sea Trilogy. Sailing to Australia in the early years of the nineteenth century, Edmund Talbot keeps a journal to amuse his godfather back in England. Full of wit and disdain, he records the mounting tensions on the ancient, stinking warship where officers, sailors, soldiers and emigrants jostle in the cramped spaces below decks. Then a single passenger, the obsequious Reverend Colley, attracts the animosity of the sailors, and in the seclusion of the fo'castle something happens to bring him into a 'hell of degradation', where shame is a force deadlier than the sea itself.

Soit un groupe d'enfants, de six à treize ans, que l'on isole sur une île déserte. Qu'advient-il d'eux après quelques mois ? William Golding tente l'expérience. Après les excitantes excursions et parties de baignade, il faut s'organiser pour survivre. C'est au moins la réflexion de Ralph, celui qui fut élu chef au temps heureux des commencements, et du fidèle Piggy. Mais c'est ce que refusent de comprendre Jack, le second aspirant au "trône", et les siens. Cette première division clanique n'est pas loin de reproduire un schéma social ancestral. S'ensuivent des comportements qui boudent peu à peu la civilisation et à travers lesquels les rituels immémoriaux le disputent à une sauvagerie d'une violence sans limite. Dès Sa Majesté des Mouches (1954), porté à l'écran par Peter Brook (1963), apparaît l'obsession de William Golding : l'homme est foncièrement mauvais. Le monde est porteur d'une cruauté sans faille dans laquelle chacun se fourvoie et finit par périr, comme il l'illustre plus tard dans Les Héritiers ou Parade sauvage. L'écrivain reçut le prix Nobel de littérature en 1983. --Laure Anciel

Publicado originalmente em 1954, 'Senhor das Moscas' é um dos romances essenciais da literatura mundial. Adaptado duas vezes para o cinema, traduzido para 35 idiomas, o clássico de William Golding - que já foi visto como uma alegoria, uma parábola, um tratado político e mesmo uma visão do apocalipse - vendeu, só em língua inglesa, mais de 25 milhões de exemplares. Durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, um avião cai numa ilha deserta, e seus únicos sobreviventes são um grupo de meninos em idade escolar. Eles descobrem os encantos desse refúgio tropical e, liderados por Ralph, procuram se organizar enquanto esperam um possível resgate. Mas aos poucos - e por seus próprios desígnios - esses garotos aparentemente inocentes transformam a ilha numa visceral disputa pelo poder, e sua selvageria rasga a fina superfície da civilidade, que mantinham como uma lembrança remota da vida em sociedade. Ao narrar a história de meninos perdidos numa ilha paradisíaca, aos poucos se deixando levar pela barbárie, Golding constrói uma história eletrizante, ao mesmo tempo uma reflexão sobre a natureza do mal e a tênue linha entre o poder e a violência desmedida. A nova tradução para o português mostra como Senhor das Moscas mantém o mesmo impacto desde o seu lançamento - um clássico moderno; um livro que retrata de maneira inigualável as áreas de sombra e escuridão da essência do ser humano.

Sammy Mountjoy babasını hiç tanımadan yoksulluk içinde büyümüşse de, resimlerini Tate Gallery’nin duvarlarında görebilmiş yetenekli bir ressamdır. İkinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında Almanlara esir düşer ve işkence tehdidiyle karanlık bir hücreye kapatılır. Kör karanlığın, tecridin ve kendisini bekleyen akıbetin dehşetiyle geçmiş hayatını gözden geçirir. Hayatının anlamını aniden nasıl yitirdiğini, hangi hatasının onu bugün olduğu kişiye dönüştürdüğünü düşünür ve yön duygusunu yitirip kendi varoluşunun labirentine düşüşünü sorgulamaya koyulur. Sorumluluğu ne zaman başlamış, karanlık ne zaman çökmüştür? Sammy hayatında özgür iradesinin elinden bütünüyle kayıp gittiği anı tespit etmeye çalışır. O anı hazırlayan olayların izini sürdüğü bu sorgulama, onu insan olmanın ne anlama geldiğine dair daha derin bir kavrayışa götürür. Golding dehasını bütünüyle edebiyatın hizmetine verdiği Serbest Düşüş’ü “Bir itiraf” olarak niteleyerek kendi hayatıyla Sammy’ninki arasındaki paralelliklere dikkat çekmişti.

"Sineklerin Tanrısı başlangıçta, ıssız bir adaya düşen çocukların serüvenlerini anlatan, küçükler için yazılmış bir öykü, R. M. Ballantyne'ın Mercan Adası'nın çağdaş bir uygulaması sanılabilir. Hatta Golding, kendine özgü buruk alaycılıkla, okuyucunun bu sanısını pekiştirmek istercesine, Sineklerin Tanrısı'nın başlıca iki kişisine Mercan Adası'ndaki çocuklardan aldığı Ralph ve Jack adlarını verir. Mercan Adası'nda Ballantyne, oldukça duygusal ve biraz da bön bir iyimserlikle, gemileri battıktan sonra Pasifik Okyanusu'nda ıssız bir adaya sığınan üç İngiliz gencinin, Büyük Britanya uygarlığının oldukça başarılı bir küçük örneğini nasıl yeniden kurduklarını anlatır. Golding'in Sineklerin Tanrısı'nda da bir mercan adası ve İngiliz çocuklar vardır. Ama altı ile on iki yaş arasında olan bu çocuklar, gelecekteki atom savaşı sırasında, güvenilir bir yere götürülmek üzere bindikleri uçak bir saldırıya uğradığı için bu mercan adasına düşmüşlerdir. Ve bu mercan adasında olup bitenler, Ballantyne'ın romanında olup bitenlere hiç mi hiç benzememektedir… Sineklerin Tanrısı'nda gördüğümüz ıssız ada da yeryüzünün cennetlerinden biridir. Çocuklar da bu adanın, okudukları Mercan Adası'na çok benzediğini söylerler. Ne var ki, başlangıçta bunu hiç sezinlemediğimiz halde, atom çağının çocukları, bu güzelim adayı her açıdan bir cehenneme çevireceklerdir." - Mîna Urgan

The Double Tongue is William Golding's last and perhaps most superbly imaginative novel. It is a fictional memoir of an aged prophetess at Delphi, the most sacred oracle of ancient Greece, just prior to Greece's domination by the Roman Empire. As a young girl, Arieka is ugly, unconventional, a source of great shame to her uppity parents, who fear they'll never marry her off. But she is saved by Ionides, the High Priest of the Delphic temple, who detects something of a seer (and a friend) in her and whisks her off to the shrine to become the Pythia - the earthly voice of the god Apollo. Arieka has now spent a lifetime at the mercy of a god, a priest, and her devotees, and has witnessed firsthand the decay of Delphi's fortunes and its influence in the world. Her reflections on the mysteries of the oracle, which her own weird gifts embody, are matched by her feminine insight into the human frailties of the High Priest himself, a true Athenian with a wicked sense of humor, whose intriguing against the Romans brings about humiliation and disaster. This extraordinary short novel, left in draft at the author's death in 1993, is a psychological and historical triumph. Golding has created a vivid and comic picture of ancient Greek society as well as an absolutely convincing portrait of a woman's experience, something rare in the Golding oeuvre. Arieka the Pythia is one of his finest creations. Left in draft at the author's death in 1993, this extraordinary short novel is a psychological and historical triumph. An aged prophetess at Delphi, the most sacred oracle in ancient Greece, looks back over her strange life as the Pythia, the voice of the god Apollo. Golding was the author of Lord of the Flies, and a Nobel Laureate.

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 beginning of a new age.

English novelist Wilfred Barclay, who has known fame, success, and fortune, is in crisis. He faces a drinking problem slipping over the borderline into alcoholism, a dead marriage, and the incurable itch of middle age lust. But the final, unbearable irritation is American Professor of English Literature Rick L. Tucker, who is implacable in his determinition to become The Barclay Man: authorized biographer, editor of the posthumous papers and the recognized authority.

Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular. From the author of Lord of the Flies, The Spire is a dark and powerful portrait of one man's will, and the folly that he creates.

Jedna z najsłynniejszych powieści o upadku kultury i cywilizacji, która weszła na stałe do kanonu najważniejszych dzieł XX wieku. Grupa chłopców, którzy jako jedyni ocaleli po katastrofie lotniczej, znajduje schronienie na bezludnej wyspie. Początkowo rozbitkowie, pozbawieni nadzoru dorosłych, cieszą się wolnością w rajskiej scenerii z dala od cywilizacji. Jednak ich wysiłki, by stworzyć własne małe społeczeństwo, prowadzą do katastrofy, a przygoda obraca się w koszmar. Laureat literackiej Nagrody Nobla William Golding rozwiewa złudzenia o dobrej naturze człowieka, pokazując w sugestywny i przerażający sposób, jak zwykli uczniowie brytyjskich szkół stopniowo pogrążają się w barbarzyństwie i zatracają swoje ludzkie odruchy.

Самый знаменитый роман У.Голдинга "Повелитель мух", отвергнутый первоначально 21 издателем, был опубликован в 1954 г. и сразу стал бестселлером. С тех пор это произведение выдержало сотни переизданий по всему миру и множество раз ставилось на театральной сцене. В 1962 г. роман был экранизирован выдающимся английским режиссёром Питером Бруком.